Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Department of Biomedical Informatics and Center for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2023 May;33(3):434-438. doi: 10.1038/s41370-022-00500-2. Epub 2022 Nov 17.
A child's ability to succeed in social interactions and in a school setting are important for their development and growth. Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with poorer school performance and fewer social interaction in children. Fly ash, a waste product generated when burning coal for energy, is comprised of small glass spheres with neurotoxic heavy metal(loid)s found to be risk factors for learning and social problems in school.
The purpose of this novel study was to assess the association of fly ash in children's homes with school and social competency.
We recruited children aged 6-14 years old from communities located within 10 miles of two coal-burning power plants. In homes of the participants, fly ash was collected on polycarbonate filters using personal modular impactors. We measured school competency and social competency using the validated Child Behavioral Checklist. Using Tobit and linear regression we investigated the relationship of indoor fly ash with school and social competency.
Forty-three percent of children in the study had fly ash in their homes. In covariate-adjusted Tobit models, children with fly ash in their homes scored on average 2.63 (95% CI: -4.98, -0.28) points lower on the school competency scale than peers without ash in their homes. We did not observe that fly ash in homes was related with lower social competency.
Results from this study suggest that children with fly ash in their homes had poorer performance in the school setting, compared to peers without fly ash in their homes. In the US, coal-fired power plants are being closed, however health concerns about pollution from coal ash storage facilities remains. Findings from this study can provide impetus for creating of public health policy and to highlight the need future research on children's exposure to fly ash.
Children's growth and development are impacted by their social interactions and ability to perform in school settings. Environmental pollutants may impact these essential elements of development. Millions of children are exposed to fly ash which is a waste product generated from burning coal. Fly ash, an environmental health threat throughout the world, is comprised of small glass spheres with trace concentrations of neurotoxic metal(loid)s. Findings from this research show that children with fly ash in their homes are significantly more likely to have poorer school performance than children without fly ash in their homes.
儿童在社交互动和学校环境中取得成功的能力对他们的发展和成长至关重要。接触环境污染物与儿童学习成绩下降和社交互动减少有关。飞灰是燃烧煤炭发电产生的一种废物，由含有神经毒性重金属(类)的小玻璃球组成，这些重金属(类)被认为是儿童在学校出现学习和社交问题的风险因素。
本研究旨在评估儿童家中的飞灰与学校和社交能力的关系。
我们招募了距离两座燃煤电厂 10 英里范围内社区的 6-14 岁儿童。在参与者的家中，使用个人模块化撞击器，将飞灰收集在聚碳酸酯滤纸上。我们使用经过验证的儿童行为检查表来衡量学校和社交能力。我们使用 Tobit 和线性回归来研究室内飞灰与学校和社交能力的关系。
研究中有 43%的儿童家中有飞灰。在经过协变量调整的 Tobit 模型中，家中有飞灰的儿童在学校能力量表上的平均得分比家中没有飞灰的同龄人低 2.63 分(95%CI：-4.98，-0.28)。我们没有发现家中的飞灰与较低的社交能力有关。
本研究结果表明，与家中没有飞灰的同龄人相比，家中有飞灰的儿童在学校表现更差。在美国，燃煤电厂正在关闭，但人们对煤灰储存设施造成的污染仍存在健康担忧。本研究的结果可以为制定公共卫生政策提供动力，并强调未来需要研究儿童接触飞灰的问题。
儿童的成长和发展受到他们的社交互动和在学校环境中表现的能力的影响。环境污染物可能会影响这些发展的基本要素。数以百万计的儿童暴露在飞灰中，飞灰是燃烧煤炭产生的一种废物。飞灰是一种遍布全球的环境健康威胁，由含有痕量神经毒性金属(类)的小玻璃球组成。本研究结果表明，家中有飞灰的儿童在学校的表现明显比家中没有飞灰的儿童差。
