Impact of the 1998 Gobi dust event on hospital admissions in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Bennett, Catherine M; McKendry, Ian G.; Kelly, Shona; Denike, Kenneth; Koch, Thomas

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.12.025

Cited by 61 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Other studies in Taipei found a non-statistically significant increase in hospital admissions and deaths due to dust storms (Chen et al 2004(Chen et al , 2005. A study in British Colombia found no effects of dust storms on hospital admissions (Bennett et al 2008). A study in Cyprus found all-cause and cardiovascular admissions were 4.8% (95% CI: 0.7, 9.0%) and 10.4% (95% CI: −4.7, 27.9%) higher on dust storm days, respectively (Middleton et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The effects of the 2009 dust storm on emergency admissions to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia

2011

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In September 2009 an enormous dust storm swept across eastern Australia. Dust is potentially hazardous to health as it interferes with breathing, and previous dust storms have been linked to increased risks of asthma and even death. We examined whether the 2009 Australian dust storm changed the volume or characteristics of emergency admissions to hospital. We used an observational study design, using time series analyses to examine changes in the number of admissions, and case-only analyses to examine changes in the characteristics of admissions. The admission data were from the Prince Charles Hospital, Brisbane, between 1 January 2009 and 31 October 2009. There was a 39% increase in emergency admissions associated with the storm (95% confidence interval: 5, 81%), which lasted for just 1 day. The health effects of the storm could not be detected using particulate matter levels. We found no significant change in the characteristics of admissions during the storm; specifically, there was no increase in respiratory admissions. The dust storm had a short-lived impact on emergency hospital admissions. This may be because the public took effective avoidance measures, or because the dust was simply not toxic, being composed mainly of soil. Emergency departments should be prepared for a short-term increase in admissions during dust storms.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The effects of the 2009 dust storm on emergency admissions to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia

2011

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“…Dust aerosols profoundly affect climate (Haywood and Boucher, 2000;Hsu et al, 2004;Kumar et al, 2014), cloud properties (Twomey et al, 1984;Wang et al, 2010;Huang et al, 2006), visibility (Kavouras et al, 2009;Moosmüller et al, 2005), air quality (Hagen and Woodruff, 1973), atmospheric chemistry and mineralogy (Sokolik and Toon, 1999;Kandler et al, 2007), biogeochemical cycles in the ocean and over land (Jickells et al, 2005;Mahowald, 2009), human health (Bennett et al, 2006;Bennion et al, 2007;De Longueville et al, 2010;Menéndez et al, 2017), and agriculture (Fryrear, 1981;Nihlen and Lund, 1995).…”

Section: Importance Of Mineral Dustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical and chemical properties of deposited airborne particulates over the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Mineral dust is the most abundant aerosol, having a profound impact on the global energy budget. This research continues our previous studies performed on surface soils in the Arabian Peninsula, focusing on the mineralogical, physical and chemical composition of dust deposits from the atmosphere at the Arabian Red Sea coast. For this purpose, aerosols deposited from the atmosphere are collected during 2015 at six sites on the campus of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) situated on the Red Sea coastal plain of Saudi Arabia and subjected to the same chemical and mineralogical analysis we conducted on soil samples. Frisbee deposition samplers with foam inserts were used to collect dust and other deposits, for the period December 2014 to December 2015. The average deposition rate measured at KAUST for this period was 14 g m −2 per month, with lowest values in winter and increased deposition rates in August to October. The particle size distributions provide assessments of < 10 and < 2.5 µm dust deposition rates, and it is suggested that these represent proxies for PM 10 (coarse) and PM 2.5 (fine) particle size fractions in the dust deposits.X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of a subset of samples confirms variable amounts of quartz, feldspars, micas, and halite, with lesser amounts of gypsum, calcite, dolomite, hematite, and amphibole. Freeze-dried samples were resuspended onto the Teflon ® filters for elemental analysis by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), while splits from each sample were analyzed for water-soluble cations and anions by ion chromatography. The dust deposits along the Red Sea coast are considered to be a mixture of dust emissions from local soils and soils imported from distal dust sources. Airborne mineral concentrations are greatest at or close to dust sources, compared to those through medium-and long-range transport. It is not possible to identify the exact origin of deposition samples from the mineralogical and chemical results alone. These aerosol data are the first of their kind from the Red Sea region. They will help assess their potential nutrient input into the Red Sea, as well the impact on human health, industry, and solar panel efficiency. These data will also support dust modeling in this important dust belt source area by better quantifying dust mass balance and optical properties of airborne dust particles.

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“…Such large quantities of dust cause severe air pollution, reduced visibility, airport shutdowns, and increased traffic and aircraft accidents (Morales, 1979;Hagen and Woodruff, 1973;Middleton and Chaudhary, 1988;Dayan et al, 1991;Chung and Yoon, 1996). Other environmental impacts of dust include reduced soil fertility and crop damage, reduced solar radiation on the surface and as a consequence decreased efficiency of solar devices, damaged telecommunications and mechanical systems, increased occurrence of respiratory diseases, and other impacts on human health (Hagen and Woodruff, 1973;Mitchell, 1971;Fryrear, 1981;Squires, 2007;Jauregui, 1989;Liu and Ou, 1990;Chung and Yoon, 1996;Nihlen and Lund, 1995;Longstreth et al, 1995;Bennett et al, 2006;Bennion et al, 2007). Dust deposition to oceans, however, provides nutrients to ocean surface waters and the seabed (Talbot et al, 1986;Swap et al, 1996 andZhu et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of dust storms on the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Located in the dust belt, the Arabian Peninsula is a major source of atmospheric dust. Frequent dust outbreaks and some 15 to 20 dust storms per year have profound effects on all aspects of human activity and natural processes in this region. To quantify the effect of severe dust events on radiation fluxes and regional climate characteristics, we simulated the storm that occurred from 18 to 20 March 2012 using a regional weather research forecast model fully coupled with the chemistry/aerosol module (WRF-Chem). This storm swept over a remarkably large area affecting the entire Middle East, northeastern Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. It was caused by a southward propagating cold front, and the associated winds activated the dust production in river valleys of the lower Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq; the coastal areas in Kuwait, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates; the Rub al Khali, An Nafud, and Ad Dahna deserts; and along the Red Sea coast on the west side of the Arabian Peninsula. Our simulation results compare well with available ground-based and satellite observations. We estimate the total amount of dust generated by the storm to have reached 94 Mt. Approximately 78 % of this dust was deposited within the calculation domain. The Arabian Sea and Persian Gulf received 5.3 Mt and the Red Sea 1.2 Mt of dust. Dust particles bring nutrients to marine ecosystems, which is especially important for the oligotrophic Northern Red Sea. However, their contribution to the nutrient balance in the Red Sea remains largely unknown. By scaling the effect of one storm to the number of dust storms observed annually over the Red Sea, we estimate the annual dust deposition to the Red Sea, associated with major dust storms, to be 6 Mt.

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Impact of the 1998 Gobi dust event on hospital admissions in the Lower Fraser Valley, British Columbia

Cited by 61 publications

References 25 publications

The effects of the 2009 dust storm on emergency admissions to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia

The effects of the 2009 dust storm on emergency admissions to a hospital in Brisbane, Australia

Physical and chemical properties of deposited airborne particulates over the Arabian Red Sea coastal plain

The impact of dust storms on the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea

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