: Life cycle assessment (LCA) along with a survey on epidemiologic and oxidative potential studies was used for analysing the current evidence of the impact of airborne emissions from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) on human health. The correspondence among investigated health outcomes and pollutants was discussed based on the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). LCA indicated the ability of MSWI in avoiding human health impact, about - 2 × 10-4 DALY/tonne together with avoided emissions of particulate matter (PM) and resource depletion, about - 2.5 × 10-3 kg Sbeq/tonne and about - 0.11 kg PM2.5 eq/tonne, respectively. Positive emissions were detected for greenhouses (about 900 kg CO2eq/tonne) and ecotoxicity (about 15,000 CTUe/tonne). Epidemiologic studies performed on population exposed to MSWI reported quite contrasting results. In some of these, hazard ratio (HR) ranging from about 0.7 to 2.2 was reported concerning the incidence of stomach, liver, breast and bladder cancer. Larger agreement was detected concerning the incidence of larynx and lung cancer with HR ranging from about 1 to about 2.6. Direct causal nexuses were not definitively identified. Oxidative potential of PM was characterized by a high Pearson correlation > 0.8 to the presence of CrVI, Cu and Zn. These heavy metals were also identified by both CAS and IARC as toxic (i.e. Cu and Zn) and cancerous (i.e. CrVI) substances affecting the organs of both respiratory and digestive apparatus. In general, even if more research is necessary, LCA, oxidative potential and the epidemiologic survey results showed a high level of accordance. This suggests their integrated exploitation for supporting the investigation of both direct and indirect consequences on environment and health related to waste incineration for both retrospective and predictive studies.
Supporting the investigation of health outcomes due to airborne emission by different approaches: current evidence for the waste incineration sector
Bontempi E.
2024-01-01
Abstract
: Life cycle assessment (LCA) along with a survey on epidemiologic and oxidative potential studies was used for analysing the current evidence of the impact of airborne emissions from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) on human health. The correspondence among investigated health outcomes and pollutants was discussed based on the Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). LCA indicated the ability of MSWI in avoiding human health impact, about - 2 × 10-4 DALY/tonne together with avoided emissions of particulate matter (PM) and resource depletion, about - 2.5 × 10-3 kg Sbeq/tonne and about - 0.11 kg PM2.5 eq/tonne, respectively. Positive emissions were detected for greenhouses (about 900 kg CO2eq/tonne) and ecotoxicity (about 15,000 CTUe/tonne). Epidemiologic studies performed on population exposed to MSWI reported quite contrasting results. In some of these, hazard ratio (HR) ranging from about 0.7 to 2.2 was reported concerning the incidence of stomach, liver, breast and bladder cancer. Larger agreement was detected concerning the incidence of larynx and lung cancer with HR ranging from about 1 to about 2.6. Direct causal nexuses were not definitively identified. Oxidative potential of PM was characterized by a high Pearson correlation > 0.8 to the presence of CrVI, Cu and Zn. These heavy metals were also identified by both CAS and IARC as toxic (i.e. Cu and Zn) and cancerous (i.e. CrVI) substances affecting the organs of both respiratory and digestive apparatus. In general, even if more research is necessary, LCA, oxidative potential and the epidemiologic survey results showed a high level of accordance. This suggests their integrated exploitation for supporting the investigation of both direct and indirect consequences on environment and health related to waste incineration for both retrospective and predictive studies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
