Comparison of respiratory symptoms among community residents near waste disposal incinerators

A previous survey found that residents near a hazardous waste incinerator r eported more respiratory symptoms than residents of a nearby community. To explore the possibility that these findings might have been due to the use of a rural control site, far removed from urban pollution, we expanded the analysis to include reports of respiratory symptoms from residents of six a dditional communities. Residents of each of four study communities were exp osed to the plumes of biomedical, municipal or hazardous waste combustors. For each study community, a comparison community was surveyed that was dist ant from major point sources of air pollution. Over 4200 respondents were q ueried by telephone about respiratory symptoms, smoking and other risk fact ors such as chemical exposures in the workplace and home, and provided a su bjective assessment of air quality in their neighborhoods. Differences in s ymptom prevalence between each study community and its respective control c ommunity, as well as a combined control group, were explored, controlling f or factors other than community exposure that may affect respiratory health . Results indicate a higher prevalence of all self-reported respiratory sym ptoms in one community near a hazardous waste incinerator compared with its control community. While this relationship persisted after controlling for perceived air quality and when compared with a combined control group, onl y respiratory symptoms of long duration remained significant. These results suggest that further examination of the respiratory health of residents li ving near this waste combustor source is warranted.