A major pollutant in mining fossil fuels has been linked to an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), according to new research.
Long-term exposure to sulfur dioxide, a component produced by the combustion of petroleum-based fuel and coal, is associated with the development of neurodegenerative disease, an article published in Environmental research found.
The study began after health care workers at a provincial ALS clinic in New Brunswick, Canada, had noticed a higher incidence rate of patients in the region, said lead author Daniel Saucier, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec and lead author of the paper, ABC News told ABC News.
“If there are so many cases in New Brunswick, you know, what’s going on? What’s causing it?” asked Saucier, who had just finished her master’s degree doing research on diagnostic methods for ALS when the study began. “But we know very little about what causes ALS.”
United States Steel Mon Valley Works Clairton Plant and Clairton Coke Works Facility in Clairton Pennsylvania, September 11, 2023.
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Saucier and his colleagues compared 304 people who had been diagnosed with ALS with 1,207 healthy people of the same age and sex, according to the paper. They based subjects’ individual exposure to contaminants based on environmental records of their housing discourse.
The researchers then embarked on a quantitative study that analyzed estimated pollution levels in the subjects’ primary residences.
“And sure enough, it turned out that it looked like air pollution was potentially linked to the increase in ALS cases in New Brunswick, with sulfur dioxide appearing to be the one that had a significant ALS association,” Saucier said.
Subjects were 23% more likely to be diagnosed with ALS several years later, according to the study.
The study only looked at association, not causation.
It is unclear whether there are clusters of rising SO2 in the region and, if so, what is causing it, he added.
The researchers focused on the levels of sulfur dioxide present before ALS symptoms began to appear, compared to levels taken in the years before a diagnosis, according to the paper.
Drivers sit in traffic on Interstate 5 during the afternoon commute heading into downtown San Diego on October 4, 2024 in San Diego, California.
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High levels of SO2 can be created during “anything to do with mining activities,” as well as the use of fossil fuels for energy, such as burning coal or diesel-operated equipment, SaCier said.
“There may be some local concentrations that are high in the area,” he said.
All regions covered in the study were within Canada’s guidelines for clean airaccording to the newspaper.
More studies will need to be done to devise prevention strategies and better regulatory intervention on air pollution exposure levels in the name of public health, the researchers said.
“At the end of the day, if we are really going to get to a safe level of non-pollution, combustion will have to stop being our primary method of making energy and give way to new technology,” Saucier said.
ABC News’ Dr. Noor Shaik contributed to this report. Shaik is a neurology resident and member of the ABC News Medical Unit.
