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Volcanic air pollution over the Island of Hawai'i: Emissions, dispersal, and composition. Association with respiratory symptoms and lung function in Hawai'i Island school children

Overview of attention for article published in Environment International, May 2016
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  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (94th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (89th percentile)

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4 news outlets
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1 X user

Citations

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58 Dimensions

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141 Mendeley
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Title
Volcanic air pollution over the Island of Hawai'i: Emissions, dispersal, and composition. Association with respiratory symptoms and lung function in Hawai'i Island school children
Published in
Environment International, May 2016
DOI 10.1016/j.envint.2016.03.025
Pubmed ID
Authors

Elizabeth Tam, Rei Miike, Susan Labrenz, A. Jeff Sutton, Tamar Elias, James Davis, Yi-Leng Chen, Kelan Tantisira, Douglas Dockery, Edward Avol

Abstract

Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai'i has erupted continuously since 1983, releasing approximately 300-12000metrictons per day of sulfur dioxide (SO2). SO2 interacts with water vapor to produce an acidic haze known locally as "vog". The combination of wind speed and direction, inversion layer height, and local terrain lead to heterogeneous and variable distribution of vog over the island, allowing study of respiratory effects associated with chronic vog exposure. We characterized the distribution and composition of vog over the Island of Hawai'i, and tested the hypotheses that chronic vog exposure (SO2 and acid) is associated with increased asthma prevalence, respiratory symptoms, and reduced pulmonary function in Hawai'i Island schoolchildren. We compiled data of volcanic emissions, wind speed, and wind direction over Hawai'i Island since 1992. Community-based researchers then measured 2- to 4-week integrated concentrations of SO2 and fine particulate mass and acidity in 4 exposure zones, from 2002 to 2005, when volcanic SO2 emissions averaged 1600metrictons per day. Concurrently, community researchers recruited schoolchildren in the 4th and 5th grades of 25 schools in the 4 vog exposure zones, to assess determinants of lung health, respiratory symptoms, and asthma prevalence. Environmental data suggested 4 different vog exposure zones with SO2, PM2.5, and particulate acid concentrations (mean±s.d.) as follows: 1) Low (0.3±0.2ppb, 2.5±1.2μg/m(3), 0.6±1.1nmolH+/m(3)), 2) Intermittent (1.6±1.8ppb, 2.8±1.5μg/m(3), 4.0±6.6nmolH+/m(3)), 3) Frequent (10.1±5.2ppb, 4.8±1.9μg/m(3), 4.3±6.7nmolH+/m(3)), and 4) Acid (1.2±0.4ppb, 7.2±2.3μg/m(3), 25.3±17.9nmolH+/m(3)). Participants (1957) in the 4 zones differed in race, prematurity, maternal smoking during pregnancy, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, presence of mold in the home, and physician-diagnosed asthma. Multivariable analysis showed an association between Acid vog exposure and cough and strongly suggested an association with FEV1/FVC <0.8, but not with diagnosis of asthma, or chronic persistent wheeze or bronchitis in the last 12months. Hawai'i Island's volcanic air pollution can be very acidic, but contains few co-contaminants originating from anthropogenic sources of air pollution. Chronic exposure to acid vog is associated with increased cough and possibly with reduced FEV1/FVC, but not with asthma or bronchitis. Further study is needed to better understand how volcanic air pollution interacts with host and environmental factors to affect respiratory symptoms, lung function, and lung growth, and to determine acute effects of episodes of increased emissions.

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X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profile of 1 X user who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 141 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 141 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Researcher 22 16%
Student > Master 22 16%
Student > Ph. D. Student 21 15%
Student > Bachelor 17 12%
Student > Doctoral Student 7 5%
Other 17 12%
Unknown 35 25%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 25 18%
Environmental Science 16 11%
Earth and Planetary Sciences 13 9%
Nursing and Health Professions 8 6%
Chemistry 8 6%
Other 34 24%
Unknown 37 26%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 39. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 22 May 2018.
All research outputs
#1,052,027
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Environment International
#605
of 5,186 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#19,141
of 342,343 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Environment International
#10
of 94 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 95th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 5,186 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 26.8. This one has done well, scoring higher than 88% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 342,343 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 94% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 94 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 89% of its contemporaries.