A review of waste management practices and their impact on human health.

By L. Giusti. Waste Management, 2009

797 citations recorded by the source corpus.

This work reviews (i) the most recent information on waste arisings and waste disposal options in the world, in the European Union (EU), in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OEDC) countries, and in some developing countries (notably China) and (ii) the potential direct and indirect impact of waste management activities on health. Though the main focus is primarily on municipal solid waste (MSW), exposure to bioaerosols from composting facilities and to pathogens from sewage treatment plants are considered. The reported effects of radioactive waste are also briefly reviewed. Hundreds of epidemiological studies reported on the incidence of a wide range of possible illnesses on employees of waste facilities and on the resident population. The main conclusion of the overall assessment of the literature is that the evidence of adverse health outcomes for the general population living near landfill sites, incinerators, composting facilities and nuclear installations is usually insufficient and inconclusive. There is convincing evidence of a high risk of gastrointestinal problems associated with pathogens originating at sewage treatment plants. In order to improve the quality and usefulness of epidemiological studies applied to populations residing in areas where waste management facilities are located or planned, preference should be given to prospective cohort studies of sufficient statistical power, with access to direct human exposure measurements, and supported by data on health effect biomarkers and susceptibility biomarkers.

Subfields: Radiological and Ultrasound Technology, Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/8136368261536e4d6b468bc737147ad51872b97f

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Citations in the corpus

• An overview of the environmental pollution and health effects associated with waste landfilling and open dumping (2022, background): “Giusti (2009) stated that the ways of exposure that result in health effects associated with waste landfilling are inhalation, consumption, and the food chain.”
• Modification of tamarind fruit shell powder with in situ generated copper nanoparticles by single step hydrothermal method (2020, background): “The amount of solid waste is increasing alarmingly with the growth of the world economy (El-Fadel et al., 1997; Hamer, 2003; Harrison and Hester, 2007; Giusti, 2009).”
• Sustainable Waste-to-Energy Development in Malaysia: Appraisal of Environmental, Financial, and Public Issues Related with Energy Recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (2019, background): “Giusti [50] reported that the flue gases from incinerators containing acidic gases (SO2, NOx, N2O, HCl, HF), certain metals (arsenic, beryllium, chromium, cadmium, lead and mercury), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), dioxins, furans, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphen”
• The Concept of Waste and Waste Management (2016, neutral): “However, Giusti (2009) reported that waste production and management was not a major issue until people began living together in communities. Vergara & Tchobanoglous (2012) reported that as population and purchasing power of people increases worldwide, more goods are produced to meet increasing dema”