Environmental/Occupational News

Both physicians and patients showed openness to considering environmental factors when discussing treatment options, a qualitative study published in Nature Climate Change showed.

The risk for respiratory-related ED visits in New York was greater on days with both thunderstorms and power outages vs. days with only one of these events, according to results published in Environmental Health Perspectives.

In British Columbia, a rebate of $100 for an air filter that lowers indoor smoke concentrations was deemed cost effective in multiple regions, according to results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Having been exposed to benzene during work heightened the odds for lung cancer development, according to results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with increased risk for children developing cerebral palsy, according to cohort study results published in JAMA Network Open.

Individuals exposed to nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter less than 10 µm as a child faced elevated odds for bronchitic symptoms as an adult, according to results published in American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Exposure to pollution from passing coal trains led to an increase in the estimated number of deaths, hospitalizations and asthma cases in a San Francisco Bay Area region, according to results published in Environmental Research.

Under a recently finalized rule, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration set a 50 g/m3 full-shift exposure limit on respirable crystalline silica for miners, according to a press release.

Following military deployment, veterans who served in Southwest Asia and Afghanistan had poorer lung function if they experienced more intense inhalation exposures, according to results published in Respiratory Medicine.