Impact on the Quality of Life When Living Close to a Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant

Abstract

The objective of the study was to investigate the impact on the quality of life of people living close to a municipal wastewater treatment plant. A case control study, including 235 inhabitants living within a 500 m radius by a municipal wastewater treatment plant (cases) and 97 inhabitants living in a different area (controls), was conducted. A standardized questionnaire was self-completed by the participants which examined the general health perception and the overall life satisfaction. Also, the concentration of airborne pathogenic microorganisms in aerosol samples collected around the wastewater treatment plant was investigated. Significant risk for symptoms such as headache, unusual tiredness, and concentration difficulties was recorded and an increased possibility for respiratory and skin diseases was reported. A high rate of the cases being irritable and moody was noticed. Significantly higher gastrointestinal symptoms were also reported among the cases in relation to the controls. The prevalence of pathogenic airborne microorganisms originating from the wastewater treatment plant was reported in high numbers in sampling points close to the wastewater treatment plant. More analytical epidemiological investigations are needed to determine the cause as well as the burden of the diseases to inhabitants living surrounding the wastewater treatment plant.

Quality of Life and Factors Influencing it: A Study Among People Living Near a Waste Treatment Plant

“…In this study, although the QoL score for the aspect of physical health was relatively high, signi cant differences in dermatological syndromes and digestive disorders between the two residential groups (P < 0.05) could be determined (Appendix 5). In contrast, previous studies do not report any increases in illness [21] or demonstrate an increase mainly in respiratory diseases in populations living near wastewater treatment plants [23]. This could be attributed to the different impacts of solid waste treatment plants and wastewater treatment plants, as well as local factors such as living environment, health status, climate, geography, genetics, and immune status of the population.…”

“…In particular, 57.8% of those in Group 1 thought that the operation of the plant had a negative impact on their lives (Appendix 4). A previous study carried out in Greece [21] noted that the frequency of being in a bad mood, being angry, and getting sick reported by the subjects was signi cantly higher among residents living close to a wastewater treatment plant than all others. Although the impact of a wastewater treatment plant is certainly different from that of the plant studied here, both results combined suggest that the distance from a plant is likely an important determinant of the QoL for the residents.…”

“…Further, 90.9% and 4.6% of subjects in Groups 1 and 2, respectively, believed that it was caused by the WTP (Appendix 8). A study in Greece also revealed that a large number (79.6%) of subjects living near a wastewater treatment plant were affected by odors [21]. Waste transportation, which can cause dust, was also identi ed as a negative factor for the air quality; while 12.6% of the subjects in Group 1 mentioned this issue, none of the subjects in Group 2 were affected by the waste transportation (Appendix 9).…”

“…While most previous studies that evaluated the impact of WTPs focused on the health problems from which nearby residents suffer, other aspects such as mental health, social relationships, and the environment have been scarcely discussed [21][22][23][24][25]. The present study aims to evaluate the residents' QoL as a comprehensive indicator of the impact of a WTP on these aspects for the people living near one using the World Health Organization's (WHO) Quality of Life assessment scale, WHOQOL-BREF, which has been used to measure the QoL both for the general population and for those suffering from different diseases [26,27,28].…”

Microbial Analysis of Drinking Water from Nadi to Lautoka Area in Viti Levu Fiji

“…It is likely that these water sources are in close proximity to livestock and have faced fecal contamination. Also, these drinking water sources could have been situated near human waste disposal sites which could have led to contamination(Vantarakis et al, 2016). The same is likely for rainwater and creek water samples.…”