Academic Journal
Exposures to combustion sources near military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan using satellite observations.
| Τίτλος: | Exposures to combustion sources near military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan using satellite observations. |
|---|---|
| Συγγραφείς: | Franklin M; Department of Statistical Sciences and School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada. meredith.franklin@utoronto.ca., Yin X; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA., Korpak A; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Seattle Epidemiologic Research and Information Center, VA Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, USA., Blanc PD; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Healthcare System San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.; Department of Medicine, Division of Occupational, Environmental and Climate Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA., Koutrakis P; Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA., Garshick E; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Healthcare System Boston, Boston, MA, USA.; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. |
| Πηγή: | Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology [J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol] 2026 Sep; Vol. 36 (5), pp. 834-844. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 10. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Nature Pub. Group Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 101262796 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1559-064X (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15590631 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: New York, NY : Nature Pub. Group, c2006- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Environmental Monitoring*/methods , Environmental Exposure*/analysis , Air Pollutants*/analysis , Military Personnel* , Satellite Imagery* , Fires*, Iraq ; Humans ; Afghan Campaign 2001- ; United States ; Afghanistan ; Open Waste Burning ; Iraq War, 2003-2011 |
| Περίληψη: | Background: U.S. military personnel deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq were stationed on bases impacted by airborne hazards including emissions from combustion sources. Due to limited environmental monitoring during military operations, exposure levels remain poorly characterized. Objective: We used satellite observations to identify the locations and persistence of combustion sources on and near military bases in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2002 to 2012, the peak period of open-air combustion. Methods: Daily fire detections from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) were clustered using density-based methods to identify persistent burning within 5 km of bases. Validation was conducted using military imagery and Google Earth. A sensitivity analysis compared MODIS fire detections to those from the newer Visible Infrared Imaging Spectroradiometer (VIIRS) at a civilian burn pit in Djibouti. Results: MODIS detected 285,810 fires in Iraq and 3702 in Afghanistan. Clustering identified 398 bases in Iraq and 122 in Afghanistan with burning nearby. In Iraq, persistent clusters were linked to oil and gas flares, while smaller clusters on bases in both countries were consistent with burn pits. MODIS and VIIRS both detected the Djibouti burn pit, but VIIRS recorded three times more fire detections, highlighting its sensitivity in detecting biomass and waste burning. Impact: This study is the first to use satellite fire detections to objectively map and quantify combustion sources at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2002-2012. By applying density-based clustering to MODIS data and validating with high-resolution imagery, we identified persistent burning patterns near and on bases. This approach overcomes the limitations of self-reported exposure data and provides a reproducible framework for assessing deployment-related combustion exposures. The findings highlight both the utility and limitations of MODIS and demonstrate the potential of satellite observations for Veteran health research. (© 2025. The Author(s).) |
| Competing Interests: | Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This study does not involve human subjects. Access to military base geospatial information fell under CSP #595, a study approved by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Central Institutional Review Board (protocol number 1613196). All methods were performed in accordance with the relevant guidelines and regulations. |
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| Grant Information: | CSP 595 United States CU CSP VA |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Combustion-related exposures; Military deployment; Occupational exposures; Remote sensing; Veteran health |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Air Pollutants) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251010 Date Completed: 20260903 Latest Revision: 20260904 |
| Update Code: | 20260904 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC12637216 |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41370-025-00804-z |
| PMID: | 41073689 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
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