Many of the world's most valuable commodities, for example, gold, diamonds, and strategic metals, and less valuable resources, for example, sand, clay, and coal, are the products of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). The miners are commonly poor people with rudimentary tools, like shovels, buckets, and pans subsisting by working shallow ore deposits. Although an inefficient mining method, the large numbers of people can contribute substantially to a country's total production. Much of this mining occurs in distant, lawless areas like the Amazon River basin or the outback in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The work is grueling and dangerous because of violence and unregulated work sites. Miners suffer from the expected collection of occupational health risks, due to, for example, accidents, chemical exposures, dust inhalation, and lifting and lugging of heavy loads. Mining communities are at risk from incidental exposures to mercury, mosquito-borne diseases, poor sanitation, and more. Human and social problems also impact health. Our paper emphasizes poverty as a risk factor for disease, as miners are caught in poverty traps—unable to leave. Injuries and disease often must remain untreated because of costs and absent clinics.

While human exploration of Mars has become increasingly likely in the near future, the health impacts of such a voyage have not yet been well characterized. This study examines potential health hazards associated with exposure to Martian dust, drawing on geological findings from Martian rovers, orbital data from probes, astronaut experiences during lunar missions, and relevant medical literature. When astronauts first landed on the Moon, lunar dust proved to be a much greater concern than previously expected. Similarly, Mars has a vastly different geological makeup and atmosphere compared to Earth. Although both Martian and lunar dust pose various health risks, the greatest concern is respiratory complications caused by inhalation. Martian dust is known to contain various carcinogens, such as silica and numerous heavy metals. The potential illnesses caused by inhalation will depend on its components and the level of exposure. While medical interventions may help reduce the disease burden, the limitations of treatment options off-planet underscore the importance of preventive measures.

The Australian 2019/2020 bushfires were unprecedented in their size and intensity, resulting in a catastrophic loss of habitat and human and animal life across eastern-Australia. We use an air pollution model (WRF-Chem) to quantify the impact of the bushfires on particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 μm (PM_2.5) concentrations. We run the model with and without emissions from the fires so their impact on PM_2.5 can be isolated. We find that between September and February an additional ∼437,000 people were exposed to “Poor” or worse air quality index levels due to the fires across eastern-Australia. Short-term exposure to high PM_2.5 concentrations has been linked to negative health impacts. Therefore, we estimate the health impact of population exposure to bushfire PM_2.5 across eastern-Australia, regionally and at city level. Our estimate indicates that between October and February 171 deaths were brought forward due to exposure to PM_2.5 from the fires. Regionally, most deaths were brought forward in New South Wales (109 deaths brought forward), Queensland (15), and Victoria (35). Within these regions, the most deaths were brought forward in Sydney (65), Melbourne (23), and Canberra-Queanbeyan (9) as large populations were exposed to high PM_2.5 concentrations due to the bushfires.

In this work we review the estimates of excess mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution at the global scale, by comparing studies available in the literature. We find large differences between the estimates, mainly caused by mathematical function used to describe the pollution-health link, as well as the number of health outcomes included in the calculations. We showed that, despite the considerable advancements in our understanding of health impacts of air pollution, the precision of the estimates has not increased in the last decades. We offer recommendations for future measurements and research directions, which will help to improve our understanding and quantification of air pollution-health relationships.

In a process called the urban heat island effect, urban areas experience higher average temperatures compared to nearby rural areas, largely due to the lack of cooling provided by trees and the heat-trapping ability of buildings and paved surfaces. While human-caused climate change is driving average global temperatures to rise, some communities and neighborhoods in Richmond, Virginia experience hotter temperatures than others. This is largely due to a historical lack of government investment in Black and low-income neighborhoods. Hotter, less resourced neighborhoods experience more heat-related health emergencies like heat stroke and heat exhaustion. This study found significant relationships between the location of heat-related illness Emergency Medical Services data from Richmond, Virginia and areas which are measurably hotter. We also found that Richmond has insufficient publicly accessible places for people with limited mobility to escape the heat, including bus stop shelters, libraries, and government cooling centers. Richmonders bear the brunt of heat emergencies unequally, with a higher proportion of heat emergencies among residents identified as Male, Black or African American, 50+ years old, and experiencing mental health, intoxication, and/or homelessness. Impacted community members should be prioritized as cities like Richmond addresses the everyday impacts of climate change and urban heat.

The Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is an international standard for how we measure the effect of heat on the human body. It is used across sectors in health, industry, sports, and climate to calculate how we feel and how our body responds during heat extremes. Its calculation has historically relied on globe thermometer and wet bulb temperature observations, which are however not widely available. This has made WBGT difficult to calculate and meant approximations have been created. Here we formulate a new WBGT method that can be used with global gridded data that are freely available and we compare it against other methods in common use. We find that our method is accurate when compared to the existing gold standard WBGT method.

Valley fever is a fungal disease most common in the southwestern United States. Generally, the disease is limited to areas that are hot and dry. Climate change will cause the western United States to become hotter and may change the location, timing, and amount of rain. This is likely to change which counties are affected by Valley fever. We used climate observations to estimate which counties in the United States have a higher risk for Valley fever. Then, we used predictions of future climate to map which counties may become affected by Valley fever during the remainder of the 21st century. By 2100, our model predicts that the area affected by Valley fever will more than double and the number of people who become sick will increase by 50%. The area affected by Valley fever will expand north into drier states in the western US, including Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota. Our estimate may help public health officials develop more effective plans so less people suffer from this disease.