Health Effects Associated with Solid Waste Disposal in Alaska Native Villages PDF Download

Author: Susan Vibeke Maria Gilbreath
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Refuse and refuse disposal
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
Solid waste management is severely deficient in many Alaska Native (AN) villages. Little is known about potential health effects to residents of these remote villages with respect to solid waste disposal (SWD). In the summer of 2000, a retrospective cohort study with cross-sectional components was used to evaluate the risk of experiencing self-reported health symptoms relative to exposure to SWD practices in four AN villages. Significant risks for symptoms were detected for: residence within? mile of a dumpsite, odor complaints, burning of trash, frequency of burning, number of visits to the dumpsite, and subsistence practices. Retrospective cohort studies were used to evaluate the risks of negative birth outcomes in infants whose birth records indicated maternal residence in villages that had been identified as containing dumpsites that pose an intermediate or high hazard potential to health. Birth records from 1997-2001 were used to identify infants born to mothers who resided in AN villages with dumpsite rankings. Negative birth outcomes examined first included: low and very low birth weight, preterm birth, and small for gestational age (SGA). Mothers from villages with intermediate and high hazard dumpsites had a higher proportion of low birth weight infants than mothers from villages with low hazard dumpsites. On average, infants weighed less and pregnancies were shorter in mothers from villages with higher hazard dumpsites compared to the referent category. No differences were detected across exposure levels for incidences of for other outcomes. Rates of fetal and neonatal deaths and congenital anomalies in infants with respect to the hazard rankings of dumpsites were also examined. The most highly weighted hazard factors were also used as predictors of adverse pregnancy outcomes. No differences in rates were detected across exposure levels, although adjusted estimates were positive in most congenital anomaly categories. Infants born to mothers residing in villages with high hazard dumpsite contents were more likely to have other congenital defects than infants in the referent category. Other hazard factors were not significant predictors for any outcomes examined. These are the first studies to evaluate potential health effects related to open dumpsites and SWD practices in AN villages.