Institute of Community and Public Health, Birzeit University, Birzeit P.O. Box 14, Palestine.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Aug 20;17(17):6068. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17176068.
Environmental exposure to dust from quarrying activities could pose health dangers to the population living nearby. This study aimed to investigate the health effects of dust exposure on people living close to quarry sites and compared them with those who live far from the quarry sites. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 79 exposed participants, who lived less than 500 m away from the quarry sites, and 79 control participants who lived more than 500 m away. All participants answered a questionnaire on dust exposure at home and health effects, as well as performed a lung function test in which both reported and measured health effects were investigated. People who live in close proximity to the quarry sites reported exposure to dust at home (98%), land destruction (85%), plant leaves covered with dust (97%), and an inability to grow crops (92%). The exposed group reported significantly higher eye and nasal allergy (22% vs. 3%), eye soreness (18% vs. 1%), and dryness (17% vs. 3%), chest tightness (9% vs. 1%), and chronic cough (11% vs. 0%) compared to the control group. Lung function parameters were significantly lower among the exposed group compared to the control group; mean forced vital capacity (FVC) was 3.35 L vs. 3.71 L ( = 0.001), mean forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV) was 2.78 L vs. 3.17 L ( = 0.001). Higher levels of airway restriction were found among the exposed group. Among the exposed group, lung function parameters worsened with the increasing closeness of home to the quarry site. This study demonstrates the negative health effects of environmental dust exposure among two communities living near quarry sites in Palestine. The results highlight the importance of developing and strictly enforcing rules and regulations in Palestine to protect population health.
采石活动产生的粉尘会对居住在附近的居民造成健康威胁。本研究旨在调查居住在采石场附近的人群暴露于粉尘的健康影响，并将其与居住在远离采石场的人群进行比较。在距离采石场不到 500 米的 79 名暴露组参与者和居住在 500 米以外的 79 名对照组参与者中进行了一项横断面比较研究。所有参与者都回答了一份关于家中粉尘暴露和健康影响的问卷，并进行了肺功能测试，调查了自述和实测的健康影响。居住在采石场附近的人报告说家中有粉尘暴露（98%）、土地破坏（85%）、植物叶子上覆盖着灰尘（97%）以及无法种植庄稼（92%）。暴露组报告的眼部和鼻部过敏（22%比 3%）、眼睛疼痛（18%比 1%）和眼睛干燥（17%比 3%）、胸闷（9%比 1%）和慢性咳嗽（11%比 0%）显著高于对照组。与对照组相比，暴露组的肺功能参数显著较低；平均用力肺活量（FVC）为 3.35 L 比 3.71 L（ = 0.001），平均第一秒用力呼气量（FEV）为 2.78 L 比 3.17 L（ = 0.001）。暴露组的气道限制程度更高。在暴露组中，随着家中与采石场的距离越来越近，肺功能参数也越来越差。本研究表明，在巴勒斯坦两个居住在采石场附近的社区中，环境粉尘暴露对健康有负面影响。研究结果强调了在巴勒斯坦制定和严格执行规则和法规以保护人口健康的重要性。
