Hazardous Wastes

The Economics of Sustainability

“…The radioactive waste is managed differently from the other types of waste. Based on the data of recent studies with respect to the public health implications of the radioactive waste, the experience of industrialized nations has indicated that current efforts to manage hazardous waste are not sufficient (Belien, Boeck, & Ackere, 2011;De Rosa et al, 2017).…”

Exposure Assessment Methods in Studies on Waste Management and Health Effects: An Overview

“…Besides, exposure to substances released at waste management facilities can be acute (short-term exposure to high levels of potentially hazardous substances) and chronic, when it involves long-term exposure to low concentrations of these pollutants [12]. Thus, populations living near waste management facilities are therefore potentially exposed to a wide variety of pollutants-even at very low concentrations-directly associated with waste management processes, via inhalation of polluted air, ingestion of polluted food and water, or dermal contact with polluted soil [8,14]. Then, the exposure assessment process involves the determination of the magnitude, frequency and duration of current, past, and future exposure, as well as the identification of potential exposure pathways and exposed populations, including those particularly susceptible [14]; information on emitted pollutants potentially implying impacts on the environment and health and about common exposure patterns of the study population is therefore primarily necessary.…”

“…In fact, most of the available studies were characterized by limitations related to poor exposure assessment, aggregate level of analysis, and lack of information on relevant confounders [1]. Other major problems include the lack of scientific information for risk assessment and the need of more resources for the assessment of chemicals for which data are not available [8]. Similarly, Barba et al concluded that the available evidence suffers from limitations mainly due to study design, lack of consideration of confounders and quality of the exposure data [11].…”

“…wastes. However, the association between hazardous wastes exposure and health effects has been discussed in several studies [8]. Obviously, a separate discussion should be held concerning the health and environmental impacts of illegal waste management practices (e.g., illegal waste burying in areas not designated as waste dump sites and illegal waste burning and the fires), which can also have an impact on the environment and health, with a number of documented cases [9,10].…”

“…Obviously, a separate discussion should be held concerning the health and environmental impacts of illegal waste management practices (e.g., illegal waste burying in areas not designated as waste dump sites and illegal waste burning and the fires), which can also have an impact on the environment and health, with a number of documented cases [9,10]. In any case, the abovementioned associations can be considered as relevant only when defined in rigorously conducted epidemiology studies [8]. In this regard, a systematic review of the literature regarding the health effects of waste management [1] outlined that-given that a limited amount of evidence has been found for some associations and only a few studies have been selected for a quantitative evaluation of the health effects-the overall evidence was generally inadequate to establish a specific relationship between a waste process and health effects.…”