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In Iraq, breathing
can be unhealthy
small particles in air add to
dangers facing U.s. troops
0.6 to 1 microgram per cubic meter of
air, Bell and her adviser, Catherine
Cahill, found. That’s at least four times
U.S. standards. During one dust storm,
aluminum levels exceeded 1,400 micrograms per cubic meter.
The noxious air probably results from
a mix of natural and man-made sources,
By Rachel Ehrenberg
said Bell. Iraq has clay deposits, sand-
ANAHEIM, Calif.— As if enemy fire, IEDs Dust storms like this one in Baghdad stone foothills and other geologic
and suicide bombers weren’t enough, can expose troops to unsafe levels of features containing zinc, lead and silicate
U.S. soldiers in Iraq also must contend dust and other particles, a study finds. minerals that get swept up in enormous
with air laden with heavy metals and dust storms in the region many times a
lung-ravaging particles, researchers metals in quantities that often exceeded year. Leaded gasoline is still widely used
reported March 30 at a meeting of the U.S. air quality standards, Jennifer Bell in Iraq, which with open trash burning,
American Chemical Society. Exposure to of the Geophysical Institute at the Uni- oil fires and debris from explosions
particles of the size collected in the study versity of Alaska Fairbanks reported. makes naturally dusty air even worse.
can lead to chronic respiratory infec- Included were particles smaller than “Mymajorconcernwouldbeforpoten-
tions, aggravate asthma and increase 2.5 micrometers, which can evade hairlike tial long-term health ramifications,” said
cardiovascular risk. projections in the nose and trachea and Robert Brook of the University of Michi-
Air samples collected over 90-minute penetrate deep into the lungs. gan Medical School in Ann Arbor. Fine
intervals at several sites in Iraq since 2008 While levels varied daily, typical con- particles are the most strongly linked to
contained dust, lead, aluminum and other centrations of lead particles ranged from adverse health effects, he said.
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