Hospitalization Patterns Associated with Appalachian Coal Mining

Abstract

The goal of this study was to test whether the volume of coal mining was related to population hospitalization risk for diseases postulated to be sensitive or insensitive to coal mining by-products. The study was a retrospective analysis of 2001 adult hospitalization data (n = 93,952) for West Virginia, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania, merged with county-level coal production figures. Hospitalization data were obtained from the Health Care Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. Diagnoses postulated to be sensitive to coal mining by-product exposure were contrasted with diagnoses postulated to be insensitive to exposure. Data were analyzed using hierarchical nonlinear models, controlling for patient age, gender, insurance, comorbidities, hospital teaching status, county poverty, and county social capital. Controlling for covariates, the volume of coal mining was significantly related to hospitalization risk for two conditions postulated to be sensitive to exposure: hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The odds for a COPD hospitalization increased 1% for each 1462 tons of coal, and the odds for a hypertension hospitalization increased 1% for each 1873 tons of coal. Other conditions were not related to mining volume. Exposure to particulates or other pollutants generated by coal mining activities may be linked to increased risk of COPD and hypertension hospitalizations. Limitations in the data likely result in an underestimate of associations.

Ecological Integrity of Streams Related to Human Cancer Mortality Rates

“…These elevated rates are partly the result of the persistent socioeconomic disadvantages that characterize coal mining areas, but even after statistical adjustment for education, poverty, smoking rates, physician supply, and other risks, some forms of cancer mortality remain elevated . Moreover, elevated rates of heart, lung, and kidney disease are associated with coal mining in Appalachia, after controlling for other risk variables (Hendryx et al, 2007;Hendryx and Ahern, 2008;Hendryx, 2009). We reasoned that if environmental contamination from coal mining was a contributing factor for human disease, ecological integrity should be negatively related to cancer and coal mining.…”

The Health Costs of Revised Coal Mining Limits in Northern Bohemia

“…Even primary costing studies rely in some stages on a benefit transfer (e.g., in a valuation of impacts), but benefit-transfer studies commonly use benefit-transfer to skip some of the steps in the damage function approach (e.g., by using average values like euro or dollar per tonne of emission estimates from previous studies). Another example of a shortcut in the damage function approach can be illustrated by the stream of research on the health impacts of one open cast mining method-mountaintop removal (MTR)-in the Appalachian Mountains in the USA, showing that living near active MTR operations is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular, cardiopulmonary, lung, kidney and chronic respiratory diseases [12][13][14], mortality risks from lung, colorectal and bladder cancer and leukaemia [15,16], as well elevated risks of birth defects [17]. In a similar vein, the association between distance from mining activity and mortality from neoplasms was also observed in a study by Fernández-Navarro [18] and colleagues in Spain.…”

Environmentally-related health impacts of coal seam gas development: An impact assessment approach in Queensland, Australia

“…Most coal miners are men, so mortality rates were analysed separately for males and females to test the hypothesis that results were not attributable to occupational exposures, which was supported by the results (Hendryx, 2009). Likewise, the volume of coal mining was found to be significantly related to hospitalisation risk for hypertension and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which could be linked to exposure to particulates or other pollutants resulting from coal mining operations (Hendryx et al, 2007). …”

“…The majority of studies included in the review were in the exposure-related proxies category or in the typical environmental exposure media category (shown in Table 2.7). a Any one study could cover multiple topics; therefore, the total number of studies will not add up to the number of studies shown in Table 2.4.While studies related to occupational health have been conducted in the context of coal mining, there is also evidence that coal mining can affect the health of community residents living near these operations (Hendryx, 2009;Hendryx et al, 2007;Pless-Mulloli et al, 2000). Although the research on A variety of environmental factors associated with coal mining have environmentally-related health impact potential, with residents possibly being exposed via air, soil, and water (Kurth, Kolker, et al, 2014).…”

“…It is possible that a need for studies assessing exposure was previously identified due to more pronounced environmental exposures in coal mining areas. It is known that coal miners are exposed to a variety of toxic materials and agents, including asbestos, coal dust, diesel particulate matter, silica dust, noise, and solvents (Scott, Grayson, & Metz, 2004) and, while residents living near coal mining sites may be exposed to these toxins in less concentrated forms, larger populations of individuals are exposed (Hendryx et al, 2007). It has also been noted that Australia's mining boom has been a result of increasing demand for fossil fuels, particularly from China (Colagiuri & Morrice, 2015), and such demand might exacerbate the adverse health effects of coal mining-related activities such as those related to occupational hazards, as well those associated with residential exposures .…”