Comparative Assessment of Particulate Air Pollution Exposure from Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator Emissions

Abstract

Background. Research to date on health effects associated with incineration has found limited evidence of health risks, but many previous studies have been constrained by poor exposure assessment. This paper provides a comparative assessment of atmospheric dispersion modelling and distance from source (a commonly used proxy for exposure) as exposure assessment methods for pollutants released from incinerators. Methods. Distance from source and the atmospheric dispersion model ADMS-Urban were used to characterise ambient exposures to particulates from two municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWIs) in the UK. Additionally an exploration of the sensitivity of the dispersion model simulations to input parameters was performed. Results. The model output indicated extremely low ground level concentrations of PM10, with maximum concentrations of <0.01 μg/m3. Proximity and modelled PM10 concentrations for both MSWIs at postcode level were highly correlated when using continuous measures (Spearman correlation coefficients ~ 0.7) but showed poor agreement for categorical measures (deciles or quintiles, Cohen's kappa coefficients ≤ 0.5). Conclusion. To provide the most appropriate estimate of ambient exposure from MSWIs, it is essential that incinerator characteristics, magnitude of emissions, and surrounding meteorological and topographical conditions are considered. Reducing exposure misclassification is particularly important in environmental epidemiology to aid detection of low-level risks.

Exposure to emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators and miscarriages: A multisite study of the MONITER Project

“…In the Japanese study (Tango et al, 2004), incinerator exposure was assessed only by means of distance of individual addresses from the corresponding incinerator. More recent literature shows that distance is a weak proxy for exposure, which can be much better determined through a dispersion model (Cordioli et al, 2013;Ashworth et al, 2013). The two Italian studies (Enhance Health, 2007;Vinceti et al, 2008) evaluated the occurrence of miscarriages as the rate measured in women of childbearing age.…”

“…This approach was used in previous studies (Candela et al, 2013;Lin et al, 2006;Ranzi et al, 2011;Viel et al, 2008) and its usability in environmental epidemiology studies of point sources is well validated (Cordioli et al, 2013;Ashworth et al, 2013;Floret et al, 2006).…”

Estimating Particulate Exposure from Modern Municipal Waste Incinerators in Great Britain

“…We previously reported 20 methods for dispersion modeling around two MWIs. In the present study, our main aim was to model the spatial distribution of PM 10 concentrations within 10 km of GB MWIs in operation 2003–2010 for the resident population.…”

Spatial variation in mortality risk for hematological malignancies near a petrochemical refinery: A population-based case-control study

“…exposure is assumed to be a function of distance (Zandbergen and Chakraborty, 2006). This method may provide a poor exposure surrogate, subject to major misclassification when compared with other strategies like dispersion modelling (Ashworth et al, 2013). In addition, dichotomous exposure measurements such as “living within a certain number of kilometers” of a pollutant source may not accurately reflect a continuous reduction of exposure with increasing distance, and changing the radius cut-off may drastically change results (Waller et al, 1999).…”