Impact of exposure to mine fire emitted PM2.5 on ambulance attendances: A time series analysis from the Hazelwood Health Study

Abstract

Background: For six weeks from February 9, 2014, smoke and ash from a fire in the Morwell open cut brown coal mine adjacent to the Hazelwood power station covered parts of the Latrobe Valley, in south eastern Australia. Aims: To evaluate the health impact of the mine fire, daily counts of ambulance attendances from July 2010 to March 2015 were analysed. Methods: Time series models were used to evaluate the relative risk of ambulance attendances during the mine fire, in comparison with the remainder of the analysis period, and to also assess the risk of ambulance attendances associated with lagged effects of exposure to mine fire-related PM2.5 levels. The models controlled for factors likely ..