Malodor as a trigger of stress and negative mood in neighbors of industrial hog operations

[Study of self-reported health of people living near point sources of environmental pollution: a review. First part: health indicators]

BACKGROUND

Epidemiological studies have investigated the health impacts of local sources of environmental pollution using as an outcome variable self-reported health, reflecting the overall perception interviewed people have of their own health. This work aims at analyzing the advantages and the results of this approach. A first step focused on describing the indicators.

METHODS

The literature on indicators of self-reported health was reviewed, leading to a discussion on data collection, selection of health effects, data processing, and construction of indicators.

RESULTS

The literature review concerned 51 articles. The use of self-reported health indicators allowed the studies to take into account the health concerns and complaints of populations exposed to environmental pollution. Various indicators of self-reported health were used in the studies. They measured physical, psychological and general dimensions of health. Standardized questionnaires were used less often than ad hoc questionnaires (78% of studies) developed to fit the needs of a given study. Three standardized questionnaires were used more frequently: the MOS Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) to measure general health perceptions, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and the Symptoms Checklist (SCL-90) to measure psychological distress.

CONCLUSION

The choice of self-reported health indicators is a compromise between specificity of the studied health issues within a given environment and standardization of the questionnaires used to measure them. Such standardization is necessary to ensure the validity and the reliability of the information collected across time and situations. The psychometric properties of the measuring questionnaires are rarely estimated or verified when they are used.

Land application of treated sewage sludge: community health and environmental justice

BACKGROUND

In the United States, most of the treated sewage sludge (biosolids) is applied to farmland as a soil amendment. Critics suggest that rules regulating sewage sludge treatment and land application may be insufficient to protect public health and the environment. Neighbors of land application sites report illness following land application events.

OBJECTIVES

We used qualitative research methods to evaluate health and quality of life near land application sites.

METHODS

We conducted in-depth interviews with neighbors of land application sites and used qualitative analytic software and team-based methods to analyze interview transcripts and identify themes.

RESULTS

Thirty-four people in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia responded to interviews. Key themes were health impacts, environmental impacts, and environmental justice. Over half of the respondents attributed physical symptoms to application events. Most noted offensive sludge odors that interfere with daily activities and opportunities to socialize with family and friends. Several questioned the fairness of disposing of urban waste in rural neighborhoods. Although a few respondents were satisfied with the responsiveness of public officials regarding sludge, many reported a lack of public notification about land application in their neighborhoods, as well as difficulty reporting concerns to public officials and influencing decisions about how the practice is conducted where they live.

CONCLUSIONS

Community members are key witnesses of land application events and their potential impacts on health, quality of life, and the environment. Meaningful involvement of community members in decision making about land application of sewage sludge will strengthen environmental health protections.

Investigating the role of state and local health departments in addressing public health concerns related to industrial food animal production sites

Objectives

Evidence of community health concerns stemming from industrial food animal production (IFAP) facilities continues to accumulate. This study examined the role of local and state health departments in responding to and preventing community-driven concerns associated with IFAP.

Methods

We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews with state and county health department staff and community members in eight states with high densities or rapid growth of IFAP operations. We investigated the extent to which health concerns associated with IFAP sites are reported to health departments, the nature of health departments’ responses, and barriers to involvement.

Results

Health departments’ roles in these matters are limited by political barriers, lack of jurisdiction, and finite resources, expertise, and staff. Community members reported difficulties in engaging health departments on these issues.

Conclusions

Our investigation suggests that health departments frequently lack resources or jurisdiction to respond to health concerns related to IFAP sites, resulting in limited engagement. Since agencies with jurisdiction over IFAP frequently lack a health focus, increased health department engagement may better protect public health.

Air pollution from industrial swine operations and blood pressure of neighboring residents

BACKGROUND

Industrial swine operations emit odorant chemicals including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and volatile organic compounds. Malodor and pollutant concentrations have been associated with self-reported stress and altered mood in prior studies.

OBJECTIVES

We conducted a repeated-measures study of air pollution, stress, and blood pressure in neighbors of swine operations.

METHODS

For approximately 2 weeks, 101 nonsmoking adult volunteers living near industrial swine operations in 16 neighborhoods in eastern North Carolina sat outdoors for 10 min twice daily at preselected times. Afterward, they reported levels of hog odor on a 9-point scale and measured their blood pressure twice using an automated oscillometric device. During the same 2- to 3-week period, we measured ambient levels of H2S and PM10 at a central location in each neighborhood. Associations between systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, respectively) and pollutant measures were estimated using fixed-effects (conditional) linear regression with adjustment for time of day.

RESULTS

PM10 showed little association with blood pressure. DBP [β (SE)] increased 0.23 (0.08) mmHg per unit of reported hog odor during the 10 min outdoors and 0.12 (0.08) mmHg per 1-ppb increase of H2S concentration in the same hour. SBP increased 0.10 (0.12) mmHg per odor unit and 0.29 (0.12) mmHg per 1-ppb increase of H2S in the same hour. Reported stress was strongly associated with BP; adjustment for stress reduced the odor-DBP association, but the H2S-SBP association changed little.

CONCLUSIONS

Like noise and other repetitive environmental stressors, malodors may be associated with acute blood pressure increases that could contribute to development of chronic hypertension.

Method development for determining the malodor source and pollution in industrial park

Malodor pollution emitted from industrial park has become an important environmental issue. However, the difficulty in investigating malodor pollution is in determining the malodor source. The objective of this study was to develop a model for determining the malodor source and pollution in industrial park, via multiple time and site measurements of odor intensity and air pollutants, together with wind direction in different seasons, and the critical environmental factors could be also identified by correlating the odor intensities with meteorological conditions and the concentrations of air pollutants. A high-malodor-polluted industrial park involving metal and petrochemistry processing industries was selected as the study subject, and sampling was performed close to residential districts. Nine sites were selected as sampling points by a chessboard design, with each site measured for 5 days in fall and spring, respectively. Odor intensity (ratings 0-5) and environmental factors, including meteorological condition, PM(10), PM(2.5), total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs), ammonia and reduced sulfides, were evaluated six times daily. The results indicated that the incidences of odor ratings 1-5 were 71.9% and 81.0% in two seasons in the sampling area, and an open ditch for collecting industrial wastewater for feeding to the wastewater treatment plant was identified as the main odor source. Multiple regression analysis showed that the odor rating significantly correlated with TVOC concentration and wind speed (P<0.05); odor intensity increased by 0.001 units on the rating scale for each 1 ppb increase in TVOCs, and decreased by 0.154 units for each 1m/s increase in wind speed. This study developed a method to explore malodor pollution in industrial park, providing a novel thinking to understand and resolve malodor problems.

Relation between malodor, ambient hydrogen sulfide, and health in a community bordering a landfill

BACKGROUND

Municipal solid waste landfills are sources of air pollution that may affect the health and quality of life of neighboring communities.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate health and quality of life concerns of neighbors related to landfill air pollution.

METHODS

Landfill neighbors were enrolled and kept twice-daily diaries for 14d about odor intensity, alteration of daily activities, mood states, and irritant and other physical symptoms between January and November 2009. Concurrently, hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) air measurements were recorded every 15-min. Relationships between H(2)S, odor, and health outcomes were evaluated using conditional fixed effects regression models.

RESULTS

Twenty-three participants enrolled and completed 878 twice-daily diary entries. H(2)S measurements were recorded over a period of 80d and 1-h average H(2)S=0.22ppb (SD=0.27; range: 0-2.30ppb). Landfill odor increased 0.63 points (on 5-point Likert-type scale) for every 1ppb increase in hourly average H(2)S when the wind was blowing from the landfill towards the community (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29, 0.91). Odor was strongly associated with reports of alteration of daily activities (odds ratio (OR)=9.0; 95% CI: 3.5, 23.5), negative mood states (OR=5.2; 95% CI: 2.8, 9.6), mucosal irritation (OR=3.7; 95% CI=2.0, 7.1) and upper respiratory symptoms (OR=3.9; 95% CI: 2.2, 7.0), but not positive mood states (OR=0.6; 95% CI: 0.2, 1.5) and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (OR=1.0; 95% CI: 0.4, 2.6).

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest air pollutants from a regional landfill negatively impact the health and quality of life of neighbors.

Air pollution, lung function, and physical symptoms in communities near concentrated Swine feeding operations

BACKGROUND

Concentrated animal feeding operations emit air pollutants that may affect health. We examined associations of reported hog odor and of monitored air pollutants with physical symptoms and lung function in people living within 1.5 miles of hog operations.

METHODS

Between September 2003 and September 2005, we measured hydrogen sulfide (H2S), endotoxin, and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5, and PM2.5-10) for approximately 2-week periods in each of 16 eastern North Carolina communities. During the same time periods, 101 adults sat outside their homes twice a day for 10 minutes, reported hog odor and physical symptoms, and measured their lung function. Conditional fixed-effects logistic and linear regression models were used to derive estimates of associations.

RESULTS

The log odds (±1 standard error) of acute eye irritation following 10 minutes outdoors increased by 0.53 (±0.06) for every unit increase in odor, by 0.15 (±0.06) per 1 ppb of H2S, and by 0.36 (±0.11) per 10 μg/m of PM10. Odor and H2S were also associated with irritation and respiratory symptoms in the previous 12 hours. The log odds of difficulty breathing increased by 0.50 (±0.15) per unit of odor. A 10 μg/m increase in mean 12-hour PM2.5 was associated with increased log odds of wheezing (0.84 ± 0.29) and declines in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (-0.04 ± 0.02 L). A 10 EU/mg increase in endotoxin was associated with increased log odds of sore throat (0.10 ± 0.05), chest tightness (0.09 ± 0.04), and nausea (0.10 ± 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Pollutants measured near hog operations are related to acute physical symptoms in a longitudinal study using analyses that preclude confounding by time-invariant characteristics of individuals.

Suitability of public records for evaluating health effects of treated sewage sludge in North Carolina

BACKGROUND

Exposure to potentially harmful agents because of waste disposal practices is receiving increased attention. Treated sewage sludge (TSS), or biosolid material, is the solid waste generated during domestic sewage treatment after it has undergone processes to reduce the number of pathogens and vector attractants. Application of TSS to land, which is the most common method for disposal, is promoted as a soil amendment and fertilizer. Few studies have examined the effects of land application on the health and quality of life of neighboring populations. We describe and summarize publicly available records that could be used to study the public health impact of practices associated with land application in North Carolina.

METHODS

We abstracted public records from the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources Division of Water Quality, to determine the following activities associated with land application of TSS in 8 counties in central North Carolina: the process for obtaining permits, reported applications, violations, documented concerns of residents, and penalties assessed.

RESULTS

The Division of Water Quality routinely collects records of permits and approvals for land application of TSS, amounts applied, and reported pollutant levels. Documentation was useful in summarizing land application practices, but lack of standardization in reporting was a concern. Research into the public health impacts of the land application program is hindered by inconsistency in documenting inspections and resident concerns.

LIMITATIONS

We were not able to validate state records with direct observation of land application of TSS.

CONCLUSIONS

Records from the Division of Water Quality would be of limited use in epidemiologic studies of the health effects of land application of biosolids. Information about locations, amounts, and dates of application are relevant to exposure potential, but additional information is needed for health investigations.