RISK PATHWAY APPROACH TO EVALUATING HEALTH EFFECTS FROM COAL MINING IN APPALACHIA: EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL EXPOSURE PATHWAYS

Recently there has been increased concerned about the health of Appalachian communities in the vicinity of coal mining operations. An important consideration in community health is the physical health of its residents. Several studies have reported that coal mining communities have a higher incidence of disease and/or mortality than non-coal mining communities While these studies may provide some initial observations for hazard identification by identifying potential adverse health effects, there is little or no information identifying toxic agents or evaluation of relevant exposure pathways that could possibly be causing these health effects.

For constituents in soil/dust, the primary routs of human exposure are ingestion and inhalation. The overall objective is to determine if coal mining activities possibly contribute to increased exposure to causative agents including As, Cd, Pb and other contaminants in soil. Study samples are from West Virginia valley fill material removed in the process of coal mining. The results of the WV valley fill indicate that there is no elevation of toxic agents. Further, this outcome provides evidence that oral ingestion is not a major pathway of concern. The size fractions applicable to oral ingestion (100µm to250µm) do not persist suspended in air for long periods and as a result are not likely to be transported significant distances. Further, particles in the 100µm to250µm that do get transported will settle out of the air quickly and secondary exposure to toxic agents via incidental ingestion of soil adhered to hands will not be elevated due to non-enrichment of toxic elements. As a result, the size fractions that are most likely to be transportable from the coal mining site and of most concern for inhalation exposure to surrounding communities is in the respirable range (< PM₁₀).