Health impacts: particles and coal dust: Difference between revisions

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== Airborne Particles ==
== Airborne Particles ==
Exposure to air pollution––especially particles––is the second leading risk factor for mortality globally (behind only high blood pressure), contributing to approximately 8 million deaths each year.<ref>State of Global Air, [https://www.stateofglobalair.org/hap#:~:text=Air%20pollution%20accounts%20for%20more,1%20year%20and%208%20months. Health Impacts of Air Pollution].</ref> Particles are very harmful, with chronic exposure to particulates shortening our lives by an average of 1–3 years.<ref>State of Global Air, [https://www.stateofglobalair.org/health/life-expectancy Impact of Air Pollution on Life Expectancy].</ref><ref>Greenstone et al., Air Quality Life Index, Annual Update, 2024.</ref><ref>Pope III et al., Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States, ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', 360, 4, 376–386, 2009.</ref> Chronic and acute exposure to particles has also been linked to: increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease;<ref>Dockery et al. 1993.</ref><ref>Pope et al. 1995.</ref><ref>Brunekreef et al. 2009.</ref><ref>Eftim et al. 2008.</ref><ref>Laden et al. 2006.</ref><ref>Miller et al. 2007.</ref><ref>Pope et al. 2004.</ref><ref>Puett et al. 2008.</ref><ref>Puett et al., 2009</ref><ref>Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, 2006.</ref><ref>Levy et al. 2000.</ref><ref>Samet et al. 2000a.</ref><ref>Samet et al. 2000b</ref><ref>Zanobetti et al. 2000.</ref> significant damage to the small airways of the lungs;<ref>cite</ref> diminished lung function;<ref>cite</ref> inflammation of lung tissue, even in young healthy adults;<ref>cite</ref> increased hospitalization for asthma attacks for children;<ref>cite</ref> slowed lung function growth in children and teenagers;<ref>cite</ref> increased hospitalization and emergency room visits for cardiovascular diseases, strokes, congestive heart failure, and due to acute respiratory illnesses;<ref>cite</ref> increased risk of lower birth weights and infant mortality;<ref>Fong et al., Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Birthweight: Differences in Associations along the Birthweight Distribution, Epidemiology, 30, 5, 617–623, 2020.</ref><ref>Basu et al., Effects of Fine Particulate Matter and Its Constituents on Low Birth Weight among Full-Term Infants in California. ''Environmental Research'', 128, 42–51, 2014.</ref><ref>Dadvand et al., Maternal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution and Term Birth Weight: A Multi-Country Evaluation of Effect and Heterogeneity, ''Environmental Health Perspectives'', 121, 3, 267–373, 2013.</ref><ref>Ebisu et al., Airborne PM<sub>2.5</sub> Chemical Components and Low Birth Weight in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the United States, ''Environmental Health Perspectives'', 120, 12, 1746–1752, 2012.</ref><ref>Kloog et al., Using New Satellite Based Exposure Methods to Study the Association between Pregnancy PM<sub>2.5</sub> Exposure, Premature Birth and Birth Weight in Massachusetts, ''Environmental Health'', 11, 40, 2012.</ref><ref>Stieb et al., Ambient Air Pollution, Birth Weight and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, ''Environmental Research'', 117, 100–111, 2012. </ref> elevated risk of developing type-2 diabetes;<ref>Eze et al., Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Diabetes Mellitus in Europe and North America: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Environmental Health Perspectives, 123, 5, 381-389, 2015.</ref> cognitive impacts, including links to dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease;<ref>Weuve, et al., Exposure to Air Pollution in Relation to Risk of Dementia and Related Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Literature. ''Environmental Health Perspectives,'' 129, 96001, 2021.</ref><ref>Shi et al., Long-Term Effects of PM<sub>2.5</sub> on Neurological Disorders in the American Medicare Population: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, ''Lancet Planetary Health'' 4, e557–e565, 2020.</ref><ref>Shi et al., Incident Dementia and Long-Term Exposure to Constituents of Fine Particle Air Pollution: A National Cohort Study in the United States. ''Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'' 120, e2211282119, 2022.</ref><ref>Peters, Commentary: Ambient Air Pollution and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of the Composition of Fine Particles, ''Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'' 120 (3) e2220028120, 2023.</ref> and increased risk of mental health issues such as depression.<ref>cite</ref>
Exposure to air pollution––especially particles––is the second leading risk factor for mortality globally (behind only high blood pressure), contributing to approximately 8 million deaths each year.<ref>State of Global Air, [https://www.stateofglobalair.org/hap#:~:text=Air%20pollution%20accounts%20for%20more,1%20year%20and%208%20months. Health Impacts of Air Pollution].</ref> Particles are very harmful, with chronic exposure to particulates shortening our lives by an average of 1–3 years.<ref>State of Global Air, [https://www.stateofglobalair.org/health/life-expectancy Impact of Air Pollution on Life Expectancy].</ref><ref>Greenstone et al., Air Quality Life Index, Annual Update, 2024.</ref><ref>Pope III et al., Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States, ''The New England Journal of Medicine'', 360, 4, 376–386, 2009.</ref> Chronic and acute exposure to particles has also been linked to: increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease;<ref>Dockery et al. 1993.</ref><ref>Pope et al. 1995.</ref><ref>Brunekreef et al. 2009.</ref><ref>Eftim et al. 2008.</ref><ref>Laden et al. 2006.</ref><ref>Miller et al. 2007.</ref><ref>Pope et al. 2004.</ref><ref>Puett et al. 2008.</ref><ref>Puett et al., 2009</ref><ref>Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, 2006.</ref><ref>Levy et al. 2000.</ref><ref>Samet et al. 2000a.</ref><ref>Samet et al. 2000b</ref><ref>Zanobetti et al. 2000.</ref> diminished lung function and damage to the small airways of the lungs;<ref>Wu et al., Case Report: Lung Disease in World Trade Center Responders Exposed to Dust and Smoke: Carbon Nanotubes Found in the Lungs of World Trade Center Patients and Dust Samples, ''Environmental Health Perspectives'', 118, 4, 499–504, 2010.</ref><ref>Zhang et al., Long-Term Exposure to Diesel Engine Exhaust Induced Lung Function Decline in a Cross Sectional Study, ''Industrial Health'', 55, 1, 13–26, 2017.</ref><ref>Cui et al., Association between Bedroom Particulate Matter Filtration and Changes in Airway Pathophysiology in Children with Asthma, ''Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics'', 174, 6, 533–542, 2020.</ref><ref>Karr et al., Effects of Subchronic and Chronic Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants on Infant Bronchiolitis, ''American Journal of Epidemiology'', 165, 5, 553–560, 2007.</ref><ref>Leikauf et al., Mechanisms of Ultrafine Particle-Induced Respiratory Health Effects, ''Experimental & Molecular Medicine'', 52, 329–337, 2020. </ref> inflammation of lung tissue, even in young healthy adults;<ref>cite</ref> increased hospitalization for asthma attacks for children;<ref>cite</ref> slowed lung function growth in children and teenagers;<ref>cite</ref> increased hospitalization and emergency room visits for cardiovascular diseases, strokes, congestive heart failure, and due to acute respiratory illnesses;<ref>cite</ref> increased risk of lower birth weights and infant mortality;<ref>Fong et al., Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Birthweight: Differences in Associations along the Birthweight Distribution, Epidemiology, 30, 5, 617–623, 2020.</ref><ref>Basu et al., Effects of Fine Particulate Matter and Its Constituents on Low Birth Weight among Full-Term Infants in California. ''Environmental Research'', 128, 42–51, 2014.</ref><ref>Dadvand et al., Maternal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution and Term Birth Weight: A Multi-Country Evaluation of Effect and Heterogeneity, ''Environmental Health Perspectives'', 121, 3, 267–373, 2013.</ref><ref>Ebisu et al., Airborne PM<sub>2.5</sub> Chemical Components and Low Birth Weight in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the United States, ''Environmental Health Perspectives'', 120, 12, 1746–1752, 2012.</ref><ref>Kloog et al., Using New Satellite Based Exposure Methods to Study the Association between Pregnancy PM<sub>2.5</sub> Exposure, Premature Birth and Birth Weight in Massachusetts, ''Environmental Health'', 11, 40, 2012.</ref><ref>Stieb et al., Ambient Air Pollution, Birth Weight and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, ''Environmental Research'', 117, 100–111, 2012. </ref> elevated risk of developing type-2 diabetes;<ref>Eze et al., Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Diabetes Mellitus in Europe and North America: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Environmental Health Perspectives, 123, 5, 381-389, 2015.</ref> cognitive impacts, including links to dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease;<ref>Weuve, et al., Exposure to Air Pollution in Relation to Risk of Dementia and Related Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Literature. ''Environmental Health Perspectives,'' 129, 96001, 2021.</ref><ref>Shi et al., Long-Term Effects of PM<sub>2.5</sub> on Neurological Disorders in the American Medicare Population: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, ''Lancet Planetary Health'' 4, e557–e565, 2020.</ref><ref>Shi et al., Incident Dementia and Long-Term Exposure to Constituents of Fine Particle Air Pollution: A National Cohort Study in the United States. ''Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'' 120, e2211282119, 2022.</ref><ref>Peters, Commentary: Ambient Air Pollution and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of the Composition of Fine Particles, ''Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'' 120 (3) e2220028120, 2023.</ref> and increased risk of mental health issues such as depression.<ref>cite</ref>


The health impacts of particles are influenced by particle size, composition, and shape.   
The health impacts of particles are influenced by particle size, composition, and shape.   

Revision as of 14:43, 28 May 2025

Airborne Particles

Exposure to air pollution––especially particles––is the second leading risk factor for mortality globally (behind only high blood pressure), contributing to approximately 8 million deaths each year.[1] Particles are very harmful, with chronic exposure to particulates shortening our lives by an average of 1–3 years.[2][3][4] Chronic and acute exposure to particles has also been linked to: increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease;[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] diminished lung function and damage to the small airways of the lungs;[19][20][21][22][23] inflammation of lung tissue, even in young healthy adults;[24] increased hospitalization for asthma attacks for children;[25] slowed lung function growth in children and teenagers;[26] increased hospitalization and emergency room visits for cardiovascular diseases, strokes, congestive heart failure, and due to acute respiratory illnesses;[27] increased risk of lower birth weights and infant mortality;[28][29][30][31][32][33] elevated risk of developing type-2 diabetes;[34] cognitive impacts, including links to dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Parkinson’s Disease;[35][36][37][38] and increased risk of mental health issues such as depression.[39]

The health impacts of particles are influenced by particle size, composition, and shape.

  • Size: Particles are regulated based on size, with size also affecting how deeply particulates penetrate into the human body and their health impacts.[40] Large particles like dust (PM10) deposit rapidly after inhalation, mostly settling into our upper respiratory tract. Fine particles (PM2.5) reach the lower respiratory tract and lungs, and very-fine particles (PM1) tend to settle deep in the lungs and alveoli, the tiny air sacs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the lungs and blood during breathing. Ultrafine particles (PM0.1) are small enough to penetrate cell walls to enter the bloodstream. All else being equal, breathing dust is not thought to be as harmful to our health as breathing in smaller particles. However, there is research identifying health impacts of exposure to PM10 specifically, for example, asthma diagnosis prevalence and asthma-related emergency department visits in children.[41]
  • Composition: Particles, including dust, be made of a wide variety of materials such as oils, heavy metals, salts, and black carbon, also known as soot, which each causing different health impacts. Particles with high concentrations of toxic heavy metals have been shown to be especially harmful.[42] There is also evidence that the components of larger particles, including metals, can translocate from the lungs to the bloodstream and reach the brain, such that even larger particles can have systematic effects on our bodies.[43]
  • Shape: Particle shape can also be important. In perhaps the most well known example, asbestos particles are long, thin fibers that, because of their shape, can become permanently lodged in the lungs, leading to lung cancer and mesothelioma.[44]

Coal Dust

The majority of research on the health impacts of coal dust, which is a type of particulate matter, has come from studies on occupational exposures of coal miners. Miners’ inhalation exposure to coal dust has been shown to place them at an increased risk of developing coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), also known as coal miner’s lung or black lung disease, progressive massive fibrosis, lung cancer, decreased lung function, as well as other health impacts.[45]

Coal dust typically contains high levels of toxic metals, including mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), arsenic (Ar), cadmium (Cd), as well as crystalline silica.[46] These substances are harmful when inhaled or ingested and are known to cause cancer, fetal defects, and neurological damage, even at very low doses.[47] Coal dust also contains high levels of transition metals, including iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and copper (Cu) that can induce oxidative stress in our bodies.[48] Because coal dust has high concentrations of metals, there is reason to believe it causes harm at exposures below PM2.5 and PM10 National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

There is a body of research identifying an array of adverse health impacts on communities living near coal mines and areas of coal-related activities, particularly in Appalachia. These include: higher rates of lung, kidney, and heart disease, even for people who never worked in a mine;[49] worse adjusted health status and with higher rates of cardiopulmonary disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and hypertension;[50] more days of self-rated poor physical and/or mental health and activity limitation;[51] higher mortality, including from lung cancer;[52] and a wide variety of more frequent birth defects.[53]

Comparable studies have not been done to assess health impacts on residents living near coal export facilities in Hampton Roads. There are references to a 2005 study by the Peninsula Health District purporting to show that Southeast Newport News residents visited the emergency room for asthma at a rate double that of both Newport News and Virginia on average.[54] However, a copy of the document could not be found.

Interviews with residents of Southeast Newport News and Lambert’s Point reveal that asthma and other respiratory health impacts are widespread and a major issue of community concern. One resident of Southeast Newport News, Uneita Scott, reported that her sister became sick from exposure to coal dust as a child: "Her diagnosis was a coal miner's lung so they had to amputate it for her to have a healthy life. At 14 years old, doctors verbatim said she had the lung of a 30-year-old that worked in the coal mines."[55]

Documents

References

  1. ↑ State of Global Air, Health Impacts of Air Pollution.
  2. ↑ State of Global Air, Impact of Air Pollution on Life Expectancy.
  3. ↑ Greenstone et al., Air Quality Life Index, Annual Update, 2024.
  4. ↑ Pope III et al., Fine-Particulate Air Pollution and Life Expectancy in the United States, The New England Journal of Medicine, 360, 4, 376–386, 2009.
  5. ↑ Dockery et al. 1993.
  6. ↑ Pope et al. 1995.
  7. ↑ Brunekreef et al. 2009.
  8. ↑ Eftim et al. 2008.
  9. ↑ Laden et al. 2006.
  10. ↑ Miller et al. 2007.
  11. ↑ Pope et al. 2004.
  12. ↑ Puett et al. 2008.
  13. ↑ Puett et al., 2009
  14. ↑ Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, 2006.
  15. ↑ Levy et al. 2000.
  16. ↑ Samet et al. 2000a.
  17. ↑ Samet et al. 2000b
  18. ↑ Zanobetti et al. 2000.
  19. ↑ Wu et al., Case Report: Lung Disease in World Trade Center Responders Exposed to Dust and Smoke: Carbon Nanotubes Found in the Lungs of World Trade Center Patients and Dust Samples, Environmental Health Perspectives, 118, 4, 499–504, 2010.
  20. ↑ Zhang et al., Long-Term Exposure to Diesel Engine Exhaust Induced Lung Function Decline in a Cross Sectional Study, Industrial Health, 55, 1, 13–26, 2017.
  21. ↑ Cui et al., Association between Bedroom Particulate Matter Filtration and Changes in Airway Pathophysiology in Children with Asthma, Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics, 174, 6, 533–542, 2020.
  22. ↑ Karr et al., Effects of Subchronic and Chronic Exposure to Ambient Air Pollutants on Infant Bronchiolitis, American Journal of Epidemiology, 165, 5, 553–560, 2007.
  23. ↑ Leikauf et al., Mechanisms of Ultrafine Particle-Induced Respiratory Health Effects, Experimental & Molecular Medicine, 52, 329–337, 2020.
  24. ↑ cite
  25. ↑ cite
  26. ↑ cite
  27. ↑ cite
  28. ↑ Fong et al., Fine Particulate Air Pollution and Birthweight: Differences in Associations along the Birthweight Distribution, Epidemiology, 30, 5, 617–623, 2020.
  29. ↑ Basu et al., Effects of Fine Particulate Matter and Its Constituents on Low Birth Weight among Full-Term Infants in California. Environmental Research, 128, 42–51, 2014.
  30. ↑ Dadvand et al., Maternal Exposure to Particulate Air Pollution and Term Birth Weight: A Multi-Country Evaluation of Effect and Heterogeneity, Environmental Health Perspectives, 121, 3, 267–373, 2013.
  31. ↑ Ebisu et al., Airborne PM2.5 Chemical Components and Low Birth Weight in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic Regions of the United States, Environmental Health Perspectives, 120, 12, 1746–1752, 2012.
  32. ↑ Kloog et al., Using New Satellite Based Exposure Methods to Study the Association between Pregnancy PM2.5 Exposure, Premature Birth and Birth Weight in Massachusetts, Environmental Health, 11, 40, 2012.
  33. ↑ Stieb et al., Ambient Air Pollution, Birth Weight and Preterm Birth: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Environmental Research, 117, 100–111, 2012.
  34. ↑ Eze et al., Association between Ambient Air Pollution and Diabetes Mellitus in Europe and North America: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, Environmental Health Perspectives, 123, 5, 381-389, 2015.
  35. ↑ Weuve, et al., Exposure to Air Pollution in Relation to Risk of Dementia and Related Outcomes: An Updated Systematic Review of the Epidemiological Literature. Environmental Health Perspectives, 129, 96001, 2021.
  36. ↑ Shi et al., Long-Term Effects of PM2.5 on Neurological Disorders in the American Medicare Population: A Longitudinal Cohort Study, Lancet Planetary Health 4, e557–e565, 2020.
  37. ↑ Shi et al., Incident Dementia and Long-Term Exposure to Constituents of Fine Particle Air Pollution: A National Cohort Study in the United States. Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 120, e2211282119, 2022.
  38. ↑ Peters, Commentary: Ambient Air Pollution and Alzheimer’s Disease: The Role of the Composition of Fine Particles, Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 120 (3) e2220028120, 2023.
  39. ↑ cite
  40. ↑ cite
  41. ↑ Keet et al., Long-Term Coarse Particulate Matter Exposure Is Associated with Asthma among Children in Medicaid, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 197, 6, 737–746, 2017.
  42. ↑ cite
  43. ↑ cite
  44. ↑ cite
  45. ↑ cite
  46. ↑ cite
  47. ↑ cite
  48. ↑ cite
  49. ↑ cite
  50. ↑ cite
  51. ↑ cite
  52. ↑ cite
  53. ↑ cite
  54. ↑ cite
  55. ↑ Saitta, Newport News residents say coal dust is the source of some health problems, 3WTKR, April 20, 2024.
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