Assessment of environmental injustice in Korea using synthetic air quality index and multiple indicators of socioeconomic status: A cross-sectional study

Proximity to coal-fired power plants and neurobehavioral symptoms in children

BACKGROUND

Coal-fired power plants are a major source of air pollution that can impact children's health. Limited research has explored if proximity to coal-fired power plants contributes to children's neurobehavioral disorders.

OBJECTIVE

This community-based study collected primary data to investigate the relationships of residential proximity to power plants and neurobehavioral problems in children.

METHODS

235 participants aged 6-14 years who lived within 10 miles of two power plants were recruited. Exposure to particulate matter ≤10 μm (PM₁₀) was measured in children's homes using personal modular impactors. Neurobehavioral symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Multiple regression models were performed to test the hypothesized associations between proximity/exposure and neurobehavioral symptoms. Geospatial statistical methods were used to map the spatial patterns of exposure and neurobehavioral symptoms.

RESULTS

A small proportion of the variations of neurobehavioral problems (social problems, affective problems, and anxiety problems) were explained by the regression models in which distance to power plants, traffic proximity, and neighborhood poverty was statistically associated with the neurobehavioral health outcomes. Statistically significant hot spots of participants who had elevated levels of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and social problems were observed in the vicinity of the two power plants.

SIGNIFICANCE

Results of this study suggest an adverse impact of proximity to power plants on children's neurobehavioral health. Although coal-fired power plants are being phased out in the US, health concern about exposure from coal ash storage facilities remains. Furthermore, other countries in the world are increasing coal use and generating millions of tons of pollutants and coal ash. Findings from this study can inform public health policies to reduce children's risk of neurobehavioral symptoms in relation to proximity to power plants.

Association between ambient air pollution and perceived stress in pregnant women

Air pollution may influence prenatal maternal stress, but research evidence is scarce. Using data from a prospective cohort study conducted on pregnant women (n = 2153), we explored the association between air pollution and perceived stress, which was assessed using the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), among pregnant women. Average exposures to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of < 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) or < 10 µm (PM₁₀), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and ozone (O₃) for each trimester and the entire pregnancy were estimated at maternal residential addresses using land-use regression models. Linear regression models were applied to estimate associations between PSS scores and exposures to each air pollutant. After adjustment for potential confounders, interquartile-range (IQR) increases in whole pregnancy exposures to PM_2.5, PM₁₀, and O₃ in the third trimester were associated with 0.37 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.01, 0.74), 0.54 (95% CI 0.11, 0.97), and 0.30 (95% CI 0.07, 0.54) point increases in prenatal PSS scores, respectively. Furthermore, these associations were more evident in women with child-bearing age and a lower level of education. Also, the association between PSS scores and PM₁₀ was stronger in the spring. Our findings support the relationship between air pollution and prenatal maternal stress.

Systemic inequalities in indoor air pollution exposure in London, UK

Deprived communities in many cities are exposed to higher levels of outdoor air pollution, and there is increasing evidence of similar disparities for indoor air pollution exposure. There is a need to understand the drivers for this exposure disparity in order to develop effective interventions aimed at improving population health and reducing health inequities. With a focus on London, UK, this paper assembles evidence to examine why indoor exposure to PM2.5, NOx and CO may disproportionately impact low-income groups. In particular, five factors are explored, namely: housing location and ambient outdoor levels of pollution; housing characteristics, including ventilation properties and internal sources of pollution; occupant behaviours; time spent indoors; and underlying health conditions. Evidence is drawn from various sources, including building physics models, modelled outdoor air pollution levels, time-activity surveys, housing stock surveys, geographical data, and peer-reviewed research. A systems framework is then proposed to integrate these factors, highlighting how exposure to high levels of indoor air pollution in low-income homes is in large part due to factors beyond the control of occupants, and is therefore an area of systemic inequality.

POLICY RELEVANCE

There is increasing public and political awareness of the impact of air pollution on public health. Strong scientific evidence links exposure to air pollution with morbidity and mortality. Deprived communities may be more affected, however, with limited evidence on how deprivation may influence their personal exposure to air pollution, both outdoors and indoors. This paper describes different factors that may lead to low-income households being exposed to higher levels of indoor air pollution than the general population, using available data and models for London (i.e. living in areas of higher outdoor air pollution, in poor-quality housing, undertaking more pollution-generating activities indoors and spending more time indoors). A systems approach is used to show how these factors lead to systemic exposure inequalities, with low-income households having limited opportunities to improve their indoor air quality. This paper can inform actions and public policies to reduce environmental health inequalities, considering both indoor and outdoor air.

Electric vehicle-attributed environmental injustice: Pollutant transfer into regions with poor traffic accessibility

Electric vehicles (EVs) are promoted in recent years as an effective way in alleviating the air pollution caused by tailpipe emissions. However, the pollutants derived from EVs are unheeded. EVs rely on electricity to provide power, and thus their related pollution is transferred to the power plants, which gives rise to the environmental and health pressure to the adjacent regions. In this paper, the transfer of EV-attributed PM_2.5, SO₂, and NO_x inhalations in China are studied. Then by comparing the inhalations versus traffic accessibility among the impacted municipalities, this study sheds light on the environmental injustice lying in the mismatch between pollutant inhalations and traffic accessibility. The results reveal that compared with Shanghai and Shenzhen, the promotion of EVs in Beijing triggers higher pollutant inhalations to its surrounding municipalities. North China Power Grid undertakes 715.62 g PM_2.5 inhalation in total, which is 2.51 and 3.20 times higher than the East China Power Grid and the China Southern Power Grid, respectively. The number of municipalities with lower traffic accessibility while higher pollutant inhalation is 8,8, and 17 in North China Power Grid, East China Power Grid, and China Southern Power Grid respectively, indicating conspicuous environmental injustice resulted from the promotion of EVs.

Review of epidemiological studies on air pollution and health effects in children

There is a growing body of literature on the adverse health effects of ambient air pollution. Children are more adversely affected by air pollution due to their biological susceptibility and exposure patterns. This review summarized the accumulated epidemiologic evidence with emphasis on studies conducted in Korea and heterogeneity in the literature. Based on systematic reviews and meta-analyses, there is consistent evidence on the association between exposure to ambient air pollution and children's health, especially respiratory health and adverse birth outcomes, and growing evidence on neurodevelopmental outcomes. Despite these existing studies, the mechanism of the adverse health effects of air pollution and the critical window of susceptibility remain unclear. There is also a need to identify causes of heterogeneity between studies in terms of measurement of exposure/outcome, study design, and the differential characteristics of air pollutants and population.

Connecting Air Pollution Exposure to Socioeconomic Status: A Cross-Sectional Study on Environmental Injustice among Pregnant Women in Scania, Sweden

Environmental injustice, characterized by lower socioeconomic status (SES) persons being subjected to higher air pollution concentrations, was explored among pregnant women in Scania, Sweden. Understanding if the general reduction of air pollution recorded is enjoyed by all SES groups could illuminate existing inequalities and inform policy development. "Maternal Air Pollution in Southern Sweden", an epidemiological database, contains data for 48,777 pregnancies in Scanian hospital catchment areas and includes births from 1999-2009. SES predictors considered included education level, household disposable income, and birth country. A Gaussian dispersion model was used to model women's average NO_X and PM_2.5 exposure at home residence over the pregnancy period. Total concentrations were dichotomized into emission levels below/above respective Swedish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Air objectives. The data were analyzed using binary logistic regression. A sensitivity analysis facilitated the investigation of associations' variation over time. Lower-SES women born outside Sweden were disproportionately exposed to higher pollutant concentrations. Odds of exposure to NO_X above Swedish EPA objectives reduced over time, especially for low-SES persons. Environmental injustice exists in Scania, but it lessened with declining overall air pollution levels, implying that continued air quality improvement could help protect vulnerable populations and further reduce environmental inequalities.

Analysis of Spatial-Temporal Characteristics of the PM2.5 Concentrations in Weifang City, China

Air pollution, which accompanies industrial progression and urbanization, has become an urgent issue to address in contemporary society. As a result, our understanding and continued study of the spatial-temporal characteristics of a major pollutant, defined as 2.5-micron or less particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as the development of related approaches to improve the environment, has become vital. This paper studies the characteristics of yearly, quarterly, monthly, daily, and hourly PM2.5 concentrations, and discusses the influencing factors based on the hourly data of nationally controlled and provincially controlled monitoring stations, from 2012 to 2016, in Weifang City. The main conclusion of this study is that the annual PM2.5 concentrations reached a peak in 2013. With efficient aid from the government, this value has decreased annually and has high spatial characteristics in the northwest and low spatial characteristics in the southeast. Second, the seasonal and monthly PM2.5 concentrations form a U-shaped trend, meaning that the concentration is high in the summer and low in the winter. These trends are highly relevant to the factors of plantation, humidity, temperature, and precipitation. Third, within a week, higher PM2.5 concentrations appear on Mondays and Saturdays, whereas the lowest concentration occurs on Wednesdays. It can be inferred that PM2.5 concentrations tend to be highly dependent on human activities and living habits. Lastly, there are hourly discrepancies within the peaks and troughs depending on the month, and the overall daytime PM2.5 concentrations and reductive rates are higher in the daytime than in the nighttime.

Harmful impact of air pollution on severe acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: particulate matter is hazardous

Introduction

Particulate matter and air pollution in Korea are becoming worse. There is a lack of research regarding the impact of particulate matter on patients with COPD. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of various air pollution factors, including particulate matter, on the incidence rate of severe acute exacerbations of COPD (AECOPD) events.

Methods

We analyzed the relationship between air pollutants and AECOPD events that required hospitalization at Guro Hospital in Korea from January 1, 2015 to May 31, 2017. We used general linear models with Poisson distribution and log-transformation to obtain adjusted relative risk (RR). We conducted further analysis through the Comprehensive Air-quality Index (CAI) that is used in Korea.

Results

Among various other air pollutants, particulate matter was identified as a major source of air pollution in Korea. When the CAI score was over 50, the incidence rate of severe AECOPD events was statistically significantly higher [RR 1.612, 95% CI, 1.065-2.440, P=0.024]. Additionally, the particulate matter levels 3 days before hospitalization were statistically significant [RR 1.003, 95% CI, 1.001-1.005, P=0.006].

Conclusion

Particulate matter and air pollution increase the incidence rate of severe AECOPD events. COPD patients should be cautioned against outdoor activities when particulate matter levels are high.