Burden of Disease from Toxic Waste Sites in India, Indonesia, and the Philippines in 2010

Abstract

Background: Prior calculations of the burden of disease from toxic exposures have not included estimates of the burden from toxic waste sites due to the absence of exposure data.Objective: We developed a disability-adjusted life year (DALY)-based estimate of the disease burden attributable to toxic waste sites. We focused on three low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.Methods: Sites were identified through the Blacksmith Institute’s Toxic Sites Identification Program, a global effort to identify waste sites in LMICs. At least one of eight toxic chemicals was sampled in environmental media at each site, and the population at risk estimated. By combining estimates of disease incidence from these exposures with population data, we calculated the DALYs attributable to exposures at each site.Results: We estimated that in 2010, 8,629,750 persons were at risk of exposure to industrial pollutants at 373 toxic waste sites in the three countries, and that these exposures resulted in 828,722 DALYs, with a range of 814,934–1,557,121 DALYs, depending on the weighting factor used. This disease burden is comparable to estimated burdens for outdoor air pollution (1,448,612 DALYs) and malaria (725,000 DALYs) in these countries. Lead and hexavalent chromium collectively accounted for 99.2% of the total DALYs for the chemicals evaluated.Conclusions: Toxic waste sites are responsible for a significant burden of disease in LMICs. Although some factors, such as unidentified and unscreened sites, may cause our estimate to be an underestimate of the actual burden of disease, other factors, such as extrapolation of environmental sampling to the entire exposed population, may result in an overestimate of the burden of disease attributable to these sites. Toxic waste sites are a major, and heretofore underrecognized, global health problem.

Differences in Health Symptoms among Residents Living Near Illegal Dump Sites in Los Laureles Canyon, Tijuana, Mexico: A Cross Sectional Survey

“…Even though our findings with regard to close proximity to dumpsites was inconclusive, previous studies have shown the negative effects of toxic waste sites on the environment and human health [ 70 ] including an increase in respiratory symptoms, reduced lung function [ 71 , 72 ], and spatial associations of an increased risk of certain birth defects [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 77 , 78 ], low birth weight [ 79 ], and an increased incidence of miscarriages [ 80 ].…”

The burden of chronic mercury intoxication in artisanal small-scale gold mining in Zimbabwe: data availability and preliminary estimates

“…An appropriate DW is more sensitive when determining DALYs for chronic mercury intoxication because of its relevance for morbidity. For this preliminary analysis, a DW of a comparable condition was used, as was done before e.g., [ 27 , 120 , 121 ]. Alcoholism is considered a confounding variable with mercury studies because it causes similar symptoms [ 7 , 13 , 14 , 32 , 61 ], which might justify using its DW for an approximation.…”

Household Air Pollution from Burning Biomass for Cooking and Heating – A Review of Health Hazards and Intervention Programs

“…In Ghana, researchers evaluated the influence of pollution from the smoke of biomass burning from the neighborhood in low socio economic status localities and found it to be a more significant influencer of internal household pollution due to the open courtyard nature of most houses [8]. Other sources of PM such as smoking indoors, sweeping, dusting, burning of candles and incense sticks in the household, and the impact of nearby roadways and transportation-emissions are also found to be significant household air pollution contributors [7,21,22].…”