Using human epidemiological analyses to support the assessment of the impacts of coal mining on health

Abstract

The potential impacts of coal mining on health have been addressed by the application of impact assessment methodologies that use the results of qualitative and quantitative analyses to support their conclusions and recommendations. Although human epidemiological analyses can provide the most relevant measures of risk of health outcomes in populations exposed to coal mining by-products, this kind of studies are seldom implemented as part of the impact assessment methods. To review the use of human epidemiological analyses in the methods used to assess the impacts of coal mining, a systematic search in the peer review literature was implemented following the PRISMA protocol. A synthesis analysis identified the methods and the measures used in the selected publications to develop a thematic review and discussion. The major methodological approaches to assess the impacts of coal mining are environmental impact assessment (EIA), health impact assessment (HIA), social impact assessment (SIA) and environmental health impact assessment (EHIA). The measures used to assess the impacts of coal mining on health were classified as the estimates from non-human-based studies such as health risk assessment (HRA) and the measures of risk from human epidemiological analyses. The inclusion of human epidemiological estimates of the populations exposed, especially the general populations in the vicinity of the mining activities, is seldom found in impact assessment applications for coal mining. These methods rather incorporate HRA measures or other sources of evidence such as qualitative analyses and surveys. The implementation of impact assessment methods without estimates of the risk of health outcomes relevant to the potentially exposed populations affects their reliability to address the environmental and health impacts of coal mining. This is particularly important for EIA applications because these are incorporated in regulatory frameworks globally. The effective characterization of the impacts of coal mining on health requires quantitative estimates of the risk, including the risk measures from epidemiological analyses of relevant human health data.

Mapping the Morbidity Risk Associated with Coal Mining in Queensland, Australia

“…An important characteristic of the Bayesian spatial models used in this study is the identification of the risk variability between LGAs. This can support the design and implementation of public health strategies to protect exposed populations and to improve the characterisation of health impacts required for the coal mining industry sector [58,59]. However, analyses in smaller geographical areas would be required to increase the spatial resolution of the estimates to identify specific communities at risk.…”

Facilitators, Barriers and Views on the Role of Public Health Institutes in Promoting and Using Health Impact Assessment—An International Virtual Scoping Survey and Expert Interviews

“…It could also highlight the issue of methods of collecting evidence, confidence in them and the acceptability and accuracy of the evidence and data. For some PHIs responding to or supporting consultations and decision-making processes, EIAs and other IAs may be viewed as being more robust, valid and acceptable by containing more technical health data and epidemiological evidence, compared to more qualitative or mixed-method HIA processes [ 33 , 34 , 35 ]. Therefore, the perspective, context and remit of the PHI are very important to HIA practice and setting strategic direction for the process.…”

“…HIAs as an impact assessment can also learn from the evolution and development of other impact assessment processes [ 39 ]. Practitioners can also learn from different perspectives that decision makers and legal processes apply about evidence in IAs, for example in EIAs, which include more health quantification data and epidemiological exposure and estimate studies which can increase the validity of the findings and provide more confidence in them [ 33 , 34 ].…”

Assessing the Visualization-Based Decision Support System for Environmental Impact Assessments

“…Data visualization can also be important when conveying information about health impacts. For example, it has been found that how an impact assessment on the environmental and health impacts of coal mining is implemented and presented affects the outcomes of the project [11].…”