Solid WastePublic Health Concerns

Jeremiah JohnsonChi Vuong

Overview

• Introduction• Developed countries overview• Developing countries overview• Solutions

Introduction

Past to early 19th Century

First half of the 20th Century

Last half of the 20th Century to present

No regulated dumping;

Open dumps

Breeding rodents, insects

Buried dump sites; mainly nonhazardous

More sanitary, less

contamination

Change in waste content,

hazardous waste

300 million metric

tons/year;space

Developed Countries Overview

• Public health concern-diseases

• Risks- substances, contamination etc.• Solid Waste Management

– Methods– Impact– Regulations

Public Health Concern

• Vectors: - flies - mosquitoes (yellow fever, malaria) - rats (32) - swine (pathogens)

Solid Waste Management

• Feed to swine• Dump into bodies of water• Open burning• Dumps or tips• Sanitary landfill (U.S., England, Germany) • Army’s Corp of Engineers (bullclam) • compaction, cover, liners

Common Landfill Layout

Impact of Landfills

• Leachate and gases• Scarce land• Health Effects (adverse pregnancy

outcomes, liver function)

U.S. Regulations

• 1899 River and Harbors Act• 1965 Solid Waste Disposal Act• 1970 National Environmental Policy Act

(EPA)• 1976 Resource Conservation and

Recovery Act

Developing Countries Overview

• Public health concern• Risks- substances, contamination etc.• Solid Waste Management

– Environmental justice- hazardous waste– Cost of disposal

• Aiding developing countries

Developing Countries

• Public Health Concern– Homes-

Drifting Along the Shores

Solutions

• The catchy phrase: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

• Source Reduction in Industry• Consumer pay as you throw programs

– Implemented in 7.2% of GA communities– Implemented in over 50% of communities in

MA, WI, IA, and NH– Implemented in 100% of communities in WA,

OR, and MN

Sources• Race, Wealth, and Solid Waste Facilities in North Carolina

Jennifer M. Norton,1 Steve Wing,1 Hester J. Lipscomb,2 Jay S. Kaufman,1 Stephen W. Marshall,1 and Altha J. Cravey3

1Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA;2Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA;3Department of Geography, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA

• Title Slide Image http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Solid_waste_used_to_build_a_road.jpg/800px-Solid_waste_used_to_build_a_road.jpg

• Sustainable Solid Waste http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPHAAG/Resources/AAGEHEng.pdf

Sources

• 2006 Pay as You Throw Programs http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/payt/06comm.htm

• Cointreu, Sandra. Occupational and Environmental Health Issues of Solid Waste Management. World Bank Group. July 2006.

• Holy Bible, 23 Deuteronomy 12-13

Sources

• Vesilind, P. Aarne. Worrell, William. Reinhart, Debra. Solid Waste Engineering, 2002

• A Brief History of Solid Waste Management in the US During the Last 50 Years by H. Lanier Hickman, Jr. and Richard W. Eldredge. 2000.

Sources• Investigating Health Concerns in populations living near

the Cleanaway landfill in Tallamarine. 2006.http://www.health.vic.gov.au/environment/downloads/tulla_report.pdf

• Vrijheid, Martine. Health Effects of Residence Near Hazardous Waste Landfill Sites: A Review of Epidemiologic Literature. March 2002. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov

• Slide Image: http://www.metrokc.gov/dnr/kidsweb/images/landfill_diagram.gif