University of California, Davis
Agricultural impact on environmental dust levels and respiratory disease
Kent Pinkerton, Center for Health and the Environment, University of California, Davis, CA
Research objectives to examine environmental impacts of agriculture in the Central Valley of California are two-fold: (1) to examine the relationship between mineral dust exposure in the farming industry and histopathological changes occurring in the lungs of the California farm worker, and (2) to determine respiratory health effects of short-term exposure to concentrated ambient particles of the Central Valley. This research is designed to examine health effects of ambient particles from the environment (both agricultural and urban) on the respiratory tract of humans and laboratory animals to define the importance of airway branching patterns for the deposition and retention of particles in the lungs, as well as histopathological changes that may be associated with inhalation of mineral dusts. This study also examines whether short-term exposure to Central Valley particles leads to adverse respiratory responses.
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The unique working environment of the California farmer places him/her at increased risk for particle exposure. Due to dry farming techniques used in the Central Valley of California, these farm workers are exposed to high levels of dust through a variety of operations including field preparation, rice stubble burning, and crop harvesting. The specific aims of this phase of the project are: (1) to document and quantify pathologic lesions arising along unique anatomical pathways in lung tissues from Hispanic males autopsied by the Fresno, California, Coroner’s office; (2) to compare lung pathology among deceased agricultural workers to that among deceased non-agricultural workers; (3) to determine the quantity and identity of mineral particles in lung tissue samples obtained through airway microdissection techniques and histological findings; and (4) to compare the quantity and identity of mineral particles in lung tissue samples that showed fibrosis upon histological examination and a comparison group of samples that showed no evidence of fibrosis upon histological examination.
The presence of airborne particles arises from combustion as well as anthropogenic sources in the environment. The potential interactions of complex mixtures of particles of varying size and composition need to be better elucidated to define biologically plausible mechanisms for lung injury and disease. Examination of airborne particles under well-characterized exposure conditions is paramount to defining health effects associated with ambient particulate matter. Our study will define these conditions for the Sacramento and San Joaquin areas of the Central Valley using novel technology to concentrate ambient particles from Davis and Fresno, California.
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