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At least 34 of 97 people living in or near areas where coal ash is prevalent have suffered respiratory tract infection, according to a study conducted by environmentalists last week in Naga, southern Cebu.
The study, however, did not state the specific cause of the infection.
The study was conducted by a team led by Dr. Oliver Gimenez. It sought to get a general idea of the health situation of communities exposed to coal ash, such as those living near coal-fired power plants or in areas where coal ash was dumped.
Last week, a team composed of eight doctors, five nurses and a nursing student surveyed such areas.
They were led by Gimenez, executive director of Community Empowerment Resources Network, and joined by University of the Philippines professor of pharmacology and toxicology Dr. Romeo Quijano and Dr. Cora Lou Kintanar, chief of the Local Health Assistance Division of the Department of Health in Central Visayas.
Apart from contributing to the long-term degradation of the environment and global climate, the group claimed that coal ash, particularly its component fly ash that is released into the atmosphere when coal is burned, is a pollutant that contains mercury, lead and arsenic that can cause various illnesses, including respiratory diseases, when inhaled.
Quijano earlier said people exposed to coal ash were more prone to cancer, immune system dysfunction, neurobehavioral impairment, blood diseases, diabetes and thyroid dysfunction.
Hypertension is also a common symptom of coal ash exposure. Eight of the 97 people surveyed were found to have high blood pressure.
Exposure can also lead to urinary tract infection and musculoskeletal fatigue.
Other symptoms include susceptibility to viral infection, acute bronchitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis and pneumonia.
Dr. Kintanar earlier noted that there was a prevalence of fungal infection among the people she studied, though she said that this was common in tropical climates.
As part of a related study, the same group collected samples of coal ash dumped in various parts of Naga for toxicity studies.
Among the coal ash dumps in Naga from which samples were taken was a spot near a river in barangay Poblacion North and a reclamation area in barangay Colon where coal ash was used as filling material.
The samples were brought to Manila last Wednesday for study at the Ateneo de Manila University?s Philippine Institute of Pure and Applied Science.
The samples arrived a day late after the courier, Owen Migraso of the Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center Inc., was questioned by airport officials regarding the transport of the 12 coal ash samples of 300 milligrams each in his possession.
