Coalfield Living: a Health Hazard?

A West Virginia University study that combined study coal production data and mortality rates in eight coal-producing states with a telephone survey of 16,400 state residents "concludes that people who live in Appalachia's coalfields are far more likely to have chronic heart, lung and kidney problems," The Associated Press reports.

Public Broadcasting and The Charleston Gazette also report on the new study, which will appear in the American Journal of Public Health next month.

"Residents in major coal counties had a 70 percent increased risk of kidney disease and a 64 percent increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease such as emphysema," The Gazette article said of the findings. "Coal county residents were also 30 percent more likely to report high blood pressure."