Abstract
Objectives. Mount Sakurajima in Japan is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. This work was conducted to examine the effect of volcanic ash on the chronic respiratory disease mortality in the vicinity of Mt. Sakurajima. Methods. The present work examined the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of respiratory diseases during the period 1968–2002 in Sakurajima town and Tarumizu city, where ashfall from the volcano recorded more than 10.000 g/m2/yr on average in the 1980s. Results. The SMR of lung cancer in the Sakurajima-Tarumizu area was 1.61 (95% CI = 1.44–1.78) for men and 1.67 (95% CI = 1.39–1.95) for women while it was nearly equal to one in Kanoya city, which neighbors Tarumizu city but located at the further position from Mt. Sakurajima, and therefore has much smaller amounts of ashfall. Sakurajima-Tarumizu area had elevated SMRs for COPDs and acute respiratory diseases while Kanoya did not. Conclusions. Cristobalite is the most likely cause of the increased deaths from those chronic respiratory diseases since smoking is unlikely to explain the increased mortality of respiratory diseases among women since the proportion of smokers in Japanese women is less than 20%, and SPM levels in the Sakurajima-Tarumizu area were not high. Further studies seem warranted.
Highlights
Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima, Japan, is the world’s most active volcanoes located near metropolitan areas (Figure 1)
Sakurajima, the largest amounts of ashfall were recorded in Sakurajima town, which is located on the foot of this mountain, and Tarumizu city, which are 5–15 km away from Mt
We examined the standardized mortality ratios of respiratory diseases, including lung cancer, in Sakurajima town and Tarumizu city during the period 1968–2002, and compared them with those of Kanoya Journal of Environmental and Public Health
Summary
Mount Sakurajima in Kagoshima, Japan, is the world’s most active volcanoes located near metropolitan areas (Figure 1). During a large eruption in 1914, lava discharged by the volcano connected the Island of Mt. Sakurajima to the Ohsumi peninsula. The volcano has become active every 10–30 years; active periods were around 1935, 1946, 1956–1967, and the period between 1972 and 2001 with its peak in 1985. In the neighborhood of Mt. Sakurajima, the largest amounts of ashfall were recorded in Sakurajima town, which is located on the foot of this mountain, and Tarumizu city, which are 5–15 km away from Mt. Sakurajima. In the 1980s, the amounts ashfall in Sakurajima-Tarumizu area exceeded 10,000 g/m2/yr on average according to the official report of Kagoshima Prefectural Government
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