Respiratory diseases of children living near a dumpsite

Abstract

Despite recognition of the socioenvironmental impacts of improper manangement and disposal of municipal solid waste (MSW), often involiving diseases, few studies have been carried out to investigate the association between this waste management and health. It is important to know the health status of people living near landfills and dumps, to make those responsible for managment aware of the need to establish more effective sanitation policies. For this purpose, we conducted a descriptive case study with primary data on repiratory diseases of children living near a trash dump. The field work was performed in two periods in 2005 and 2016. In the first, the dump was in operation, while in the second it had been shut down for about five years. The study was conducted in a city in the state of Rio de Janeiro with a population of about 47,000 people in 2006. The results indicate that the rates of respiratory diseases among children living in the area surrounding the dump were higher in 2005 than in 2016, a finding that might be related to the dump's closure. In ten cases the decline in the ailments reported by the respondents was significant, led by wheezing attacks after exercise (26.4 percengage points lower) and pneumonia (16 p.p.lower). In six cases, the rates were slightly higher, suggesting the need for a more thorough study to investigate this increase. The results are not definitive, but indicate the importance of the considering the negative health effects of trash dumps and the need to close them or improve the treatment and disposal of municipal solid waste.