Lipid peroxidation and oxidative status compared in workers at a bottom ash recovery plant and fly ash treatment plants.
(57/94)
Fly ash and ambient emissions of municipal solid waste incinerators contain polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), other organic compounds, metals, and gases. Hazardous substances such as PCDD/Fs, mercury vapors and other silicates, and the components of bottom ash and fly ash elevate the oxidative damage. We compared oxidative damage in workers exposed to hazardous substances at a bottom ash recovery plant and 3 fly ash treatment plants in Taiwan by measuring their levels of plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) and urine 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG). Significantly higher MDA levels were found in fly ash treatment plant workers (3.20 microM) than in bottom ash plant workers (0.58 microM). There was a significant association between MDA levels in workers and their working environment, especially in the fly ash treatment plants. Levels of 8-OH-dG varied more widely in bottom ash workers than in fly ash workers. The association between occupational exposure and 8-OH-dG levels may be affected by the life style of the workers. Because more dioxins and metals may leach from fly ash than from bottom ash, fly ash treatment plant workers should, as much as possible, avoid exposing themselves to fly ash. (+info)
Waste processing and health. A position document of the Italian Association of Epidemiology (AIE) - May 2008.
(58/94)
This is a position document of the Italian Epidemiological Association (AIE) on the health hazards of waste disposal. The main objectives of the document are: 1) to support the decision makers on the safety of the existing waste treatment and disposal plants and of the planned new plants; b) to recommend protective actions in favour of populations exposed to toxic agents linked to illegal waste treatment and disposal; c) to signal circumstances that require the adoption of surveillance plan or ad hoc studies in order to unveil possible health effects associated to the environmental exposure to toxic agents derived from waste treatment and disposal. The evaluations presented in this document are based on the available scientific literature. AIE recommends the adoption of preventive policies to contain both the production of waste and the need to dispose it. AIE also recommends the participation and involvement of the population in all phases of waste management, from the decisional to the operational ones. (+info)
Risk for non Hodgkin's lymphoma in the vicinity of French municipal solid waste incinerators.
(59/94)