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

BACKGROUND: A child’s ability to succeed in social interactions and in a school setting are important for their development and growth. Exposure to environmental pollutants has been associated with poorer school performance and fewer social interaction in children. Fly ash, a waste product generated when burning coal for energy, is comprised of small glass spheres with neurotoxic heavy metal(loid)s found to be risk factors for learning and social problems in school. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this novel study was to assess the association of fly 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, fly 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 fly ash with school and social competency. RESULTS: Forty-three percent of children in the study had fly ash in their homes. In covariate adjusted Tobit models, children with fly ash in their homes scored on average 2.63 (95% CI: −4.98, −0.28) points lower on the school competency scale than peers without ash in their homes. We did not observe that fly ash in homes was related with lower social competency. SIGNIFICANCE: Results from this study suggest that children with fly ash in their homes had poorer performance in the school setting, compared to peers without fly ash in their homes. In the US, coal-fired power plants are being closed, however health concerns about pollution from coal ash storage facilities remains. Findings from this study can provide impetus for creating of public health policy and to highlight the need future research on children’s exposure to fly ash.