Associations between exposure to biorefineries and respiratory diseases in New York State using two exposure assessment methods

Abstract

Background: The U.S. national energy policies have mandated large volumes of bioenergy production of ~36 billion gallons by 2022. Although previous studies have reported increased risks of respiratory diseases among residents living near industrial areas, little is known about the specific health impacts associated with biofuel production. This study used two exposure assessment methods to examine the associations of residential proximity to biorefineries and biorefinery-emitted air pollutants with respiratory diseases in New York State (NYS).Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using two exposure assessment methods: (1) residential proximity (within 10 km) to biorefinery facilities in NYS and (2) residential exposure to American Meteorological Society/EPA Regulatory Model (AERMOD)-predicted air pollutants of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Respiratory diseases included emergency department (ED) visits due to asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between 2011 and 2015. After adjusting for age, sex, race, temperature, relative humidity and background air pollutants, we obtained rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals using Poisson regression.Results: Results derived from the two exposure methods consistently indicated positive and significant associations between respiratory ED visits and residential distance from biorefineries. For residents living within 10 km from the biorefineries, the RR values were between 1.03 and 11.2. We also found that the RR values were much higher for soybean and corn biorefineries (RR: 1.35-3.63) than for wood biorefineries (RR: 1.00-1.66). Furthermore, the associations varied with season, with fall (RR: 2.61-12.3) and spring (RR: 2.39-11.8) stronger than winter and summer.Conclusions: This study suggests that residing within 10 km from biorefineries in NYS leads to significantly higher risks of respiratory diseases. Seasonality analysis shows that the risks are particularly higher in fall and spring. Future measures to control pollution damage should consider residential distance, emissions source and seasons.