Air Pollution from Incinerators and Reproductive Outcomes

Abstract

Maternal exposure to incinerator emissions, even at very low levels, was associated with preterm delivery.

Exposure to emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators and miscarriages: A multisite study of the MONITER Project

“…This approach was used in previous studies (Candela et al, 2013;Lin et al, 2006;Ranzi et al, 2011;Viel et al, 2008) and its usability in environmental epidemiology studies of point sources is well validated (Cordioli et al, 2013;Ashworth et al, 2013;Floret et al, 2006).…”

“…The first trimester of pregnancy was identified as the three months after the presumed date of conception, estimated as the day timed 280 days before delivery, in case of birth, and 90 days before abortion, whether miscarriage or induced abortion. To line up exposure time for abortions and births at the two ends of the study period, we included in the analyses all the pregnancies whose estimated conception date fell between 03 October 2001 (Candela et al, 2013). The location of the incinerators also differed, ranging from the immediate outskirts of the cities of Reggio Emilia and Modena to an industrial district far from residential areas in Ravenna.…”

“…Exposure value due to incinerator emissions was assigned to each address in the study area by means of dispersion maps of particulate matter (PM 10 ) using the quasi-Gaussian model Atmospheric Dispersion Modelling System (ADMS Urban 2.2., Cambridge Environmental Research Consultants, Cambridge, UK), as described elsewhere (Candela et al, 2013). Since the early 2000s, the law requires that measurements of particulate matter be collected every 30 min by the monitoring system.…”

“…In a previous report, we analyzed some reproductive events (sex ratio, multiple births, preterm births, small for gestational age) and showed an increased risk of preterm births in women exposed to incinerator emissions (Candela et al, 2013). The aim of the present study, performed within the MONITER Project, was to integrate the previous findings on reproductive health with the evaluation of occurrence of miscarriage in women residing near seven incinerators of the Emilia-Romagna Region in the period 2002-2006.…”

The role of social determinants in explaining racial/ethnic disparities in perinatal outcomes

“…Specific exposures include fine particulate air particles, carbon monoxide, and ozone. Other studies examine the impact of residing near chemical plants, refineries, or other industries (48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59). There are also studies that suggest that racial/ethnic minorities are at greater likelihood of residing in communities with higher pollution rates, based on monitoring data from the Environmental Protection Agency (57).…”