Objectives-To answer the question whether living near opencast coal mining sites aVects acute and chronic respiratory health. Methods-All 4860 children aged 1-11 from five socioeconomically matched pairs of communities close to active opencast sites and control sites away from them were selected. Exposure was assessed by concentrations of particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter <10 µm (PM 10 ), residential proximity to active opencast sites, and particle composition. PM 10 was monitored and sampled for 6 weeks in four pairs, and for 24 weeks in one pair. A postal questionnaire collected data on health and lifestyle. Daily health information was collected by a symptom diary (concurrently with PM 10 monitoring) and general practitioner (GP) records were abstracted (concurrently with PM 10 monitoring and 52 weeks before the study). Outcomes were the cumulative and period prevalence (2 and 12 months) of wheeze, asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory symptoms, and the prevalence and incidence of daily symptoms and GP consultations. Results-Patterns of the daily variation of PM 10 were similar in opencast and control communities, but PM 10 was higher in opencast areas (mean ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.13 to 1.16, geometric mean 17.0 µg/m 3 v 14.9 µg/m 3 ). Opencast sites were a measurable contributor to PM 10 in adjacent areas. Little evidence was found for associations between living near an opencast site and an increased prevalence of respiratory illnesses, asthma severity, or daily diary symptoms, but children in opencast communities 1-4 had significantly more respiratory consultations (1.5 v 1.1 per person-year) than children in control communities for the 6 week study periods. Associations between daily PM 10 concentrations and acute health events were similar in opencast and control communities. Conclusions-Children in opencast communities were exposed to a small but significant amount of additional PM 10 to which the opencast sites were a measurable contributor. Past and present respiratory health of children was similar, but GP consultations for respiratory conditions were higher in opencast communities during the core study period.(Occup Environ Med 2000;57:145-151)
Due to the common sources of emissions of both air quality pollutants and greenhouse gases, management measures directed at one category of emissions are likely to positively impact the other. Through the local air quality management (LAQM) process, local authorities are required to monitor and measure specified air pollutants, the sources of which are also common to the primary sources of carbon emissions at a local level. This research tracks the progression of local authority management of carbon emissions and examines the barriers and opportunities for the integration of carbon emissions into the LAQM process. Results are triangulated from three core research methods deployed in South West England: a time series of local authority questionnaire surveys; secondary data analysis of active Air Quality Action Plans; and case study interviews of six local authorities in the region. The research concludes that the absence of statutory targets for carbon emission reductions remains a substantial barrier for local authority carbon management initiatives. However, in order to utilise scarce resources in the most efficient manner, local authorities should draw upon the existing skill set of their Air Quality Officers.
An atmospheric dust database has been set up for the western end of the South Wales Coalfield. This, the first of its kind in the UK, comprises dust data from British Standard 1747 four-way directional gauges, a window ledge sampler and an experimental frisbee deposit gauge. X-Ray diffraction was used to characterize the dust on the basis of mineralogy. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine particle size and shape and an energy dispersive X-ray analysis system was used to locate coal particles.For 18 months, a total of 15 directional and three frisbee gauges were used to collect dust on and around the Ffos Las opencast coal site in South Wales, UK. Additionally, two more directional gauges have been installed in the Brecon Beacons and at Exeter in south-west England to provide data from outside the coal mining area.Processed data from the X-ray diffractograms, along with the weather data from an onsite weather gauge, are input to a geographical information system (Arclnfo), where they can be manipulated statistically. Rose diagram plots for the area can thus be presented, giving the mineralogical contents of dust from the four directions of each sampling station, set in a spatial context. A series of these plots introduces the temporal element.This new dust data technology already shows considerable potential for use in nuisance complaints, planning applications, site licence renewals and for the implementation of future European environmental protection legislation.
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