TY - JOUR
T1 - Health and Safety Effects of Airborne Soil Dust in the Americas and Beyond
AU - Tong, Daniel Q.
AU - Gill, Thomas E.
AU - Sprigg, William A.
AU - Van Pelt, Robert Scott
AU - Baklanov, Alexander A.
AU - Barker, Bridget Marie
AU - Bell, Jesse E.
AU - Castillo, Juan
AU - Gassó, Santiago
AU - Gaston, Cassandra J.
AU - Griffin, Dale W.
AU - Huneeus, Nicolas
AU - Kahn, Ralph A.
AU - Kuciauskas, Arunas P.
AU - Ladino, Luis A.
AU - Li, Junran
AU - Mayol-Bracero, Olga L.
AU - McCotter, Orion Z.
AU - Méndez-Lázaro, Pablo A.
AU - Mudu, Pierpaolo
AU - Nickovic, Slobodan
AU - Oyarzun, Damian
AU - Prospero, Joseph
AU - Raga, Graciela B.
AU - Raysoni, Amit U.
AU - Ren, Ling
AU - Sarafoglou, Nikias
AU - Sealy, Andrea
AU - Sun, Ziheng
AU - Vimic, Ana Vukovic
N1 - Funding Information:
To mitigate harmful effects of sand and dust storms, observations and forecasts as well as early warning advisory and assessment systems are critical for regions affected by aeolian (windblown) sand and dust (Sprigg et al., 2008 ; Yin et al., 2005 ). In response to the United Nations General Assemblies (UNGA) resolution A/RES/70/195 and an appeal by the UN Secretary General, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the WMO and the UNCCD conducted, together, a “Global Assessment of Sand and Dust Storms” (UNEP, WMO, UNCCD, 2016 ). The assessment report, which was recognized in UNGA resolution A/RES/71/219, sets out proposals to consolidate and coordinate technical and policy options to respond to sand and dust storm issues. The WMO was one of the first UN agencies to address the problem. In 2007, the 15th World Meteorological Congress highlighted the importance of windblown dust and endorsed launch of the SDS‐WAS. The main objectives apply regional centers to facilitate research and user access to observation, assessment and forecast products—particularly as an asset for national meteorological and hydrological services—as well as to enhance capacity‐building. The SDS‐WAS project is organized under the WMO World Weather Research Program (WWRP) and Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW), coordinated by the SDS‐WAS Steering Committee (SC) (the SC meets annually) supported by the WMO Secretariat. For development and realization of the SDS‐WAS, a Science and Implementation Plan for 2015–2020 was prepared (WMO, 2015 ) and approved by the 17th World Meteorological Congress. The SDS‐WAS SC recommends science priorities and updates the Science Implementation Plan periodically (WMO, 2020 ). As of 2021, more than 25 organizations provide daily global or regional dust forecasts in different geographic regions through 9 global models and more than 15 regional models that contribute to the SDS‐WAS.
Funding Information:
This work is performed under the collaborative framework of World Meteorological Organization Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS‐WAS). The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following agencies: the NASA Health and Air Quality Program, the NOAA Weather Program Office, the NASA Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, the NASA Earth Observing System Terra Project. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Although this manuscript has been reviewed and approved for publication, it reflects the views of the authors, not necessarily the institutions at which they work or the agencies which support the work.
Funding Information:
This work is performed under the collaborative framework of World Meteorological Organization Sand and Dust Storm Warning Advisory and Assessment System (SDS-WAS). The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the following agencies: the NASA Health and Air Quality Program, the NOAA Weather Program Office, the NASA Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program, the NASA Earth Observing System Terra Project. We thank two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Although this manuscript has been reviewed and approved for publication, it reflects the views of the authors, not necessarily the institutions at which they work or the agencies which support the work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Authors.
PY - 2023/6
Y1 - 2023/6
N2 - Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This study reviews the emission sources and chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of airborne soil particles (dust) and their effects on human and environmental health and safety in the Pan-American region. American dust originates from both local sources (western United States, northern Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) and long-range transport from Africa and Asia. Dust properties, as well as the trends and interactions with criteria air pollutants, are summarized. Human exposure to dust is associated with adverse health effects, including asthma, allergies, fungal infections, and premature death. In the Americas, a well-documented and striking effect of soil dust is its association with Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley fever, an infection caused by inhalation of soil-dwelling fungi unique to this region. Besides human health, dust affects environmental health through nutrients that increase phytoplankton biomass, contaminants that diminish water supply and affect food (crops/fruits/vegetables and ready-to-eat meat), spread crop and marine pathogens, cause Valley fever among domestic and wild animals, transport heavy metals, radionuclides and microplastics, and reduce solar and wind power generation. Dust is also a safety hazard to road transportation and aviation, in the southwestern US where blowing dust is one of the deadliest weather hazards. To mitigate the harmful effects, coordinated regional and international efforts are needed to enhance dust observations and prediction capabilities, soil conservation measures, and Valley fever and other disease surveillance.
AB - Risks associated with dust hazards are often underappreciated, a gap between the knowledge pool and public awareness that can be costly for impacted communities. This study reviews the emission sources and chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of airborne soil particles (dust) and their effects on human and environmental health and safety in the Pan-American region. American dust originates from both local sources (western United States, northern Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina) and long-range transport from Africa and Asia. Dust properties, as well as the trends and interactions with criteria air pollutants, are summarized. Human exposure to dust is associated with adverse health effects, including asthma, allergies, fungal infections, and premature death. In the Americas, a well-documented and striking effect of soil dust is its association with Coccidioidomycosis, commonly known as Valley fever, an infection caused by inhalation of soil-dwelling fungi unique to this region. Besides human health, dust affects environmental health through nutrients that increase phytoplankton biomass, contaminants that diminish water supply and affect food (crops/fruits/vegetables and ready-to-eat meat), spread crop and marine pathogens, cause Valley fever among domestic and wild animals, transport heavy metals, radionuclides and microplastics, and reduce solar and wind power generation. Dust is also a safety hazard to road transportation and aviation, in the southwestern US where blowing dust is one of the deadliest weather hazards. To mitigate the harmful effects, coordinated regional and international efforts are needed to enhance dust observations and prediction capabilities, soil conservation measures, and Valley fever and other disease surveillance.
KW - America
KW - dust
KW - environmental health
KW - health effect
KW - mitigation
KW - safety
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U2 - 10.1029/2021RG000763
DO - 10.1029/2021RG000763
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85162091508
SN - 8755-1209
VL - 61
JO - Reviews of Geophysics
JF - Reviews of Geophysics
IS - 2
M1 - e2021RG000763
ER -