{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T05:26:09Z","timestamp":1790659569342,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]],"date-time":"2024-01-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1705017600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs","award":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000005","name":"Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000005","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Sergeant Sullivan Fund at National Jewish Health","award":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["W81XWH-16-2-0018"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The relationship between exposure to inhaled inorganic particulate matter and risk for deployment-related lung disease in military personnel is unclear due in part to difficulties characterizing individual exposure to airborne hazards. We evaluated the association between self-reported deployment exposures and particulate matter (PM) contained in lung tissue from previously deployed personnel with lung disease (\u201cdeployers\u201d). The PM in deployer tissues was compared to normal lung tissue PM using the analytical results of scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The majority of PM phases for both the deployers and the controls were sub-micrometer in size and were compositionally classified as aluminum and zirconium oxides, carbonaceous particles, iron oxides, titanium oxides, silica, other silicates, and other metals. The proportion of silica and other silicates was significantly higher in the retained dust from military veterans with biopsy-confirmed deployment-related lung disease compared to the control subjects. Within the deployer population, those who had combat jobs had a higher total PM burden, though the difference was not statistically significant. These findings have important implications for understanding the role of inhaled inorganic dusts in the risk for lung injury in previously deployed military veterans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph21010091","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]],"date-time":"2024-01-12T11:43:53Z","timestamp":1705059833000},"page":"91","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Particle Morphology and Elemental Analysis of Lung Tissue from Post-9\/11 Military Personnel with Biopsy-Proven Lung Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5360-9264","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Heather","family":"Lowers","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"U.S. Geological Survey, Geology Geophysics Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO 80225, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4134-8789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lauren","family":"Zell-Baran","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Jewish Health, Department of Medicine, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Denver, CO 80206, USA"},{"name":"Department of Epidemiology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zikri","family":"Arslan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"U.S. Geological Survey, Geology Geophysics Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO 80225, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Camille M.","family":"Moore","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Jewish Health, Department of Immunology and Genomic Medicine, Center for Genes, Environment and Health, Denver, CO 80206, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cecile","family":"Rose","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Jewish Health, Department of Medicine, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, Denver, CO 80206, USA"},{"name":"Department of Medicine and Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"599","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chest.2022.10.031","article-title":"Consensus Statements on Deployment-Related Respiratory Disease, Inclusive of Constrictive Bronchiolitis: A Modified Delphi Study","volume":"163","author":"Falvo","year":"2022","journal-title":"Chest"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"National Academies Press (2020). Respiratory Health Effects of Airborne Hazards Exposures in the Southwest Asia Theater of Military Operations, National Academies Press."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.2500\/aap.2010.31.3383","article-title":"New-onset asthma among soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan","volume":"31","author":"Szema","year":"2010","journal-title":"Allergy Asthma Proc."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"222","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa1101388","article-title":"Constrictive bronchiolitis in soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan","volume":"365","author":"King","year":"2011","journal-title":"N. Engl. J. Med."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"56","DOI":"10.1016\/j.humpath.2022.02.014","article-title":"Small airways and airspace inflammation and injury distinguish lung histopathology in deployed military personnel from healthy and diseased lungs","volume":"124","author":"Rose","year":"2022","journal-title":"Hum. Pathol."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"(2024, January 08). S. 3373\u2014117th Congress (2021\u20132022): Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, S. 3373, Available online: https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/117th-congress\/senate-bill\/3373\/text."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"994","DOI":"10.3155\/1047-3289.58.8.994","article-title":"Characterization of Particulate Matter for Three Sites in Kuwait","volume":"58","author":"Brown","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1080\/08958370802464273","article-title":"Characterizing mineral dusts and other aerosols from the Middle East\u2014Part 1: Ambient sampling","volume":"21","author":"Engelbrecht","year":"2009","journal-title":"Inhal. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"291","DOI":"10.1080\/08958370802672891","article-title":"Potential health implications associated with particulate matter exposure in deployed settings in southwest Asia","volume":"21","author":"Weese","year":"2009","journal-title":"Inhal. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"106445","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2021.106445","article-title":"Estimation of ambient PM2.5 in Iraq and Kuwait from 2001 to 2018 using machine learning and remote sensing","volume":"151","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. Int."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"449","DOI":"10.1097\/JOM.0000000000002788","article-title":"Burn Pit Exposure Assessment to Support a Cohort Study of U.S. Veterans of the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan","volume":"65","author":"Woskie","year":"2023","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"235","DOI":"10.1093\/micmic\/ozac015","article-title":"Automated Particle Analysis Using Field-Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) to Characterize Inhaled Particulate Matter (PM) in Biopsied Lung Tissue","volume":"29","author":"Hayden","year":"2023","journal-title":"Microsc. Microanal."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"475","DOI":"10.1080\/15376516.2018.1449042","article-title":"Method to characterize inorganic particulates in lung tissue biopsies using field emission scanning electron microscopy","volume":"28","author":"Lowers","year":"2018","journal-title":"Toxicol. Mech. Methods"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1036","DOI":"10.1097\/JOM.0000000000001731","article-title":"Military Occupational Specialty Codes: Utility in Predicting Inhalation Exposures in Post-9\/11 Deployers","volume":"61","author":"Meehan","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_15","unstructured":"Lowers, H.A., Arslan, Z., Benzel, W., Roth, D., Plowman, T., Campbell-Hay, K., Wong, B., Mumy, K., Downey, G., and Rose, C. (2023). Geochemical Analysis of Bulk Dust and Human Respiratory Cells and Fluids in Research on Deployment-related Lung Injury. U.S. Geol. Surv. Data Release."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"D29","DOI":"10.1080\/15459624.2016.1254782","article-title":"Assessment of airborne nanoparticles present in industry of aluminum surface treatments","volume":"14","author":"Santos","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Hyg."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1007\/BF00405727","article-title":"Small airways function in aluminium and stainless steel welders","volume":"65","author":"Nielsen","year":"1993","journal-title":"Int. Arch. Occup. Environ. Health"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1179","DOI":"10.1164\/ajrccm\/142.5.1179","article-title":"Pulmonary fibrosis in aluminum oxide workers. Investigation of nine workers, with pathologic examination and microanalysis in three of them","volume":"142","author":"Jederlinic","year":"1990","journal-title":"Am. Rev. Respir. Dis."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"John Wiley & Sons (2012). The MAK-Collection for Occupational Health and Safety, John Wiley & Sons."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"John Wiley & Sons (2012). The MAK-Collection for Occupational Health and Safety, John Wiley & Sons."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"243","DOI":"10.1097\/JOM.0000000000000119","article-title":"Iraq dust is respirable, sharp, and metal-laden and induces lung inflammation with fibrosis in mice via IL-2 upregulation and depletion of regulatory T cells","volume":"56","author":"Szema","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1097\/JOM.0b013e31824327ca","article-title":"Titanium and iron in lung of a soldier with nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis and bronchiolitis after returning from Iraq","volume":"54","author":"Szema","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1093\/toxsci\/kfy217","article-title":"Afghanistan Particulate Matter Enhances Pro-Inflammatory Responses in IL-13-Exposed Human Airway Epithelium via TLR2 Signaling","volume":"166","author":"Berman","year":"2018","journal-title":"Toxicol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"115186","DOI":"10.1016\/j.taap.2020.115186","article-title":"IL-33\/ST2 signaling modulates Afghanistan particulate matter induced airway hyperresponsiveness in mice","volume":"404","author":"Berman","year":"2020","journal-title":"Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"327","DOI":"10.1080\/08958370802464299","article-title":"Characterizing Mineral Dusts and Other Aerosols from the Middle East\u2014Part 2: Grab Samples and Re-Suspensions","volume":"21","author":"Engelbrecht","year":"2009","journal-title":"Inhal. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"364","DOI":"10.1016\/0013-9351(85)90117-3","article-title":"Mineral particles, mineral fibers, and lung cancer","volume":"37","author":"Churg","year":"1985","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"18","DOI":"10.1016\/S0013-9351(87)80083-X","article-title":"Mineral particles in the lungs of subjects resident in the Rome area and not occupationally exposed to mineral dust","volume":"44","author":"Paoletti","year":"1987","journal-title":"Environ. Res."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"153","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aeolia.2013.02.003","article-title":"Assessing sources of airborne mineral dust and other aerosols, in Iraq","volume":"9","author":"Engelbrecht","year":"2013","journal-title":"Aeolian Res."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/21\/1\/91\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T13:45:52Z","timestamp":1760103952000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/21\/1\/91"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]},"references-count":28,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,1]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph21010091"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph21010091","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2024,1,12]]}}}