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Exposure to mining fossil fuels reportedly makes it more likely to be diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to a paper recently published in Environmental Research.
the study, which was conducted in New Brunswick, Canada, showed that individuals with longterm exposure to sulfur dioxide, which is produced by the combustion of oil-based fuel and coal, are suspected to be 23% more likely to develop the neurodegenerative disease, revealed. Researchers noted the high number of ALS patients within the region, where fossil fuels are present.
"If there's so many cases in New Brunswick, you know, what's going on? What's causing it?" asked lead author Daniel Saucier, who had just completed his master's degree doing research on diagnostic methods for ALS when the study began. "But we know very little about what causes ALS."
Saucier and his team compared 304 people diagnosed with ALS to 1,207 non-patients of the same age and sex, basing the individual exposure to pollutants on environmental records before focusing on the estimated pollution levels that would've been present at the subjects' homes.
"And sure enough, it turned out that it looked like air pollution was potentially related to the increased cases of ALS in New Brunswick, with sulfur dioxide appearing to be the one that had a significant association of ALS," Saucier said.
The study only took association, not causation, into consideration and it's unclear whether there was an increase of SO2 clusters within the region or what may have caused them.