Ecological and human health risk aspects of burning arsenic-rich coal.

The subject of the study was the ecological and human health consequences of environmental pollution from emissions arising from burning local coal with an arsenic content ranging from 900 to 1,500 g/tonne of dry substance. The first indication of environmental pollution by arsenic-containing emissions was the mass extinction of honeybee colonies. The neurotoxic and carcinogenic aspects of arsenic exposure were followed.

Association between arsenic exposure from a coal-burning power plant and urinary arsenic concentrations in Prievidza District, Slovakia.

To assess the arsenic exposure of a population living in the vicinity of a coal-burning power plant with high arsenic emission in the Prievidza District, Slovakia, 548 spot urine samples were speciated for inorganic As (Asinorg), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), and their sum (Assum). The urine samples were collected from the population of a case-control study on nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). A total of 411 samples with complete As speciations and sufficient urine quality and without fish consumption were used for statistical analysis.

Environmental arsenic exposure from a coal-burning power plant as a potential risk factor for nonmelanoma skin carcinoma: results from a case-control study in the district of Prievidza, Slovakia.

To investigate the risk of arsenic exposure from a coal-burning power plant in Slovakia on nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) development, a 1996-1999 population-based case-control study was conducted with 264 cases and 286 controls. Exposure assessment was based on residential history and annual emissions (Asres1, Asres2) and on nutritional habits and arsenic content in food (Asnut1, Asnut2). Asres1 was assessed as a function of the distance of places of residence to the plant.