Using human epidemiological analyses to support the assessment of the impacts of coal mining on health
-
Javier Cortes-Ramirez
,
Peter D. Sly
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.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank the University of Queensland and Colciencias for supporting this study.
Research funding: None declared.
Conflict of interest: None declared.
Informed consent: Informed consent is not applicable.
Ethical approval: The conducted research is not related to either human or animal use.
References
1. UNEP. Healthy Environment, Healthy People. Nairobi: United Nations Environment Programme, 23–27 May 2016.10.1093/yiel/yvx069Search in Google Scholar
2. Shapiro S. Analysis and public policy: successes, failures and directions for reform. Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing, Incorporated; 2016.10.4337/9781784714765Search in Google Scholar
3. International Energy Agency. World Energy Balances: Overview (2018 edition), 2018. Available at: https://webstoreieaorg/world-energy-balances-2018.Search in Google Scholar
4. Patil RR. Environmental health impact assessment of National Aluminum Company, Orissa. Indian J Occup Environ Med 2011;15(2):73–5.10.4103/0019-5278.90378Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
5. Hendryx M. The public health impacts of surface coal mining. Extr Ind Soc 2015;2(4):820–6.10.1016/j.exis.2015.08.006Search in Google Scholar
6. Nikolaidis C, Orfanidis M, Hauri D, Mylonas S, Constantinidis T. Public health risk assessment associated with heavy metal and arsenic exposure near an abandoned mine (Kirki, Greece). Int J Environ Health Res 2013;23(6):507–19.10.1080/09603123.2013.769202Search in Google Scholar PubMed
7. Zheng L, Tang Q, Fan J, Huang X, Jiang C, Cheng H. Distribution and health risk assessment of mercury in urban street dust from coal energy dominant Huainan City, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2015;22(12):9316–22.10.1007/s11356-015-4089-3Search in Google Scholar PubMed
8. Stocks P. On the death rates from cancer of the stomach and respiratory diseases in 1949–53 among coal miners and other male residents in counties of England and Wales. Br J Cancer 1962;16(4):592–8.10.1038/bjc.1962.69Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
9. Gulati M, Teng A. Small airways disease related to occupational exposures. Clin Pulm Med 2015;22(3):133–40.10.1097/CPM.0000000000000094Search in Google Scholar
10. Jenkins WD, Christian WJ, Mueller G, Robbins KT. Population cancer risks associated with coal mining: a systematic review. PLoS One 2013;8(8):e71312.10.1371/journal.pone.0071312Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
11. Cortes-Ramirez J, Naish S, Sly PD, Jagals P. Mortality and morbidity in populations in the vicinity of coal mining: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 2018;18(1):721.10.1186/s12889-018-5505-7Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
12. Mueller GS, Clayton AL, Zahnd WE, Hollenbeck KM, Barrow ME, Jenkins WD, et al. Geospatial analysis of cancer risk and residential proximity to coal mines in Illinois. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2015;120:155–62.10.1016/j.ecoenv.2015.05.037Search in Google Scholar PubMed
13. Briggs DJ. A framework for integrated environmental health impact assessment of systemic risks. Environ Health 2008;7:61.10.1186/1476-069X-7-61Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
14. Harris P, Viliani F, Spickett J. Assessing health impacts within environmental impact assessments: an opportunity for public health globally which must not remain missed. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2015;12(1):1044–9.10.3390/ijerph120101044Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
15. Gilmore MS. The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. Idaho L Rev 1973;10:77.Search in Google Scholar
16. Morgan RK. Health and impact assessment: are we seeing closer integration? Environ Impact Assess Rev 2011;31(4):404–11.10.1016/j.eiar.2010.03.009Search in Google Scholar
17. Bhatia R, Wernham A. Integrating human health into environmental impact assessment: an unrealized opportunity for environmental health and justice. Environ Health Perspect 2008;116(8):991–1000.10.1289/ehp.11132Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
18. Mancini L, Sala S. Social impact assessment in the mining sector: review and comparison of indicators frameworks. Resour Policy 2018;57:98–111.10.1016/j.resourpol.2018.02.002Search in Google Scholar
19. Fehr R. Environmental health impact assessment: evaluation of a ten-step model. Epidemiology 1999;10(5):618–25.10.1097/00001648-199909000-00031Search in Google Scholar
20. McClellan RO. Human health risk assessment: a historical overview and alternative paths forward. Inhal Toxicol 1999;11(6–7):477–518.10.1080/089583799196880Search in Google Scholar PubMed
21. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman DG, The PG. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. PLoS Med 2009;6(7):e1000097.10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
22. Werner AK, Vink S, Watt K, Jagals P. Environmental health impacts of unconventional natural gas development: a review of the current strength of evidence. Sci Total Environ 2015;505:1127–41.10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.084Search in Google Scholar PubMed
23. Ishtiaq M, Jehan N, Khan SA, Muhammad S, Saddique U, Iftikhar B, et al. Potential harmful elements in coal dust and human health risk assessment near the mining areas in Cherat, Pakistan. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2018;25(15):14666–73.10.1007/s11356-018-1655-5Search in Google Scholar
24. Huang HF, Xing XL, Zhang ZZ, Qi SH, Yang D, Yuen DA, et al. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in multimedia environment of Heshan coal district, Guangxi: distribution, source diagnosis and health risk assessment. Environ Geochem Health 2016;38(5):1169–81.10.1007/s10653-015-9781-1Search in Google Scholar
25. Hendryx M. Mortality from heart, respiratory, and kidney disease in coal mining areas of Appalachia. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 2009;82(2):243–9.10.1007/s00420-008-0328-ySearch in Google Scholar
26. Lyubomirova K, Ratcheva Z, Prodanova Y. Health risk assessment of coal miners in Bulgaria. Arch Balk Med Union 2013;48(2):211–4.10.1016/j.toxlet.2012.03.450Search in Google Scholar
27. Lockie S, Franettovich M, Petkova-Timmer V, Rolfe J, Ivanova G. Coal mining and the resource community cycle: a longitudinal assessment of the social impacts of the Coppabella coal mine. Environ Impact Assess Rev 2009;29(5):330–9.10.1016/j.eiar.2009.01.008Search in Google Scholar
28. Hossain D, Gorman D, Chapelle B, Mann W, Saal R, Penton G. Impact of the mining industry on the mental health of landholders and rural communities in southwest Queensland. Australas Psychiatry 2013;21(1):32–7.10.1177/1039856212460287Search in Google Scholar
29. Elliott E, Williams G. Developing public sociology through health impact assessment. Sociol Health Illn 2008;30(7):1101–16.10.1111/j.1467-9566.2008.01103.xSearch in Google Scholar
30. Esteves AM, Factor G, Vanclay F, Götzmann N, Moreira S. Adapting social impact assessment to address a project’s human rights impacts and risks. Environ Impact Assess Rev 2017;67:73–87.10.1016/j.eiar.2017.07.001Search in Google Scholar
31. Martin JE. Environmental health impact assessment: methods and sources. Environ Impact Assess Rev 1986;6(1):7–48.10.1016/0195-9255(86)90038-7Search in Google Scholar
32. Macintosh A, Waugh L. Compensatory mitigation and screening rules in environmental impact assessment. Environ Impact Assess Rev 2014;49:1–12.10.1016/j.eiar.2014.06.002Search in Google Scholar
33. Finkelman RB, Gross PMK. The types of data needed for assessing the environmental and human health impacts of coal. Int J Coal Geol 1999;40(2–3):91–101.10.1016/S0166-5162(98)00061-5Search in Google Scholar
34. Nowacki J, Martuzzi M. Capacity Building in Environment and Health (CBEH) Project. Using impact assessment in environment and health: a framework. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe; 2013.Search in Google Scholar
35. Morris SC, Novak EW. Environmental-health impact assessment. J Environ Eng Div ASCE 1976;102(3):549–54.10.1061/JEEGAV.0000494Search in Google Scholar
36. Ashbolt NJ, Amezquita A, Backhaus T, Borriello P, Brandt KK, Collignon P, et al. Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) for environmental development and transfer of antibiotic resistance. Environ Health Perspect 2013;121(9):993–1001.10.1289/ehp.1206316Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
37. Pascaud G, Leveque T, Soubrand M, Boussen S, Joussein E, Dumat C. Environmental and health risk assessment of Pb, Zn, As and Sb in soccer field soils and sediments from mine tailings: solid speciation and bioaccessibility. Environ Sci Pollut Res 2014;21(6):4254–64.10.1007/s11356-013-2297-2Search in Google Scholar PubMed
38. National Environment Protection Council. (April 11). National Environment Protection (Assessment of Site Contamination) Measure. Available at: http://wwwnepcgovau/nepms/assessment-site-contamination; 2013.Search in Google Scholar
39. EPA EIS Database (2018, 16 August). Alton Coal Tract Lease by Application, 2018. Available at: https://cdxnodengnepagov/cdx-enepa-II/public/action/eis/details?eisId=253488.Search in Google Scholar
40. Queensland Government (18 August). Environmental impact statement. Carmichael Coal Mine and Rail Project, 2015. Available at: http://statedevelopmentqldgovau/assessments-and-approvals/carmichael-coal-environmental-impact-statementhtml.Search in Google Scholar
41. Veerman JL, Barendregt JJ, Mackenbach JP. Quantitative health impact assessment: current practice and future directions. J Epidemiol Community Health 2005;59(5):361–70.10.1136/jech.2004.026039Search in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
42. Schram-Bijkerk D, van Kempen E, Knol AB, Kruize H, Staatsen B, van Kamp I. Quantitative health impact assessment of transport policies: two simulations related to speed limit reduction and traffic re-allocation in the Netherlands. Occup Environ Med 2009;66(10):691–8.10.1136/oem.2008.041046Search in Google Scholar PubMed
43. Liao Y, Wang J, Wu J, Driskell L, Wang W, Zhang T, et al. Spatial analysis of neural tube defects in a rural coal mining area. Int J Environ Health Res 2010;20(6):439–50.10.1080/09603123.2010.491854Search in Google Scholar PubMed
44. Hendryx M, Ahern MM, Nurkiewicz TR. Hospitalization patterns associated with Appalachian coal mining. J Toxicol Environ Health A 2007;70(24):2064–70.10.1080/15287390701601236Search in Google Scholar PubMed
45. Liu AY, Curriero FC, Glass TA, Stewart WF, Schwartz BS. The contextual influence of coal abandoned mine lands in communities and type 2 diabetes in Pennsylvania. Health Place 2013;22:115–22.10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.03.012Search in Google Scholar PubMed
46. Brink LL, Talbott EO, Stacy S, Marshall LP, Sharma RK, Buchanich J. The association of respiratory hospitalization rates in WV counties, total, underground, and surface coal production and sociodemographic covariates. J Occup Environ Med 2014;56(11):1179–88.10.1097/JOM.0000000000000246Search in Google Scholar PubMed
47. Haigh F, Harris P, Haigh N. Health impact assessment research and practice: a place for paradigm positioning? Environ Impact Assess Rev 2012;33(1):66–72.10.1016/j.eiar.2011.10.006Search in Google Scholar
48. Mindell J, Biddulph J, Taylor L, Lock K, Boaz A, Joffe M, et al. Improving the use of evidence in health impact assessment. Bull World Health Organ 2010;88(7):543–50.10.2471/BLT.09.068510Search in Google Scholar
49. Kemm J. Health impact assessment past achievement, current understanding, and future progress. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2013.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656011.001.0001Search in Google Scholar
50. Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Database, June 9, 2018. Available at: https://cdxnodengnepagov/cdx-enepa-public/action/eis/search.Search in Google Scholar
51. Queensland Government (June 18). Completed mining EIS processes, 2018. Available at: https://wwwehpqldgovau/management/impact-assessment/eis-processes/concludedhtml.Search in Google Scholar
52. Lhachimi SK, Nusselder WJ, Boshuizen HC, Mackenbach JP. Standard tool for quantification in health impact assessment a review. Am J Prev Med 2010;38(1):78–84.10.1016/j.amepre.2009.08.030Search in Google Scholar
53. Mesa-Frias M, Chalabi Z, Foss AM. Quantifying uncertainty in health impact assessment: a case-study example on indoor housing ventilation. Environ Int 2014;62:95–103.10.1016/j.envint.2013.10.007Search in Google Scholar
54. Lau C, Jagals P. A framework for assessing and predicting the environmental health impact of infectious diseases: a case study of leptospirosis. Rev Environ Health 2012;27(4):163–74.10.1515/reveh-2012-0023Search in Google Scholar
55. Mahboubi P, Parkes MW, Chan HM. Challenges and opportunities of integrating human health into the environmental assessment process: the Canadian experience contextualised to international efforts. J Environ Assess Policy Manag 2015;17(04):1–12.10.1142/S1464333215500349Search in Google Scholar
56. Steinemann A. Rethinking human health impact assessment. Environ Impact Assess Rev 2000;20(6):627–45.10.1016/S0195-9255(00)00068-8Search in Google Scholar
57. Kang SY, Cramb S, White N, Ball SJ, Mengersen K. Making the most of spatial information in health: a tutorial in Bayesian disease mapping for areal data. Geospat Health 2016;11(2):190–8.10.4081/gh.2016.428Search in Google Scholar PubMed
©2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Reviews
- Epigenetic modifications associated with in utero exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals BPA, DDT and Pb
- Cadmium toxicity: effects on human reproduction and fertility
- An overview on role of some trace elements in human reproductive health, sperm function and fertilization process
- Distract, delay, disrupt: examples of manufactured doubt from five industries
- A review of the application of sonophotocatalytic process based on advanced oxidation process for degrading organic dye
- The effect of occupational exposure to petrol on pulmonary function parameters: a review and meta-analysis
- Using human epidemiological analyses to support the assessment of the impacts of coal mining on health
- Arsenic exposure with reference to neurological impairment: an overview
- Current management of household hazardous waste (HHW) in the Asian region
- Integrating DMAIC approach of Lean Six Sigma and theory of constraints toward quality improvement in healthcare
- Mini Reviews
- Assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene in HCFs: which tool to follow?
- Can your work affect your kidney’s health?
- A review on characteristics of food waste and their use in butanol production
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Reviews
- Epigenetic modifications associated with in utero exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals BPA, DDT and Pb
- Cadmium toxicity: effects on human reproduction and fertility
- An overview on role of some trace elements in human reproductive health, sperm function and fertilization process
- Distract, delay, disrupt: examples of manufactured doubt from five industries
- A review of the application of sonophotocatalytic process based on advanced oxidation process for degrading organic dye
- The effect of occupational exposure to petrol on pulmonary function parameters: a review and meta-analysis
- Using human epidemiological analyses to support the assessment of the impacts of coal mining on health
- Arsenic exposure with reference to neurological impairment: an overview
- Current management of household hazardous waste (HHW) in the Asian region
- Integrating DMAIC approach of Lean Six Sigma and theory of constraints toward quality improvement in healthcare
- Mini Reviews
- Assessment of water, sanitation and hygiene in HCFs: which tool to follow?
- Can your work affect your kidney’s health?
- A review on characteristics of food waste and their use in butanol production
