Comparison of Respiratory Symptoms Among Community Residents Near Waste Disposal Incinerators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Degnan D ; Feigley CE ; Hornung CA ; MacEra CA ; Mohan AK ; Mustafa T ; Shy, Carl M.
• Description:
  A previous survey found that residents near a hazardous waste incinerator reported more respiratory symptoms than residents of a nearby community. To explore the possibility that these findings might have been due to the use of a rural control site, far removed from urban pollution, we expanded the analysis to include reports of respiratory symptoms from residents of six additional communities. Residents of each of four study communities were exposed to the plumes of biomedical, municipal or hazardous waste combustors. For each study community, a comparison community was surveyed that was distant from major point sources of air pollution. Over 4200 respondents were queried by telephone about respiratory symptoms, smoking and other risk factors such as chemical exposures in the workplace and home, and provided a subjective assessment of air quality in their neighborhoods. Differences in symptom prevalence between each study community and its respective control community, as well as a combined control group, were explored, controlling for factors other than community exposure that may affect respiratory health. Results indicate a higher prevalence of all self-reported respiratory symptoms in one community near a hazardous waste incinerator compared with its control community. While this relationship persisted after controlling for perceived air quality and when compared with a combined control group, only respiratory symptoms of long duration remained significant. These results suggest that further examination of the respiratory health of residents living near this waste combustor source is warranted. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollution Community Health Services Hazardous Substances Hazardous Waste Occupational Health Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Air Pollution Author Keywords: Incinerators Community Health Hazardous Waste Incinerators Respiratory Health Respiratory Irritants Respiratory Symptoms
• ISSN:
  0960-3123
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; South Carolina
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  63-75
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057760
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Health Res 2000 Mar; 10(1):63-75
• Contact Point Address:
  Dr Aparna K. Mohan, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, 612 0 Executive Blvd, Room 7051, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2000
• Performing Organization:
  Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Health Research
• End Date:
  20040630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:acd2f4205a7517349594291bfa78d10c6c5419ea05dd3f3a29842774bf1893c0acedaa11a23acf85f5d20deb39864f349beae658668a9eb7d0e991820d2fe3ec
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214994/cdc_214994_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 452.03 KB ]