The human health impact of waste management practices: A review of the literature and an evaluation of the evidence

Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal

Volumn 14, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 191-213

  Saffron, Lisa ^a   Giusti, Lorenzo ^a   Pheby, Derek ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST OF ENGLAND   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

Health care; Management; Waste

Indexed keywords

EID: 84986106135     PISSN: 14777835     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1108/14777830310470422     Document Type: Review

References (53)

1. Allsopp, M., Costner, P. and Johnston, P. (2001), Incineration and Human Health – State of Knowledge of the Impacts of Waste Incinerators on Human Health, Greenpeace, London.
2. Ashbolt, N.J. (1996), “Human health risk from micro-organisms in the Australian marine environment”, in Ed. Zann, L.P. and Ed. Sutton, D.C. (Eds), The State of the Marine Environment Report for Australia, Technical Annex, 2nd ed., Department of the Environment, Sport and Territories, Townsville.
3. Baker, E.L., Landrigan, P.J., Glueck, Z.J., Zack, M.M., Liddle, J.A., Burse, V.W., Housworth, W.J. and Needham, L.L. (1980), “Metabolic consequences of exposure to polychlorinated biphyenyls PCB in sewage sludge”, American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 112, pp. 553–63.
4. Barrell, R.A., Hunter, P.R. and Nichols, G. (2000), “Microbiological standards for water and their relationship to health risk”, Communicable Disease and Public Health, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 8–13.
5. Bresnitz, E.A., Roseman, J., Becker, D. and Gracely, E. (1992), “Morbidity among municipal waste incinerator workers”, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 22 No. 3, pp. 363–78.
6. British Medical Association (1998), Health and Environmental Impact Assessment – An Integrated Approach, Earthscan Publications, London, pp. 154–66.
7. Bunger, J., Antlauf-Lammers, M., Schulz, T.G., Westphal, G.A., Muller, M.M., Ruhnau, P. and Hallier, E. (2000), “Health complaints and immunological markers of exposure to bioaerosols among biowaste collectors and compost workers”, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Vol. 57 No. 7, pp. 458–64.
8. Cantor, K.P. (1997), “Drinking water and cancer”, Cancer Causes and Control, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 292–308.
9. Clark, C.S., Bjornson, H.S., Schwartz-Fulton, J., Holland, J.W. and Gartside, P.S. (1984), “Biological health risks associated with the composting of wastewater treatment plant sludge”, Journal of the Water Pollution Control Federation, Vol. 56 No. 12, pp. 1269–76.
10. Colborn, T., Myers, J.P. and Dumanoski, D. (1997), Our Stolen Future – Are We Threatening Our Fertility, Intelligence and Survival – A Scientific Detective Story, Abacus, London.
11. Croen, L.A., Shaw, G.M., Sanbonmatsu, L., Selvin, S. and Buffler, P.A. (1997), “Maternal residential proximity to hazardous waste sites and risk for selected congenital malformations”, Epidemiology, Vol. 8 No. 4, pp. 347–54.
12. Department of the Environment (1994), Health Effects from Hazardous Waste Landfill Sites. The Technical Aspects of Controlled Waste Management, Department of the Environment, London.
13. Dumontet, S., Scopa, A., Kerje, S. and Krovacek, K. (2001), “The importance of pathogenic organisms in sewage and sewage sludge”, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Vol. 51 No. 6, pp. 848–60.
14. Elliott, P., Morris, S., Briggs, D., de Hoogh, C., Hurt, C., Kold Jensen, T., Maitland, I., Lewin, A., Richardson, S. and Wakefield Jarup, L. (2001), Birth Outcomes and Selected Cancers in Populations Living near Landfill Sites: Report to the Department of Health, The Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU), Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Imperial College, London.
15. Environment Agency (2001), Environment Agency Health Effects of Composting – A Study of Three Composting Sites and Review of Past Data, AEAT, London.
16. Environmental Chemical Unit, Doh (1999), Research Programme on the Impacts of Health of Landfill Sites, Department of Health, London, available at: www.doh.gov.uk/landup.htm.
17. Fielder, H.M.P., Poon-King, C.M., Palmer, S.R., Moss, N. and Coleman, G. (2000), “Assessment of impact on health of residents living near the Nant-y-Gwyddon landfill site: retrospective analysis”, British Medical Journal, Vol. 320, pp. 19–23.
18. Geschwind, S.A., Stolwijk, J.A., Bracken, M., Fitzgerald, E., Stark, A., Olsen, C. and Melius, J. (1992), “Risk of congenital malformations associated with proximity to hazardous waste sites”, American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 135 No. 11, pp. 1197–207.
19. Gray, E.J., Peat, J.K., Mellis, C.M., Harrington, J. and Woocock, A.J. (1994), “Asthma severity and morbidity in a population sample of Sydney school children: part I – prevalence and effect of air pollutants in coastal regions”, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Medicine, Vol. 24, pp. 168–75.
20. Health Canada (2000), “Sewage sludge management”, in The Canadian Handbook on Health Impact Assessment, Office of Environmental Health Assessment, Health Canada, Quebec, Vol. 2, pp. 197–214.
21. Hertzman, C., Hayes, M., Singer, J. and Highland, J. (1987), “Upper Ottawa street landfill site health study”, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 75, pp. 173–95.
22. Hu, S.W. and Shy, C.M. (2001), “Health effects of waste incineration: a review of epidemiologic studies”, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, Vol. 51 No. 7, pp. 1100–9.
23. Institute for Environment and Health (IEH) (1995), Environmental Oestrogens – Consequences to Human Health and Wildlife, IEH, University of Leicester, Leicester.
24. Johnson, B.L. (1997), “Hazardous waste: human health effects”, Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 13 No. 2-3, pp. 121–43.
25. Johnson, B.L. (1999), “A review of the effects of hazardous waste on reproductive health”, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 181 No. 1, pp. S12–S16.
26. Kindzierski, W.B. and Gabos, S. (1996), “Health effects associated with wastewater treatment, disposal and reuse”, Water Environment Research, Vol. 68 No. 4, pp. 818–26.
27. Kuo, W., Bhattacharya, A., Succop, P. and Linz, D. (1996), “Postural stability assessment in sewer workers”, Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine, Vol. 38, pp. 27–34.
28. Lee, J.T. and Shy, C.M. (1999), “Respiratory function as measured by peak expiratory flow rate and PM10: six communities study”, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology, Vol. 9 No. 4, pp. 293–9.
29. Lundholm, M. and Rylander, R. (1983), “Work-related symptoms among sewage workers”, British Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 40, pp. 325–9.
30. Maritato, M.C., Algeo, E.R. and Keenan, R.E. (1992), “Potential human health concerns from composting”, BioCycle, Vol. 33 No. 12, p. 70.
31. Melbostad, E., Eduard, W., Skogstad, A., Sandven, P., Lassen, J., Sostrand, P. and Heldal, K. (1994), “Exposure to bacterial aerosols and work-related symptoms in sewage workers”, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 25, pp. 59–63.
32. Miller, A.B. (1996), “Review of extant community-based epidemiologic studies on health effects of hazardous wastes”, Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 225–33.
33. Mugglestone, M.A., Stutt, E.D. and Rushton, L. (2000), A Review of the Health Effects of Sea Bathing Water, Institute for Environment and Health, Leicester.
34. National Research Council (1991), “Use of biological markers in assessing human exposure to airborne contaminants”, in Human Exposure Assessment for Airborne Pollutants, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC.
35. National Research Council (2000), Waste Incineration and Public Health, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
36. Pruss, A. (1998), “Review of epidemiological studies on health effects from exposure to recreational water”, International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 1–9.
37. Richardson, D.B. (1995), “Respiratory effects of chronic hydrogen sulfide exposure”, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 28, pp. 99–108.
38. Roberts, D., Redfearn, A. and Dockerty, J. (2000), “Health effects of landfill sites: whether results are assertions or evidence is unclear” (Letter), British Medical Journal, Vol. 320 No. 7248, pp. 1541.
39. Rogers, H.R. (1996), “Sources, behaviour and fate of organic contaminants during sewage treatment and in sewage sludges”, Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 185 No. 1-3, pp. 3–26.
40. Ross, A.D., Lawrie, R.A., Keneally, J.P. and Whatmuff, M.S. (1992), “Risk characterisation and management of sewage sludge on agricultural land – implications for the environment and the food-chain”, Australian Veterinary Journal, Vol. 69 No. 8, pp. 177–81.
41. Rylander, R. (1999), “Health effects among workers in sewage treatment plants”, Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine, Vol. 56, pp. 354–7.
42. Sever, L.E. (1997), “Environmental contamination and health effects: what is the evidence?”, Toxicology and Industrial Health, Vol. 13 No. 2-3, pp. 145–61.
43. Shy, C.M., Degnan, D., Fox, D.L., Mukerjee, S., Hazucha, M.J., Boehlecke, B.A., Rothenbacher, D., Briggs, P.M., Devlin, R.B. and Wallace, D.D. (1995), “Do waste incinerators induce adverse respiratory effects? An air quality and epidemiological study of six communities”, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 103 No. 7-8, pp. 714–24.
44. Straub, T.M., Pepper, I.L. and Gerba, C.P. (1993), “Hazards from pathogenic microorganisms in land-disposed sewage sludge”, Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Vol. 132, pp. 55–91.
45. Thorn, J. and Kerekes, E. (2001), “Health effects among employees in sewage treatment plants: a literature survey”, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 40 No. 2, pp. 170–9.
46. Tomatis, L. (1990), Cancer: Causes, Occurrence and Control, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Paris.
47. Vrijheid, M. (2000), “Health effects of residence near hazardous waste landfill sites: a review of epidemiologic literature”, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 108 No. 1 (Supplement), pp. 101–12.
48. Welsh Office (1999), Health Evidence Bulletins – Wales: Healthy Environments, Welsh Office, Cardiff.
49. WHO European Centre for Environment and Health (2000), Methods of Assessing Risk to Health from Exposure to Hazards Released from Waste Landfills, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.
50. WHO (1998), Health Effects from Landfills: Impact of the Latest Research – Report on a WHO Meeting, WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.
51. Wolfinger, T.F. (1989), “Screening-level assessment of airborne carcinogen risks from uncontrolled waste sites”, Japca, Vol. 39 No. 4, pp. 461–8.
52. World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research (1997), Nutrition and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective, American Institute for Cancer Research, Washington, DC.
53. Zmirou, D., Deloraine, A., Saviuc, P., Tillier, C., Boucharlat, A. and Maury, N. (1994), “Short-term health effects of an industrial toxic waste landfill: a retrospective follow-up study in Montchanin, France”, Archives of Environmental Health, Vol. 49 No. 4, pp. 228–38.