Ole Miss Team Studies Health Threat From Southwest US Dust Storms

A new grant from the National Science Foundation will ally the fields of geological science and environmental toxicology for a University of Mississippi study of the health impacts of dust storms in the Southwest.

"Dust storms affect over 150 countries globally, and in the U.S., especially in the West and Southwest, this is a big concern," said Thomas Oommen, chair and professor of geology and geological engineering. "The exposure to these storms can cause serious health concerns, including cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious disease.

"If we know the composition of a dust storm early, hospitals can be better prepared in terms of what kind of infrastructure they need, what kind of medicines they need to make available and what kind of exposure you would expect."

Dust storms – exacerbated by drought and agricultural practices – kick up tons of dirt, dust, sand and other minerals, creating a cloud of debris that sweeps across arid regions, sometimes knocking down trees and damaging homes. These storms have previously been associated with adverse health effects, including respiratory and cardiovascular risks as well as valley fever, a fungal infection caused by inhaling airborne spores.

What the research is missing, however, is a comprehensive understanding of which minerals in dust storms are most likely to impact people's health. Understanding these weather events can help inform policymakers, community members and health officials.

The $300,000 grant from the NSF's Division of Research, Innovation, Synergies and Education will help Oommen and Courtney Roper, Ole Miss assistant professor of environmental toxicology, fill that gap.

"What we're kind of trying to understand is what's actually in that dust and is that potentially impacting health?" Roper said. "So, we can look at things like how many hospitalizations happen during a dust storm or in the days after a dust storm, which is common for a lot of air pollution exposures.

"Ultimately, the goal would be being able to support prediction and improve public health messaging and responses."

With data from NASA's satellites, Oommen and his team will use machine learning to analyze spectral data to determine the composition of dust storms that affected Arizona. Roper's lab will analyze hospitalization records from the areas affected by those storms.

Together, the researchers will be able to show which storms affected communities most and determine the composition of those dust clouds. That understanding will allow them to create a predictive model that can inform health risk prevention and mitigation strategies for local hospitals and health care officials.

"We do very different things, but at the end of the day, we are asking a similar question: 'How is the environment impacting health?'" Roper said. "(Dr. Oommen's) team has expertise in satellite data. Our interest is, what happens when someone's exposed and what are the health effects?

"Combining those two allows us to use the most advanced techniques to identify what might be in a storm and then connect that back to health."

Although agricultural practices and human activities contribute to dust storm frequency, they are natural phenomena, Oommen said.

"It's not something that can be easily controlled by having better land management practices because dust storms are trans-boundary events," he said. "They're not just from the U.S. They're traveling great distances from South America and even from Asian countries.

"This is a global issue. That's why we need to better manage the risks associated with these dust storms. And that's what we're trying to do."

This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation grant no. 2534192.

Top: Dust storms are becoming more frequent and more severe across several regions of the world, including the U.S. Southwest, but little research has been done on the health impact of toxins and minerals carried by the dust. UM researchers are working to better understand the composition of dust clouds in the Southwest and how they affect the health of people living there. Adobe Stock photo