Environmental research
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Environmental research · May 2016
No association between soil constituents and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis relative risk in Ireland.
We have recently mapped ALS spatial risk in Ireland using Bayesian and cluster analysis methods at electoral division (ED) and small area (SA) levels. As a number of metal elements (both minerals and toxins) have been proposed as risk factors for ALS, here we extend this analysis to include soil constituents from the Irish National Soils Database as Bayesian conditional auto-regression covariates to determine associations with small area ALS risk. ⋯ We report the first spatial analysis of potential association between ALS and soil minerals using a population-based dataset collected over 18 years. Our sole non-zero finding is likely a random finding due to the high number of models built. We did not find any evidence to support soil mineral and toxin levels as risk factors for ALS. However as soil parameters are an ecological assessment of exposure in a given area, individual level measures of exposure are required.
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Environmental research · May 2016
Culturability of Bacillus spores on aerosol collection filters exposed to airborne combustion products of Al, Mg, and B·Ti.
Destruction of bioweapon facilities due to explosion or fire could aerosolize highly pathogenic microorganisms. The post-event air quality assessment is conducted through air sampling. A bioaerosol sample (often collected on a filter for further culture-based analysis) also contains combustion products, which may influence the microbial culturability and, thus, impact the outcome. ⋯ No effect was observed with either of the two species interacting on either filter media with products originated by combustion of Mg and B·Ti. Sample contamination, spore agglomeration, effect of a filter material on the spore survival, changes in the spore wall ultrastructure and germination, as well as other factors were explored to interpret the findings. The study raises a question about the reliability of certain filter materials for collecting airborne bio-threat agents in combustion environments.
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Environmental research · May 2016
The role of diet in children's exposure to organophosphate pesticides.
Studies suggest that some of the greatest exposure to OPs in children occurs in agricultural communities and various pathways of exposure including the take-home pathway, proximity to orchards, and diet have been explored. However, the importance of the dietary pathway of exposure for children in agricultural communities is not well understood. ⋯ Our study shows the importance of considering season and parents' occupation in understanding OP exposure routes among children in an agricultural community. The impact of these factors on dietary OP exposure requires a more thorough analysis of the availability and consumption of produce from different sources including farms using pesticides where parents worked.
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Environmental research · May 2016
Air pollution, health and social deprivation: A fine-scale risk assessment.
Risk assessment studies often ignore within-city variations of air pollutants. Our objective was to quantify the risk associated with fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure in 2 urban areas using fine-scale air pollution modeling and to characterize how this risk varied according to social deprivation. In Grenoble and Lyon areas (0.4 and 1.2 million inhabitants, respectively) in 2012, PM2.5 exposure was estimated on a 10×10m grid by coupling a dispersion model to population density. ⋯ Risk was lower by 8 to 20% when estimating exposure through background stations. Risk was highest in neighborhoods with intermediate to higher social deprivation. Risk assessment studies relying on background stations to estimate air pollution levels may underestimate the attributable risk.