Wood Pellet Emissions and Children's Environmental Health in Mississippi

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

Children living near industrial activities are at a heightened risk for poorer health, including stress, asthma, and other respiratory illnesses. As a result of prior studies linking adverse health effects to fossil fuel activities, there has been a shift towards alternative energy sources such as wood biomass. As a result, the market for wood pellets is booming, and plants are springing up across the US, especially in the deep south. Despite growing concerns about environmental health impacts on communities living near wood pellet plants, few studies have been conducted to gauge impacts. Previous epidemiologic research suggests that living near industrial manufacturing, generally, and wood-related manufacturing, specifically, is associated with negative respiratory health and psychological distress in children. However, these studies are limited due to their inability to holistically characterize the pollutants emitted from industrial production when assessing pediatric health impacts. We are proposing place-based research in Mississippi, a state ranked the least healthy for childhood respiratory diseases, as 1 in every 10 children under the age of 18 has asthma. Mississippi also has seven wood pellet plants, four of which are fully operational and three of which are either soon to be open or in early development. These upcoming plants are slated to be the largest wood pellet plants in the world. This unique situation of open and soon-to-be-open wood pellet plants presents an opportunity to conduct a natural experiment looking at both exposures and epidemiology. Preliminary exposure data that we have collected suggest that communities with active wood pellet plants have higher air and sound levels than communities without active plants. Our research goals are to build on this preliminary data and carry out an extensive air and noise pollution exposure assessment in three types of communities in Mississippi: those with an operational wood pellet plant, communities with a proposed plant, and background communities with no industrial manufacturing at all. We propose to conduct a combined ambient and indoor sound and air pollution assessment (Aim 1 and Exploratory Aim) and will use these measurements to assess their impact on children’s respiratory health and stress, also examining the extent to which neighborhood resources and community stressors may modify these associations (Aim 2). We will also invest in local human capital by providing research training to and partnering with faculty and students at community colleges, which are often overlooked in the research grant space. We will also engage communities through a host of environmental health literacy activities, including our smartphone app, NoiseScore, and our environmental science activity book series, which currently covers noise pollution, air quality, visual pollution, and water quality. We will, together, create a cohort of local researchers who will become first authors in their future stories. Together, we can develop strategies, policies, and interventions to improve community health and well-being.