Coal Users Research Articles

Barging and Transshipment Market Research in the Coal Logistics Industry in Indonesia

This market research aims to analyze opportunities for coal barging and transshipment companies in Indonesia, analyze the market prices for transport barging & transhipment in 2023 and 2024, identify factors that affect the performance of coal logistics companies in Indonesian as well as prospects and strategies implemented by the coal Logistics industry. This type of research is qualitative research. The method of qualitative research is done using a survey method that describes, explains and interprets a phenomenon that occurs in an object and data is qualitatively characterized. The research was conducted qualitatively through interviews with companies operating in the field of coal logistics and coal users’ logistics. The results of the research conclude that the coal logistics industry in the future still has a fairly high prospect of business. As the largest island country with the longest coastline in the world, Indonesia has the potential and advantages to be optimized as a strategic maritime transport route. With coal reserves awakened, then coal production in Indonesia is also expected to increase with the national production target of 2024 to 922.14 million tons. This growth of production will improve the performance of the coal transportation sector, thus creating a positive business prospect for the coal logistics industry

The role of Fintech, natural resources, and renewable energy consumption in Shaping environmental sustainability in China: A NARDL perspective

China emits a third of global pollution. This results in severe environmental damage across the world. There is a resounding need to develop means to maintain the sensational economic progress of the country and achieve environmental sustainability too. Despite the efforts from China to transition away from fossil fuels, most of the energy demand is still met using coal. China stands to be one of the largest producers and users of coal in the world. All these factors are a severe barrier in the country's quest to become carbon neutral by 2060. This research studied the role of Fintech, Natural resources and Renewable Energy consumption in achieving environmental sustainability. Fintech can help digitalize the financial industry and play a vital role in reducing CO2 emissions from the financial industry. Furthermore, it can be an effective means to promote the growth of green finance and green investment. The increased use of natural resources can be detrimental to the environment. Furthermore, the transition towards renewable energy consumption can reduce emissions and help to develop a sustainable environment in China. The study recommends using a carbon tax to curb CO2 emissions and use the advances of Fintech to promote investment in the green infrastructure of the economy. Using natural resources should be discouraged with increasing taxes, while renewable energy use should be encouraged with various subsidies.

Inhalation of smoke from cooking activities in Katanga, a health burden among women users of charcoal and firewood

This study focused on the Inhalation of smoke from culinary activities in Katanga. It was carried out over a period of approximately 4 years. The study population consisted of women whose average age was 37.8 (16) years. On the one hand, 119 rural women (permanent users of coal in the Futuka village and 121 urban women (FU) in the Vallée urban district of the city of Lubumbashi were approached and selected. The fundamental question was whether prolonged or sporadic exposure to smoke from cooking activities could be an exposure factor to the risk of respiratory infections. Following the investigations made and the multiple functional explorations, we arrived at the confirmation of this hypothesis . In view of the results obtained, we found that the frequency of use of these biomasses oscillated respectively between 63.6% in town and 75% in rural areas. In the two female categories considered, the rates of cough and morning and usual sputum were, in almost all cases, higher among women from Futuka than among those from the Vallée district. Concerning the crisis of breathlessness and difficulty breathing, we noticed that for the three parameters observed (morning awakening with difficulty breathing, shortness of breath at rest during the day and shortness of breath after intense effort), the women users of the Vallée district were the more affected. For the values, apart from the Tiffnaud ratio (FEV1/FVC%), the functional exploration using the spirometer showed overall that almost all the spirometric parameters led to statistically significant differences between urban women (FU ) of the Vallée district and rural (FR) of the Futuka village. These are the forced vital capacity (FVC% pred with a p=0.034), the peak expiratory flow (PEF with a p value of 0.000) and the expiratory volume at the first second (FEV1% pred with a p value of 0.000).

Methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from household coal use across the life course and risk of lung cancer in a large cohort of 42,420 subjects in Xuanwei, China

BackgroundWe previously showed that exposure to 5-methylchrysene (5MC) and other methylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) best explains lung cancer risks in a case-control study among non-smoking women using smoky coal in China. Time-related factors (e.g., age at exposure) and non-linear relations were not explored. ObjectiveWe investigated the relation between coal-derived air pollutants and lung cancer mortality using data from a large retrospective cohort. MethodsParticipants were smoky (bituminous) or smokeless (anthracite) coal users from a cohort of 42,420 subjects from four communes in XuanWei. Follow-up was from 1976 to 2011, during which 4,827 deaths from lung-cancer occurred. Exposures were predicted for 43 different pollutants. Exposure clusters were identified using hierarchical clustering. Cox regression was used to estimate exposure–response relations for 5MC, while effect modification by age at exposure was investigated for cluster prototypes. A Bayesian penalized multi-pollutant model was fitted on a nested case-control sample, with more restricted models fitted to investigate non-linear exposure–response relations. ResultsWe confirmed the strong exposure–response relation for 5MC (Hazard Ratio [95% Confidence Interval] = 2.5 [2.4, 2.6] per standard-deviation (SD)). We identified four pollutant clusters, with all but two PAHs in a single cluster. Exposure to PAHs in the large cluster was associated with a higher lung cancer mortality rate (HR [95%CI] = 2.4 [2.2, 2.6] per SD), while exposure accrued before 18 years of age appeared more important than adulthood exposures. Results from the multi-pollutant model identified anthanthrene (ANT) and benzo(a)chrysene (BaC) as risk factors. 5MC remained strongly associated with lung cancer in models that included ANT and BaC and also benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). ConclusionWe confirmed the link between PAH exposures and lung cancer in smoky coal users and found exposures before age 18 to be especially important. We found some evidence for the carcinogen 5MC and non-carcinogens ANT and BaC.

Overall and cause-specific mortality rates among men and women with high exposure to indoor air pollution from the use of smoky and smokeless coal: a cohort study in Xuanwei, China

ObjectivesNever-smoking women in Xuanwei (XW), China, have some of the highest lung cancer rates in the country. This has been attributed to the combustion of smoky coal used for indoor...

Elevated urinary mutagenicity among those exposed to bituminous coal combustion emissions or diesel engine exhaust.

Urinary mutagenicity reflects systemic exposure to complex mixtures of genotoxic/carcinogenic agents and is linked to tumor development. Coal combustion emissions (CCE) and diesel engine exhaust (DEE) are associated with cancers of the lung and other sites, but their influence on urinary mutagenicity is unclear. We investigated associations between exposure to CCE or DEE and urinary mutagenicity. In two separate cross-sectional studies of nonsmokers, organic extracts of urine were evaluated for mutagenicity levels using strain YG1041 in the Salmonella (Ames) mutagenicity assay. First, we compared levels among 10 female bituminous (smoky) coal users from Laibin, Xuanwei, China, and 10 female anthracite (smokeless) coal users. We estimated exposure-response relationships using indoor air concentrations of two carcinogens in CCE relevant to lung cancer, 5-methylchrysene (5MC), and benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P). Second, we compared levels among 20 highly exposed male diesel factory workers and 15 unexposed male controls; we evaluated exposure-response relationships using elemental carbon (EC) as a DEE-surrogate. Age-adjusted linear regression was used to estimate associations. Laibin smoky coal users had significantly higher average urinary mutagenicity levels compared to smokeless coal users (28.4 ± 14.0 SD vs. 0.9 ± 2.8 SD rev/ml-eq, p=2 × 10-5 ) and a significant exposure-response relationship with 5MC (p=7 × 10-4 ). DEE-exposed workers had significantly higher urinary mutagenicity levels compared to unexposed controls (13.0 ± 10.1 SD vs. 5.6 ± 4.4 SD rev/ml-eq, p=.02) and a significant exposure-response relationship with EC (p-trend=2 × 10-3 ). Exposure to CCE and DEE is associated with urinary mutagenicity, suggesting systemic exposure to mutagens, potentially contributing to cancer risk and development at various sites.

Household Air Pollution From Solid Cooking Fuel Combustion and Female Breast Cancer.

Background: Women bear a large share of disease burden caused by household air pollution due to their great involvement in domestic activities. Pollutant emissions are believed to vary by exposure patterns such as cooking and space heating. Little is known about the independent effect of solid cooking fuel combustion on breast cancer risk. We aimed to examine the association of indoor coal and wood combustion for cooking with breast cancer risk.Methods: During June 2004–July 2008, participants aged 30–79 from 10 diverse regions across China were enrolled in the China Kadoorie Biobank. Primary cooking fuel use information in up to three residences was self-reported at baseline. Multivariable logistic regression models yielded adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).Results: A total of 290,396 female participants aged 30–79 were included in the main analysis. Compared with long-term clean fuel users, the fully adjusted ORs were 2.07 (95%CI: 1.37–3.13) for long-term coal users, 1.12 (95% CI: 0.72–1.76) for long-term wood users, and 0.98 (95% CI: 0.55–1.74) for those who used mixed solid fuels to cook. Those who had switched from solid to clean fuels did not have an excess risk of breast cancer (OR: 0.88, 95%CI 0.71–1.10).Conclusion: Long-term solid fuel combustion for cooking may increase the risk of breast cancer. The strength of association is stronger among coal users than wood users. Targeted interventions are needed to accelerate the access to clean and affordable energy.

Effects of domestic solid fuel combustion emissions on the biomarkers of homemakers in rural areas of the Fenwei Plain, China

BackgroundThe health effects of heavy solid fuel use in winter in rural China are of concern. The effects of air pollution resulting from domestic solid fuel combustion in rural households on rural homemakers’ biomarkers were revealed in this study. MethodsIn total, 75 female homemakers from rural areas of Guanzhong Basin, the Fenwei Plain, People’s Republic of China, were randomly selected and divided into three groups (biomass users, coal users, and nonusers of solid fuel user [control group]). The differences in biological indicators, including 8-hydrox-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), interlukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in urine samples as well as blood pressure (BP, including systolic BP [SBP] and diastolic BP [DBP]) and heart rate (HR) among the groups in winter and summer were investigated using statistical analysis. ResultsIL-6, 8-OHdG, HR, SBP, and DBP were significantly higher in winter than in summer (P < 0.05) owing to the poor air quality resulted from the excessive use of solid fuels in winter. Significant seasonal differences in 8-OHdG were observed for both coal and biomass users. After the influence of confounders was removed, only IL-6 levels in the urine of solid fuel users were significantly higher than that of the control group. ConclusionsIL-6 is a sensitive biomarker representing inflammatory responses to particulate matter emitted through household solid fuel combustion. Locally, excessive use of solid fuels in winter posed serious PM2.5 pollution in this area and adverse effects on inflammatory biomarkers in these rural homemakers and induced DNA damage related to oxidative stress.

Evolution of future world coal consumption: insights from a distribution dynamics approach

Global efforts in limiting coal consumption will be undermined if new major coal users emerge; however, very few studies have been conducted on the emergence of prospective coal users. The objective of this paper is thus to investigate how likely some developing countries will emerge to be significant coal users. The distribution dynamics approach is adopted to examine the evolution and transitional dynamics of coal consumption. Ergodic distributions and mobility probability plots are constructed for each grouping so as to provide detailed information on the current pattern and future development. Our study finds that some low income and lower middle income economies may increase their coal consumption in the future if coal remains to be a cheap energy source, while the countries in other income groups have entirely different behaviours. The findings suggest that global policy coordination focusing on the prospective coal users should be adopted. [Received: May 25, 2019; Accepted: May 27, 2020]

Evolution of future world coal consumption: insights from a distribution dynamics approach

Global efforts in limiting coal consumption will be undermined if new major coal users emerge; however, very few studies have been conducted on the emergence of prospective coal users. The objective of this paper is thus to investigate how likely some developing countries will emerge to be significant coal users. The distribution dynamics approach is adopted to examine the evolution and transitional dynamics of coal consumption. Ergodic distributions and mobility probability plots are constructed for each grouping so as to provide detailed information on the current pattern and future development. Our study finds that some low income and lower middle income economies may increase their coal consumption in the future if coal remains to be a cheap energy source, while the countries in other income groups have entirely different behaviours. The findings suggest that global policy coordination focusing on the prospective coal users should be adopted. [Received: May 25, 2019; Accepted: May 27, 2020]

Coal Refinery Process Absorbability Index Assessment against Foot Print of Air Pollution by Usage of Robust Optimization Algorithms: A Novel Green Environment Initiative

Coals are employed as fiery substance, and every day, millions of ton coal are consumed by coal users around the world. It is investigated that the millions of coal’s transportation/logistic till the coal user plants via road route and also inside the coal user plants (known as twice factors) not only enhance the air pollution but also cause the global warming. It is earlier known that coals emit the toxic pollutants and offensive gases such as sulfur dioxide, SO2; nitrogen oxides, NOX; hydrogen chloride arsenic; carbon monoxide, CO; methane; CH4; and CO2 on reacting with environmental O2 due to said twice factors, i.e., during the transportation from coal refinery spot to entry gate of coal user plants (another spot) and in process logistic/movement inside the coal user plants (loading to conveyor to coal fire tubes “attached with coal crushers”). Therefore, the coal refinery technique/process is found as the best practice to control air pollution under concerns of twice factors. The reliable and trustworthy coal refining technology improves the quality of coal by eradicating or eliminating the coating or layers of toxic particles from coal’s surface, which speedily crumble or decompose in reacting with environmental O2 under twice factors. As results, coal refining technology adds the green supply chain value into proposed twice factors and also save the world from breeding of ills and viruses. It is understood that the best coal refinery technique/process helps to overcome and reduce air pollution by responding discussed twice factors (accepted as research challenge and motivation of research). In the presented research work, the authors developed and proposed a dynamic multidimension Coal Refinery Process Absorbability Index (CRPAI) structure (consisted of coal refinery core dimension and subdimensions correspond to CRPA alternative techniques/processes) appended with Robust Optimization Algorithm (ROA) to be explored for opting the best CRP from available options. But due to inherent ambiguity, vagueness, and inconsistency involve in both dimensions of proposed structure, the assessment of expert’s panel is gathered in the terms of linguistic variable “appropriateness ratings” against the subdimensions of CRPAI structure corresponding to preferred CRP options. Next, assigned appropriateness ratings against the subdimensions are substituted by GIVFN. To arrive to core dimensions from subdimensions of CRPAI structure, a GITFN-OWGO (Ordered Weighted Geometric Operator) is investigated and modified as a Ordered Weighted Geometric Average Operator (OWGAO) to be applied for estimating the weights of subdimensions (core novelty of work). Finally, a ROA (consisted of MULTI-MOORA with dominance theory) is applied on the output of OWGAO for opting the viable and best CRP option. The positive effect of the dynamic multidimension CRPAI structure is that it helps the coal refinery companies to assess measure and evaluate the best and feasible coal refinery process under concern of twice factors using expert information. The research can be used to control the air pollution by responding aforesaid twice factors by single practice (the best coal refinery process/technique assessment and evaluation).

Sub-multiplicative interaction between polygenic risk score and household coal use in relation to lung adenocarcinoma among never-smoking women in Asia

We previously identified 10 lung adenocarcinoma susceptibility loci in a genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted in the Female Lung Cancer Consortium in Asia (FLCCA), the largest genomic study of lung cancer among never-smoking women to date. Furthermore, household coal use for cooking and heating has been linked to lung cancer in Asia, especially in Xuanwei, China. We investigated the potential interaction between genetic susceptibility and coal use in FLCCA. We analyzed GWAS-data from Taiwan, Shanghai, and Shenyang (1472 cases; 1497 controls), as well as a separate study conducted in Xuanwei (152 cases; 522 controls) for additional analyses. We summarized genetic susceptibility using a polygenic risk score (PRS), which was the weighted sum of the risk-alleles from the 10 previously identified loci. We estimated associations between a PRS, coal use (ever/never), and lung adenocarcinoma with multivariable logistic regression models, and evaluated potential gene-environment interactions using likelihood ratio tests. There was a strong association between continuous PRS and lung adenocarcinoma among never coal users (Odds Ratio (OR) = 1.69 (95% Confidence Interval (CI) = 1.53, 1.87), p=1 × 10−26). This effect was attenuated among ever coal users (OR = 1.24 (95% CI: 1.03, 1.50), p = 0.02, p-interaction = 6 × 10−3). We observed similar attenuation among coal users from Xuanwei. Our study provides evidence that genetic susceptibility to lung adenocarcinoma among never-smoking Asian women is weaker among coal users. These results suggest that lung cancer pathogenesis may differ, at least partially, depending on exposure to coal combustion products. Notably, these novel findings are among the few instances of sub-multiplicative gene-environment interactions in the cancer literature.

Resources of critical metals in coal-bearing sequences in China: Enrichment types and distribution

Coal is a particular sedimentary organic ore and has a huge resource worldwide. Coal is a resource primarily used for electric power generation, and currently supplies 41% of global electricity needs. Significant quantities of coal are also employed in metallurgical processes, gasification, cement industries, and as raw materials for activated carbon and many common and industrial chemicals, as well as for heat for the wallboard, aluminum, and cement industries. A number of coals can also be considered as an economic source of some critical metals, and thus are coal-hosted ore deposits. The critical metals in coal and coal-bearing sequences occur at concentrations comparable to or even higher than those in conventional economic deposits. China is, and in the coming decades should continue to be, the largest producer and user of coal in the world. The high volume of coal usage in China has led to attention not only on the toxic elements that may be released from coal combustion but also on the critical metals that may occur in the coal and coal-bearing sequences, as well as coal combustion by-products. Critical elements (e.g., Ge, Ga, U, rare earth elements and Y, Nb, Zr, Se, V, Re, Au, and Ag, as well as the base metal Al) in a number of coals (or coal ashes) and some coal-bearing strata in China occur at concentrations comparable to or even higher than those in conventional economic deposits. This paper reviewed the distribution and ore-forming mechanism of some typical coal-hosted ore deposits in China, including Ge, Ga-Al, rare earth elements (REE), and Nb-Zr-REE-Ga. Additionally, other critical metals such as Be, Sc, Li, Mg, V, and Re in coal and coal bearing sequences have also been briefly reviewed. Several geological factors are responsible for the deposition of coal-hosted critical metals, including injection of hydrothermal fluids during peat accumulation or later epigenetic stages, deposition of syngenetic alkali volcanic ashes in peat swamp, input of terrigenous mineral matter into the coal-forming environment, leaching of partings by groundwater, and mixed processes involving both hydrothermal solutions and volcanic ash. Mixed processes involving both hydrothermal solutions and volcanic ash are also important geological factors that contribute to the deposition of coal-hosted critical metals. The critical metals in Chinese coal and coal-bearing sequences may be associated with either the organic matter or minerals. For example, germanium exclusively occurs in the organic matter; gallium mainly occurs in boehmite and kaolinite, and to a lesser extent, in the organic matter; rare earth elements and Y occur as carbonate minerals (e.g., florencite and parisite), phosphate minerals (e.g., rhabdophane, silico-rhabdophane, and xenotime), and in part are associated with the organic matter. Some critical metals (e.g., Ge, Al, and Ga) have been successfully extracted at an industrial scale from Chinese coals, and others have significant potential for such extraction. Major challenges remaining for coal scientists include the development of economic extraction methods from coal ash, and the control of toxic elements released during the metal extraction process to protect human health and to avoid environmental pollution.

An Alternative View to the Global Coal Trade: Complex Network Approach

Abstract The role of energy for the developmental process of nations is a known fact due to being crucial input for any phase of production of goods and services. That’s the reason why countries that are rich in energy resources also have strategic power in terms of the international trade of these resources. On the other hand, it becomes important to provide energy security for countries that are resource-poor. Although green energy has become preferred one, fossil fuel energy keeps its place as one of the most used energy resources. That's why in this study it is aimed to determine major providers and users of coal as a type of fossil fuel energy resources. It is vital to investigate the structure of global coal trade structure to determine the weaknesses and strength of supply and use of coal. Network approach provides a holistic view to the system analyzed and presents more realistic (high-degree) indicators to analyze it. In this study, global trade network of coal is analyzed from 2000 to 2017 via network analysis. Changing structure and evolution of global coal trade has been revealed via some topological parameters which are specific to complex networks such as density, clustering, assortativity/disassortativity, centrality and degree distribution.

Fuel replacement: a possible option for Thailand energy security?

Natural gas has been playing an important role in strengthening energy security of Thailand as over 60 percent of total natural gas consumed in the country is from the Gulf of Thailand. In the past 20 years, the average growth of natural gas demand is 5.5 percent per year. Thanks to its low carbon content, natural gas is considered as cleaner fuel comparing to other fossil-based fuels. Still, there are usages of carbon-intensive fuels such as fuel oil and coal in Thailand e.g. in the industrial sector. Most of fuel oil and coal consumed are imported from foreign countries. Replacing these fuels with natural gas may be an option for the country to promote domestic clean energy and reduce overall carbon emissions. This paper forecasts the possibility of replacing fuel oil and coal in the industrial sector with natural gas. The research starts with examining the limitations of Thai regulations, estimating the amount of natural gas required for the replacement, and forecasting future prices of all three fuels. The price projection shows an attractive option for fuel oil users as the long term price of natural gas is projected to be lower than that of fuel oil. On the contrary, the projected coal price alone will not encourage coal users to switch their fuels. Thus, strong government measures will be required to stimulate coal replacement. The result of the study will be useful for determining appropriate policies to support long-term demand for natural gas of the country.

Clinic-pathologic features and gene fusion pattern of ALK and ROS1 in non-small cell lung cancer show association with household coal combustion.

BackgroundLung cancer induced by burning coal can be etiologically and clinically different from lung cancer caused by smoking. Despite previous work, the gene fusion patterns in lung cancer patients affected by household coal combustion still deserve further study.MethodsNon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients exposed to household coal use (HCU) were recruited from rural areas in China’s Yunnan Province, certain areas in this region had notably high lung cancer rate nationwide. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for detection of ALK, ROS1, RET and NTRK1 rearrangements. Eighteen studies on ALK fusions were summarized and compared with present work.ResultsAmong the 205 patients, there were 112 (54.6%) coal users and 96 (46.8%) smokers, union set had 145 (70.7%) subjects, in which 63 (30.7%) were double-positive for HCU and smoking. HCU patients featured with younger age and advanced stage. Union set patients covered larger age span (range, 40–82 years old), showed clear early-onset, and made the majority of stage IIIA–IV cases. Double-positive individuals were mainly in later stage, but with wider age span (range, 38–75 years old). In addition, 18 patients (8.8%) had EML4-ALK rearrangement, with apparently higher-than-average variant 3 ratio (77.8% vs. 44%). Five ROS1 fusion cases (2.5%) were identified, all were CD74-ROS1 (E6/E34), and had HCU experience. ALK and ROS1 fusions were mutually exclusive. Both ALK fusions and total gene rearrangement events (ALK and ROS1) showed association with HCU and overall exposure (tobacco and coal). Suggesting there could be unique gene fusion patterns in lung cancer patients affected by coal use.ConclusionsPresent study found clinic-pathologic features and gene fusion patterns in NSCLC showed association with household coal combustion. Our findings may help evaluate the impact of coal use on the pathogenesis of lung cancer, and also highlight the significance of integrating different exposure histories into clinical and theoretical research.

Ischaemic heart disease and stroke mortality by specific coal type among non-smoking women with substantial indoor air pollution exposure in China.

Lifetime use of bituminous ('smoky') coal is associated with nearly a 100-fold higher risk of lung cancer mortality compared with anthracite ('smokeless') coal use in rural Xuanwei, China, among women. Risk of mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke for these coal types has not been evaluated. A cohort of 16323 non-smoking women in Xuanwei, who were lifetime users of either smoky or smokeless coal, were followed up from 1976 to 2011. We estimated hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to evaluate lifetime use of coal types and stoves in the home in relation to risk of IHD and stroke mortality. Among lifetime users of smokeless coal, higher average exposure intensity (≥4 tons/year vs <2.5 tons/year, HR = 7.9, 95% CI = 3.5-17.8; Ptrend=<0.0001) and cumulative exposure (>64 ton-years vs ≤28 ton-years, HR = 6.5, 95% CI = 1.5-28.3; Ptrend=0.003) during follow-up and over their lifetime was associated with increased IHD mortality, and ventilated stove use dramatically reduced this risk (HR = 0.2, 95% CI 0.1-0.5). Higher cumulative exposure to smoky coal during follow-up showed positive associations with IHD mortality, but the evidence for other metrics was less consistent compared with associations with smokeless coal use. Higher use of smokeless coal, which is burned throughout China and is generally regarded to be a cleaner fuel type, is associated with IHD mortality. Use of cleaner fuels or stove interventions may be effective in reducing the increasing burden of IHD in developing regions that currently rely on smokeless coal for cooking and heating.

Abstract 2682: Analysis of polygenic risk score interaction with coal use and risk of lung adenocarcinoma among never-smoking women in Asia

Abstract Background: Accounting for approximately 1.76 million annual deaths worldwide, lung cancer is a significant global health burden. While smoking is the most common cause of lung cancer, up to 25% of all lung cancer patients worldwide are never smokers. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in China, where most women do not smoke, making women in Asia an ideal population to study. Previously conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of lung cancer risk among never-smoking women in Asia identified 10 lung cancer susceptibility loci. Indoor air pollution from coal burned for home cooking and heating is known to contain lung carcinogens and has been found to be causally associated with lung cancer. In the current analysis, we evaluated gene-environment interaction between a polygenic risk score (PRS) and coal use in relation to lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: Three studies (Taiwan, Shanghai, Shenyang) from the Female Lung Cancer Consortium in Asia (FLCCA) were used for the primary analysis (1,419 cases; 1,446 controls). A replication study was conducted using samples from Xuanwei, China (159 cases; 572 controls), where lung cancer rates for never-smokers are among the highest in the world and attributed to widespread coal use. We calculated a PRS as the weighted sum of the risk allele counts across the 10 loci, and modeled PRS as a continuous variable scaled by the standard deviation in controls. Logistic regression was used to estimate the main effects of the PRS and coal use, and a likelihood ratio test was used to evaluate the interaction. Models were adjusted for age (&amp;lt;40, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, ≥70 years), study, and significant eigenvectors. Results: Coal use was associated with an increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma (OR=1.31, 95% CI: 1.01-1.68). We observed an exposure-response relationship between PRS and lung adenocarcinoma (p-trend= 2x10-16) and found a significant multiplicative interaction between PRS and coal use (p-interaction= 0.005). The association between PRS and lung adenocarcinoma was significantly higher among the never coal users (OR=1.68, 95% CI: 1.52-1.86) compared to ever coal users in the three studies (OR=1.24, 95% CI: 1.03-1.50) (p-interaction=0.005), as well as between never coal users in the three studies and ever coal users in Xuanwei (OR=1.25, 95% CI: 1.04-1.49) (p-interaction=0.004). Conclusion: We observed an antagonistic interaction between PRS and coal use with lung adenocarcinoma, where the genetic effect was attenuated among those exposed to coal combustion in the home. We replicated the finding in Xuanwei. These results suggest that the pathogenesis of lung cancer among never-smoking women in Asia differs by exposure to coal combustion emissions and provides one of the few examples of sub-multiplicative gene-environment interactions in the cancer literature. Citation Format: Batel Blechter, Chao Agnes Hsiung, Zhihua Yin, Xiao-Ou Shu, H. Dean Hosgood, Jason Y.Y Wong, Jianxin Shi, Wei Hu, Bryan Bassig, Wei Jie Seow, Yu -ang Gao, Qiuyin Cai, Yong-Bing Xiang, I-Shou Chang, Baosen Zhou, Wei Zheng, Kyoung-Mu Lee, Stephen Chanock, Nilanjan Chatterjee, Nathaniel Rothman, Qing Lan. Analysis of polygenic risk score interaction with coal use and risk of lung adenocarcinoma among never-smoking women in Asia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2682.

Subsidy policy discussion on the hydroelectric power substitution for scattered coal consumption: A case study of Sichuan Province

Scattered coal consumption in China has resulted in severe environmental problems in recent years. In the meantime, the rapid increasing capacity of renewable energy has exceeded the demand and therefore leads to idle capacity problem. In this situation, electric power substitution for scattered coal (EPSSC) has become a good choice in meeting this challenge. However, due to high cost for facility replacement and operation, most of the scattered coal users are not willing to adopt electric power facilities without policy subsidies. In this study, the policies of electricity price subsidy (EPS) and facility investment subsidy (FIS) are evaluated as effective methods to promote the willingness of different industries to implement EPSSC. Firstly, based on the principal of net profit-on-investment rate method, a model is established to describe the quantitative relationship between the amount of electric power substitution and the ratio of net profit over investment. Then, a case study of Sichuan Province is performed to discuss the effect of subsidy policies on the potential of EPSSC in four industries, including coal-fired boiler, self-generation coal-fired plant, coal-fired flue-cured tobacco plant and coal-fired building material kiln. Next, an optimization model combined with scenario analysis is proposed to provide the optimum portfolios of different substitution industries under a specific substitution target under different subsidy policies. The results indicate that, electricity price subsidy given to self-generation power plant is more cost-effective, while facility investment subsidy given to electric boiler and electric flue-cured tobacco plant is more cost-effective than the other industries. When the electric power substitution target is higher than 25%, the economic benefit of facility investment subsidy is superior to electricity price subsidy. If both EPS and FIS are implemented at the same time, the subsidy cost will be further reduced.

Household coal combustion, indoor air pollutants, and circulating immunologic/inflammatory markers in rural China

ABSTRACTThe study aim was to investigate whether household bituminous (“smoky”) coal use and personal exposure to combustion emissions were associated with immunologic/inflammatory marker levels. A cross-sectional study of healthy never-smoking women from rural Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China was conducted, which included 80 smoky coal and 14 anthracite (“smokeless”) coal users. Personal exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was assessed using portable devices, while 67 circulating plasma immunologic/inflammatory markers were measured using multiplex bead-based assays. Multivariable linear regression models were employed to estimate associations between smoky coal versus smokeless coal use, indoor air pollutants, and immunologic/inflammatory markers. Six markers were altered among smoky coal users compared to smokeless coal, including significantly decreased interferon-inducible T-cell alpha chemoattractant (CXCL11/I-TAC), and increased serum amyloid P component (SAP). CXCL11/I-TAC was previously found to be reduced in workers exposed to high levels of diesel engine exhaust, which exhibits similar constituents as coal combustion emissions. Further, there was evidence that elevated PM2.5 and BaP exposure was associated with significantly diminished levels of the serum amyloid A (SAA); however, the false discovery rates (FDRs) were >0.2 after accounting for multiple comparisons. Inflammatory processes may thus mediate the carcinogenic effects attributed to smoky coal emissions.