A new study in Nature Sustainability reveals that wind erosion and blowing dust cost the U.S. economy around $154 billion each year, impacting healthcare, transportation, agriculture, energy, and households. Conducted by researchers from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), George Mason University, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the study highlights the growing societal burden of dust storms, which are worsened by human land use, drought, and declining water resources.
Thomas Gill, Ph.D., a UTEP earth sciences professor, emphasized the significance of these findings. “Blowing dust is a major expense and creates great societal harm,” he said, comparing its costs to those of hurricanes and other natural disasters.
Healthcare costs make up a significant portion of the total, with Valley Fever an infectious disease caused by inhaling airborne fungal spores accounting for $2.7 billion annually. Dust particles can also worsen respiratory illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis.
Dust-related transportation accidents and fatalities cost at least $250 million in 2017. In agriculture, wind erosion caused $10 billion in soil productivity losses due to depleted nutrients and moisture. The renewable energy sector saw $4 billion in losses, as dust blocked sunlight from solar panels and reduced wind turbine efficiency. Household damage from dust storms amounted to $40 billion in 2017.
The researchers recommend dust mitigation strategies such as no-till farming, which leaves plant residues in place after harvest to create barriers against soil erosion. Gill also warned that ignoring these measures could lead to another economic and environmental disaster like the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
The study was funded by NASA’s Health and Air Quality Program. Future research will aim to collect more data to better estimate wind erosion’s annual costs.