Brick Kiln Pollution and Its Impact on Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chandya RK ; Checkley W ; DeCarlo PF ; Lord K ; Nicolaou L ; Parker, David L. ; Ramachandran G ; Sharma AK ; Shrestha LP ; Sylvies F ; Thygerson SM ; Veloso I
• Description:
  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 (SO2; 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/m3, 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. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Environmental Pollution Occupational Health Particulate Matter Respiratory System Safety Silicon Dioxide
• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Ambient Air Pollution Author Keywords: Brick Kiln Emissions Brick Kilns Emission Sources Environmental Contamination Health Occupational Exposures Particulates Respiratory Health Silica Silica Dusts

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• ISSN:
  0013-9351
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Utah
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  257
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069868
• Citation:
  Environ Res 2024 Sep; 257:119220
• Contact Point Address:
  William Checkley, Johns Hopkins University, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, School of Medicine, 1830 E. Monument St. Room 555 Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
• Email:
  wcheckl1@jhmi.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Performing Organization:
  Johns Hopkins University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Environmental Research
• End Date:
  20280630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e5167bca9d54cee8f9772e28cca3912f198dad7ad340296fc7bcbe39d869ccc8d1e95f2652f2422cacf03baec1df2df9611f37d631c45156ecb99110212ddea4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208208/cdc_208208_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.65 MB ]