Short-term health effects of an industrial toxic waste landfill: a retrospective follow-up study in Montchanin, France

Migraine and air pollution: A systematic review

OBJECTIVE

To systematically synthesize evidence from a broad range of studies on the association between air pollution and migraine.

BACKGROUND

Air pollution is a ubiquitous exposure that may trigger migraine attacks. There has been no systematic review of this possible association.

METHODS

We searched for empirical studies assessing outdoor air pollution and any quantified migraine outcomes. We included short- and long-term studies with quantified air pollution exposures. We excluded studies of indoor air pollution, perfume, or tobacco smoke. We assessed the risk of bias with the World Health Organization's bias assessment instrument for air quality guidelines.

RESULTS

The final review included 12 studies with over 4,000,000 participants. Designs included case-crossover, case-control, time series, and non-randomized pre-post intervention. Outcomes included migraine-related diagnoses, diary records, medical visits, and prescriptions. Rather than pooling the wide variety of exposures and outcomes into a meta-analysis, we tabulated the results. Point estimates above 1.00 reflected associations of increased risk. In single-pollutant models, the percent of point estimates above 1.00 were carbon monoxide 5/5 (100%), nitrogen dioxide 10/13 (78%), ozone 7/8 (88%), PM2.5 13/15 (87%), PM10 2/2 (100%), black carbon 0/1 (0%), methane 4/6 (75%), sulfur dioxide 3/5 (60%), industrial toxic waste 1/1 (100%), and proximity to oil and gas wells 6/13 (46%). In two-pollutant models, 16/17 (94%) of associations with nitrogen dioxide were above 1.00; however, more than 75% of the confidence intervals included the null value. Most studies had low to moderate risks of bias. Where differences were observed, stronger quality articles generally reported weaker associations.

CONCLUSIONS

Balancing the generally strong methodologies with the small number of studies, point estimates were mainly above 1.00 for associations of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter with migraine. These results were most consistent for nitrogen dioxide.

Design and Operation of Effective Landfills with Minimal Effects on the Environment and Human Health

Totaling at 7.4 billion people, the world's population is rapidly growing, bringing along with it an increase in waste generation. The impact of this exponential increase in waste generation has resulted in the increased formation and utilization of landfills. In the present day, landfills are utilized to dispose of chemical, hazardous, municipal, and electronic wastes. However, despite their convenience, most landfills are improperly managed and face constant changes from the surrounding environment that interfere with their internal landfill processes. The objectives of this mixed review are to highlight the negative impacts landfills have on the environment and public health as well as outline the need for proper management practices to mitigate these effects. Inadequate management of landfills leads to issues concerning leachate collection and landfill gas (LFG) generation, which give rise to groundwater contamination and air pollution. This paper recognizes the disadvantages of utilizing landfills as the main disposal method by focusing on these two primary effects that improper management of landfills has on the environment and human health. Many experts have also reported that communities within close proximity to improperly managed landfills have an increased risk of health issues. Apart from implementing proper landfill management practices, it is important to develop solutions to reduce waste generation altogether. This review discusses some of the innovative methods implemented by other countries to reduce landfill waste and the production of greenhouse gases as well as possible steps individuals can take to minimize their ecological footprints.

Medication use associated with exposure to manganese in two Ohio towns

This report describes the use of medications as a proxy when medical record reviews are unavailable, to study the health effects of residents environmentally exposed to air-manganese (n = 185) compared to unexposed residents (n = 90). Participants' current medication lists and medication questionnaire responses were collected in clinical interviews and categorized into 13 domains. Exposed participants reported fewer hours of sleep than controls (6.6 vs. 7.0). The exposed used significantly more medications than unexposed participants (82.2 % vs. 67.8 %) and, when adjusting for age, education, and personal income, also for pain (aOR = 2.40) and hypothyroidism (aOR = 7.03). Exposed participants with higher air-Mn concentrations, monitored for 10 years by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, were 1.5 times more likely to take pain medications. The exposed participants take significantly more medications than unexposed participants in the categories of hypothyroidism, pain, supplements, and total medications.

Differences in health symptoms among residents living near illegal dump sites in Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana, Mexico: a cross sectional survey

Living near landfills is a known health hazard prompting recognition of environmental injustice. The study aim was to compare self-reported symptoms of ill health among residents of four neighborhoods, living in haphazardly constructed settlements surrounded by illegal dumpsites in Tijuana, Mexico. One adult from each of 388 households located in Los Laureles Canyon were interviewed about demographics, health status, and symptoms. Distance from each residence to both the nearest dumpsite and the canyon bottom was assessed. The neighborhoods were selected from locations within the canyon, and varied with respect to proximity to dump sites. Residents of San Bernardo reported significantly higher frequencies of ill-health symptoms than the other neighborhoods, including extreme fatigue (OR 3.01 (95% CI 1.6-5.5)), skin problems/irritations (OR 2.73 (95% CI 1.3-5.9)), stomach discomfort (OR 2.47 (1.3-4.8)), eye irritation/tears (OR 2.02 (1.2-3.6)), and confusion/difficulty concentrating (OR 2.39 (1.2-4.8)). Proximity to dumpsites did not explain these results, that varied only slightly when adjusted for distance to nearest dumpsite or distance to the canyon bottom. Because San Bernardo has no paved roads, we hypothesize that dust and the toxicants it carries is a possible explanation for this difference. Studies are needed to further document this association and sources of toxicants.

Health impact assessment and community involvement in land remediation decisions

This paper describes a collaborative health impact assessment (HIA) of land remediation options at the site of a former smokeless fuel factory, where action had been delayed by conflict between stakeholders. The likely impacts of the processes involved on the physical and mental health of the community were examined in terms of the relevant scientific and medical literature, history of the site and evidence of local people. Although all remediation options were likely to have some adverse health effects, they could be mitigated by making choices based on the best evidence. The steering group concluded that the adverse effects of remediation would be relatively short term and could be justified by the medium- to long-term benefits of removing toxic substances. The HIA steering group's recommendations were accepted by the project working group, resulting in the resolution of long-running conflict between the residents, activists and those responsible for site remediation, which has now commenced.

Health hazards and waste management

Different methods of waste management emit a large number of substances, most in small quantities and at extremely low levels. Raised incidence of low birth weight births has been related to residence near landfill sites, as has the occurrence of various congenital malformations. There is little evidence for an association with reproductive or developmental effects with proximity to incinerators. Studies of cancer incidence and mortality in populations around landfill sites or incinerators have been equivocal, with varying results for different cancer sites. Many of these studies lack good individual exposure information and data on potential confounders, such as socio-economic status. The inherent latency of diseases and migration of populations are often ignored. Waste management workers have been shown to have increased incidence of accidents and musculoskeletal problems. The health impacts of new waste management technologies and the increasing use of recycling and composting will require assessment and monitoring.

Cancer risks in populations living near landfill sites in Great Britain

Previous studies have raised concerns about possible excess risks of bladder, brain and hepatobiliary cancers and leukaemias near landfill sites. Several cancers have been implicated, but no consistent pattern has emerged. We present a large nationwide analysis of selected cancers near landfill sites in Great Britain. The base population comprised people living within 2 km of 9565 (from a total of 19 196) landfill sites that were operational at some time from 1982 to 1997, with populations living more than 2 km from a landfill as reference. Risks of cancers at the above sites were computed with adjustment for age, sex, year of diagnosis, region and deprivation. National post-coded registers provided a total of 341 856 640 person-years for the adult cancer analyses and 113 631 443 person-years for childhood leukaemia. There were 89 786 cases of bladder cancer, 36 802 cases of brain cancer, 21 773 cases of hepatobiliary cancer, 37 812 cases of adult leukaemia and 3973 cases of childhood leukaemia. In spite of the very large scale of this national study, we found no excess risks of cancers of the bladder and brain, hepatobiliary cancer or leukaemia, in populations living within 2 km of landfill sites. The results were similar if the analysis were restricted to landfill sites licensed to carry special (hazardous) waste. Our results do not support suggestions of excess risks of cancer associated with landfill sites reported in other studies.

A comparison of the prevalence of respiratory illness and non-specific health symptoms in two Victorian cities

OBJECTIVE

To compare the prevalence of respiratory illness and non-specific health symptoms among adults and children aged 4-15 years living in Portland and Warrnambool, Victoria.

METHODS

A postal survey of 3,903 adults in Portland and Warrnambool systematically selected from the electoral roll was undertaken. Both an adults and children's questionnaire were enclosed in the mailing to each adult. If there were children aged 4-15 years in the household, an adult was asked to complete a questionnaire for the child who would next celebrate a birthday. Questionnaires were returned by 2,111 adults (54%) and for 585 children.

RESULTS

No significant differences in the prevalence of self-reported asthma or wheeze were observed among adults or children residing in Portland and Warrnambool. The likelihood of itchy eyes, skin rash and stuffy nose was significantly higher in Portland adults and children compared with those in Warrnambool. Dry cough at night was increased among Portland children, but not significantly so.

CONCLUSIONS

Higher rates of non-specific symptoms were observed in Portland but from a cross-sectional survey such as this, it is not possible to identify the cause of these higher rates. They may be related to environmental factors such as pollens or emissions from aluminium production, fertiliser production or bulk handling activities on the wharf, or they may be attributable to other factors such as response or recall bias.

Health effects of residence near hazardous waste landfill sites: a review of epidemiologic literature

This review evaluates current epidemiologic literature on health effects in relation to residence near landfill sites. Increases in risk of adverse health effects (low birth weight, birth defects, certain types of cancers) have been reported near individual landfill sites and in some multisite studies, and although biases and confounding factors cannot be excluded as explanations for these findings, they may indicate real risks associated with residence near certain landfill sites. A general weakness in the reviewed studies is the lack of direct exposure measurement. An increased prevalence of self-reported health symptoms such as fatigue, sleepiness, and headaches among residents near waste sites has consistently been reported in more than 10 of the reviewed papers. It is difficult to conclude whether these symptoms are an effect of direct toxicologic action of chemicals present in waste sites, an effect of stress and fears related to the waste site, or an effect of reporting bias. Although a substantial number of studies have been conducted, risks to health from landfill sites are hard to quantify. There is insufficient exposure information and effects of low-level environmental exposure in the general population are by their nature difficult to establish. More interdisciplinary research can improve levels of knowledge on risks to human health of waste disposal in landfill sites. Research needs include epidemiologic and toxicologic studies on individual chemicals and chemical mixtures, well-designed single- and multisite landfill studies, development of biomarkers, and research on risk perception and sociologic determinants of ill health.

Toxicology of male reproduction in animals and humans

Environmental contaminants can interfere with the male reproduction function. A review is presented of those pollutants with adverse effects on human reproduction. The possible effects of occupational and environmental exposure to various substances on male reproductive health are evaluated. This analysis considers studies showing damage of men exposed to halogenated hydrocarbons, other organic compounds, heavy metals and some physical agents, and some lifestyles, such as continuous stress, alcohol consumption, cigarette and marijuana smoking, and other addictions. Possible influences of these agents on the neuroendocrine system with the decrease of male fertility during the last decades are also discussed.