Brick kiln pollution and its impact on health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Laxman P Shrestha, Katherine Lord, Gurumurthy Ramachandran, David L Parker, William Checkley, Arun K Sharma, Ram K Chandyo, Laura Nicolaou, Fiona Sylvies, Isabel Veloso, Steven M Thygerson, Peter F DeCarlo

Journal: Environmental research 2024;257():119220

PMID: 38797466

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

Brick kiln emissions adversely affect air pollution and the health of workers and individuals living near the kilns; however, evidence of their impacts remains limited. We conducted a systematic review of brick kiln pollution (emissions, source contributions and personal exposures) and its effects on health. We extracted articles from electronic databases and through manual citation searching. We estimated pooled, sample-size-weighted means and standard deviations for personal exposures by job type; computed mean emission factors and pollutant concentrations by brick kiln design; and meta-analyzed differences in means or proportions for health outcomes between brick kiln workers and controls or for participants living near or far away from kilns. We identified 104 studies; 74 were conducted in South Asia. The most evaluated pollutants were particulate matter (PM; n = 48), sulfur dioxide (SO; n = 24) and carbon monoxide (CO; n = 22), and the most evaluated health outcomes were respiratory health (n = 34) and musculoskeletal disorders (n = 9). PM and CO emissions were higher among traditional than improved brick kilns. Mean respirable silica exposures were only measured in 4 (4%) studies and were as high as 620 μg/m, exceeding the NIOSH recommended exposure limit by a factor of over 12. Brick kiln workers had consistently worse lung function, more respiratory symptoms, more musculoskeletal complaints, and more inflammation when compared to unexposed participants across studies; however, most studies had a small sample size and did not fully describe methods used for sampling or data collection. On average, brick kiln workers had worse health outcomes when compared to unexposed controls but study quality supporting the evidence was low. Few studies reported silica concentrations or personal exposures, but the few that did suggest that exposures are high. Further research is needed to better understand the relationship between brick kiln pollution and health among workers, and to evaluate exposure mitigation strategies.

Address: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.; Kathmandu Medical College, Sinamangal, Kathmandu, Nepal.; Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.; University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, USA.; Department of Public Health, Brigham Young University, Provo, USA.; Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.; Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA.; Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Center for Global Non-Communicable Disease Research and Training, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119220

Link outs

Free resources

Medical:

https://medlineplus.gov/airpollution.html

Subscription / membership required

Full Text Sources:

MeSH Terms: Humans, Air Pollution, Air Pollutants, Environmental Exposure, Construction Materials