The respiratory health and lung function of Anglo-American children in a smelter town
Cooper smelters are large, usually isolated, sources of air pollution. Arizona has several such plants on the periphery of small communities. The smelters emit predominantly sulfur oxides and particulates, and the residents of these communities intermittently are exposed to high concentrations (24-h sulfur dioxide (SO2) . 250 to 500 micrograms/m3) of smelter smoke but little other pollution. This study compared the respiratory health of Anglo-American school children who lived in one smelter community with children living in another small community in Arizona that was free of smelter air pollution. The prevalence of cough, as determined by questionnaire, was 25.6% in the smelter town children and 14.3% in the nonsmelter town children (p less than 0.05). Pulmonary function at the study onset was equal in the two groups. Over the course of the 4 yr of study, lung function growth (measured as actual forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after 4 yr of study minus predicted FEV1) was also equal in the smelter town and nonsmelter town children. These results suggest that children in smelter communities have slightly more cough when compared with children living in other communities, but no differences in initial lung function or lung function at yearly testing over the period of the study.
- Research Organization:
- Division of Respiratory Sciences, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University of Arizona, Tucson
- OSTI ID:
- 5679651
- Journal Information:
- Am. Rev. Respir. Dis.; (United States), Vol. 127:2
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
LUNGS
DYNAMIC FUNCTION STUDIES
SMELTERS
HEALTH HAZARDS
AIR POLLUTION
CHILDREN
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
PARTICULATES
SULFUR DIOXIDE
AGE GROUPS
BODY
CHALCOGENIDES
HAZARDS
ORGANS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PARTICLES
POLLUTION
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
560306* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology- Man- (-1987)