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Coal mine fires and human health: What do we know?
Citation
Melody, SM and Johnston, FH, Coal mine fires and human health: What do we know?, International Journal of Coal Geology, 152, (Part B) pp. 1-14. ISSN 0166-5162 (2015) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 Crown Copyright Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
DOI: doi:10.1016/j.coal.2015.11.001
Abstract
Coal mine fires are insidious, persistent, and as widespread as the occurrence of coal itself, yet their potential
adverse human health impacts have been poorly characterised. We aimed to summarise the existing literature
regarding the health harms associated with coal mine fires and other relevant environmental exposures. We
searched the literature for studies of coal mine fires, their emissions, and any aspect of human health. In the absence
of health evidence specific tocoalmine fires,we included studies of domestic coal combustion and outdoor
air pollution fromforest fire smoke, forwhichemission profiles are broadly similar. Coalmine fires cause physical
hazards and poor air quality. Proximity to the source of pollution and smouldering combustion typical of coal
mine fires increase the risk of community exposure to high concentrations of known toxins such as aerosolised
particles, and products of incomplete combustion. Coal mine fire smoke is likely to have short-term adverse
respiratory impacts. Adverse cardiovascular outcomes and increased mortality are also plausible depending
upon the magnitude of exposure and the number of people affected. There is insufficient evidence to determine
the likelihood of other health outcomes. There are major gaps in the available evidence for health outcomes associated
with exposure to poor air quality for time periods of weeks to months. The incomplete evidence base
hampers actions to mitigate harms in a timely, scientifically-informed manner. The need to further understand
the health impacts of coal mine fires is pressing, particularly as they disproportionately affect vulnerable and disadvantaged
communities and are likely to becomemore frequent and severe as a consequence of climate change.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | coal mine fire, smoke, air pollution, health |
Research Division: | Health Sciences |
Research Group: | Epidemiology |
Research Field: | Environmental epidemiology |
Objective Division: | Health |
Objective Group: | Public health (excl. specific population health) |
Objective Field: | Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Melody, SM (Dr Shannon Melody) |
UTAS Author: | Johnston, FH (Professor Fay Johnston) |
ID Code: | 106504 |
Year Published: | 2015 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 73 |
Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
Deposited On: | 2016-02-12 |
Last Modified: | 2017-11-05 |
Downloads: | 169 View Download Statistics |
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