Health consequences of small-scale industrial pollution
Evidence from the brick sector in Bangladesh
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11914697 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Nina Brooks (0000-0003-3409-5434, Stanford University, corresponding author), Debashish Biswas (0000-0003-2174-3922, International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research), Raduan Hossin (International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research), Alexander Yu (0000-0002-1582-7938, Stanford University), Shampa Saha (0000-0001-7185-9232, Child Health Research Foundation), Senjuti Saha (0000-0001-6087-6766, Child Health Research Foundation), Samir K Saha (0000-0003-3820-0748, Child Health Research Foundation), Stephen P Luby (0000-0001-5385-899X, Stanford University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 170 |
| Pages | 106318-106318 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-23 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | World Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0305-750X • E-ISSN: 1873-5991 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106318 |
| OpenAlex | W4381798975 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 4 |
| References cited | 85 |
Coal-fired brick kilns have spread rapidly in Bangladesh, where they are one of the largest sources of air pollution. The adverse health impacts of air pollution have been widely documented, yet there is little empirical evidence on the externalities of this important industry. We conducted a field study in Bangladesh to quantify the contribution of brick kilns to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and estimate the association with child asthma symptoms, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and general respiratory symptoms. We exploit variation in the timing of brick production, seasonal wind direction, and household proximity to kilns to isolate the effects of brick manufacturing from other sources of air pollution. We find that PM2.5 is 72.3 μg/m3 (95% CI: 10.2, 134.3) higher in areas 2 km downwind from a brick kiln during the brick production season. We also find 2.2 (95% CI: 1.2, 4.3) greater odds of COPD symptoms among adults over 40 and 4.2 (95% CI: 2.7, 6.8) greater odds of respiratory symptoms among adults over 18. Among children under 5, we found greater odds of respiratory symptoms (2.1, 95% CI: 0.7, 6.0) and asthma symptoms (2.5, 95% CI: 0.1, 96.1), but the results were underpowered for the smaller sample of children. Our findings suggest that existing regulations, which require that kilns be at least 1–2 km from residential areas, schools, and health facilities, are inadequate to protect nearby communities from the substantial health burden brick manufacturing imposes
Air pollution · Asthma · Brick · COPD · Environmental health · Geography · Logistic regression · Odds · Odds ratio · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Energy and Environment Impacts · Environmental Science · Medicine
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| Unique citing works | 4 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |