Study: Coalfields linked to premature death, health conditions

"New research concludes that people who live in Appalachia's coalfields are far more likely to have chronic heart, lung and kidney problems." (Source: "Researchers find correlation between premature deaths, coalfields," Associated Press, March 25, 2008.) "They're also more likely to die early, West Virginia University professor Michael Hendryx said Tuesday. Hendryx and Washington State University professor Melissa Ahern reached those conclusions in a study based on a telephone survey of 16,400 West Virginians, coal production data and mortality rates in eight coal-producing states." The findings will be publish next month in the American Journal of Public Health.