US researchers warn of the dangers of toxic dust

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http://www.edie.net/news/Archive/4283.cfm

June 1, 2001

US researchers warn of the dangers of toxic dust

Dust blown up from agricultural and industrial sites could be a major health

hazard warn Arizona scientists, who have drawn up maps showing health risk

areas.

Researchers from Arizona State University are advising that chronic

inhalation of fine dirt that settles into homes in the Phoenix area could

lead to an increased risk of cancer or heavy metal poisoning, and have

developed a new series of maps from satellite images in order to identify

areas where health risks are likely.

Agriculture and industry can cause the danger from toxic dust by introducing

the substances into the soil, says Stefanov, a geologist on the

team. " Pesticides and herbicides can be applied for years in some areas, and

that material doesn't just disappear in the soil. It has a very long

residence time. " The toxins adhere to soil particles and are carried on the

wind along with the dust, and if the dust is inhaled by people of animals,

so are the toxins. " The biggest problem comes when there's a large-scale

disruption of the surface, like a construction project, " said Stefanov.

" When the soil has been broken up, the fine material, where a lot of these

pesticides and heavy metals might be, is free to be picked up by the wind. "

Frequent watering of the ground surface during construction would help to

minimise the transport of this dust, the research team advises.

" Dust has been known as a health hazard for at least 20 years, " said

Stefanov. " In the [the area], there's certainly a potential health risk. "

The damaging health effects of breathing dust depend on the amount of

exposure, he explained. " If you drive through a dust cloud and breathe some

dust, it's probably not going to hurt you. But if you live down-range of an

industrial site or some area where dust is always being generated and you're

always breathing this stuff, then you might have something to worry about, "

said Stefanov.

Recently, public concern about dust-borne pathogens from outside the US was

raised when marine biologists blamed the rapid demise of Caribbean corals on

attacks by a fungus carried in Saharan dust. Saharan dust has also been

found in the US Virgin Islands, containing heavy metals, bacteria, fungi,

and what appeared to be viruses. Major storms in the Gobi desert of Mongolia

and China have also moved dust containing pollutants such as arsenic and

toxins from burning fossil fuel into air currents crossing the Pacific

Ocean, with one massive cloud recently reaching the western US before

dispersing (see related story).

see: http://www.edie.net/news/Archive/4122.cfm

" Chinese dust pollutes North America "