Indoor coal ash and school and social competency among children aged 6-14 years old

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Coal ash, a waste product generated when burning coal for energy, is comprised of small particles with neurotoxic heavy metal(loid)s found to be risk factors for learning and social problems in school. The purpose of this novel study was to assess the association of coal ash in children’s homes with school and social competency. METHODS: We recruited children aged 6-14 years old from communities located within 10 miles of two coal-burning power plants. In homes of the participants, coal ash was collected on polycarbonate filters using personal modular impactors. We measured school competency and social competency using the validated Child Behavioral Checklist. Using Tobit and linear regression we investigated the relationship of indoor coal ash with school and social competency. RESULTS: Forty-three percent of children in the study had coal ash in their homes. In Tobit models that were adjusted for age, sex, self-reported race, mother’s education, and traffic exposure, children with coal ash in their homes scored on average 2.5 (-4.9 to -0.1) points lower on the school competency scale than peers without ash in their homes (p=0.04). We did not observe that coal ash in homes was related with lower social competency. CONCLUSIONS: Children with coal ash in their homes had poorer performance in the school setting, compared to peers without coal ash in homes. Coal ash consists of small particles, that contains neurotoxins and may be a contributing factor to poor school performance, which potentially impairs children’s academic achievement. There are limited regulations on the storage of coal ash and this study provides impetus for more research. KEYWORDS: coal ash, fly ash, school competency, social competency, school performance, environmental exposure