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Background: Studies have indicated a population-level association between coal mining and cancer incidence and mortality, but few studies specifically examined residential proximity to this exposure using spatial analysis. We utilized a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) approach to perform spatial and statistical analyses to test two coal mining exposure variables and their associations with cancer incidence and mortality in Illinois--the fourth highest coal producing state in the United States., Methods: Data included age-adjusted county-level cancer incidence and mortality for five cancers: all malignant, lung, colorectal, breast (female) and prostate. Coal mining exposure was defined by two variables: coal production group and distance-weighted exposure. Spatial analyses were performed to identify spatial clustering. Correlation and stepwise regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship between cancer incidence and mortality and coal mining exposures. Covariates considered in regression analyses included socioeconomic deprivation, former/current smoking prevalence, race, and rurality., Results: Global spatial autocorrelation indicated significant spatial clustering of incidence, mortality and aggregated coal production. Distance-weighted exposure was significantly correlated with coal production group, age-adjusted all cancer incidence and age-adjusted all cancer mortality. Regression analyses indicated an association between recent coal production and colorectal cancer incidence (p=0.009) and mortality (p=0.035) and prostate cancer mortality (p=0.047). Distance weighted exposure was associated with lung cancer incidence (p=0.004) and mortality (p<0.001), and all cancer mortality (p<0.001)., Conclusion: Coal production, incidence and mortality are spatially clustered in Illinois. Exposures to coal mining were associated with elevated risk of multiple cancers, most notably lung and colorectal. The environmental impact of the mining industry is substantial, and exposure of individuals residing near coal mines to known carcinogens is plausible. Future studies are needed to further elucidate the population exposure dynamics of coal mining, and should be explored using individual-level exposures and cancer outcomes., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The fossil calvaria known as the Mojokerto child's skull was discovered in 1936, but uncertainties have persisted about its paleoenvironmental context and geological age because of difficulties in relocating the discovery site. Past relocation efforts were hindered by inaccuracies in old base maps, intensive post-1930s agricultural terracing, and new tree and brush growth. Fortunately geologic cross sections and site photographs from 1936-1938-not fully utilized in past relocation fieldwork-closely circumscribe site geography and geology. These documents match the conditions at just one sandstone outcrop. It is situated on the southern margin of a topographic nose at the upper end of a approximately 18 m-wide gully ( approximately 0663760 m E, 9183430 m N, UTM Zone 49 M), approximately 15 m southeast of the Kumai et al. (1985) relocation. The relocated discovery bed is approximately 3.3 m of fossiliferous pebbly sandstone, a river-channel deposit cut into tuffaceous mudstone. The sandstone and mudstone beds correspond to original site descriptions. Pebbly sandstone is also found within the skull. The calvaria is well-preserved and taphonomically similar to large and fragile specimens found among several hundred vertebrate fossils excavated from the sandstone in 2001-2002. Since no well-preserved fossils were found intact at the surface of the sandstone, the good condition of the Mojokerto skull suggests that it was buried fully when discovered. The relocated hominin bed is the uppermost fluvial sandstone of a marine-deltaic sequence in the upper Pucangan Formation. The Mojokerto child probably died along the ancient seacoast, judging from the large extent of the deltaic facies and evidence that the calvaria experienced minimal transport. The relocated discovery bed is approximately 20 m stratigraphically above the horizon from which the widely cited 1.81+/-0.04 Ma (40)Ar/(39)Ar date for the skull was obtained. Additional field and laboratory results will be required to determine the skull's age.