TY - JOUR
T1 - Relation between malodor, ambient hydrogen sulfide, and health in a community bordering a landfill
AU - Heaney, Christopher D.
AU - Wing, Steve
AU - Campbell, Robert L.
AU - Caldwell, David
AU - Hopkins, Barbara
AU - Richardson, David
AU - Yeatts, Karin
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for this work was provided by the UNC Program on Ethnicity, Culture, and Health Outcomes and the National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Awards from the NC Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute ( UL1RR025747 from the National Center for Research Resources ). Dr. Heaney received support through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences environmental epidemiology training grant ( T32 ES007018 ) at the UNC Department of Biostatistics and at the time of this study was a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Health Scholar–Community Track at the University of North Carolina Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Health Behavior and Health Education Department. We thank Bishop Ila McMillan and the congregation members of the Faith Tabernacle Oasis of Love International Church for hosting community meetings and its support of the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association. This study was initiated under funding by NIEHS grant R25ES008206 as part of a graduate-level environmental justice class that included data collection by students in the class who worked with Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association members.
PY - 2011/8
Y1 - 2011/8
N2 - Background: Municipal solid waste landfills are sources of air pollution that may affect the health and quality of life of neighboring communities. Objectives: To investigate health and quality of life concerns of neighbors related to landfill air pollution. Methods: Landfill neighbors were enrolled and kept twice-daily diaries for 14d about odor intensity, alteration of daily activities, mood states, and irritant and other physical symptoms between January and November 2009. Concurrently, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) air measurements were recorded every 15-min. Relationships between H2S, odor, and health outcomes were evaluated using conditional fixed effects regression models. Results: Twenty-three participants enrolled and completed 878 twice-daily diary entries. H2S measurements were recorded over a period of 80d and 1-h average H2S=0.22ppb (SD=0.27; range: 0-2.30ppb). Landfill odor increased 0.63 points (on 5-point Likert-type scale) for every 1ppb increase in hourly average H2S when the wind was blowing from the landfill towards the community (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29, 0.91). Odor was strongly associated with reports of alteration of daily activities (odds ratio (OR)=9.0; 95% CI: 3.5, 23.5), negative mood states (OR=5.2; 95% CI: 2.8, 9.6), mucosal irritation (OR=3.7; 95% CI=2.0, 7.1) and upper respiratory symptoms (OR=3.9; 95% CI: 2.2, 7.0), but not positive mood states (OR=0.6; 95% CI: 0.2, 1.5) and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (OR=1.0; 95% CI: 0.4, 2.6). Conclusions: Results suggest air pollutants from a regional landfill negatively impact the health and quality of life of neighbors.
AB - Background: Municipal solid waste landfills are sources of air pollution that may affect the health and quality of life of neighboring communities. Objectives: To investigate health and quality of life concerns of neighbors related to landfill air pollution. Methods: Landfill neighbors were enrolled and kept twice-daily diaries for 14d about odor intensity, alteration of daily activities, mood states, and irritant and other physical symptoms between January and November 2009. Concurrently, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) air measurements were recorded every 15-min. Relationships between H2S, odor, and health outcomes were evaluated using conditional fixed effects regression models. Results: Twenty-three participants enrolled and completed 878 twice-daily diary entries. H2S measurements were recorded over a period of 80d and 1-h average H2S=0.22ppb (SD=0.27; range: 0-2.30ppb). Landfill odor increased 0.63 points (on 5-point Likert-type scale) for every 1ppb increase in hourly average H2S when the wind was blowing from the landfill towards the community (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29, 0.91). Odor was strongly associated with reports of alteration of daily activities (odds ratio (OR)=9.0; 95% CI: 3.5, 23.5), negative mood states (OR=5.2; 95% CI: 2.8, 9.6), mucosal irritation (OR=3.7; 95% CI=2.0, 7.1) and upper respiratory symptoms (OR=3.9; 95% CI: 2.2, 7.0), but not positive mood states (OR=0.6; 95% CI: 0.2, 1.5) and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms (OR=1.0; 95% CI: 0.4, 2.6). Conclusions: Results suggest air pollutants from a regional landfill negatively impact the health and quality of life of neighbors.
KW - Air pollution
KW - Community-driven research
KW - Health
KW - Hydrogen sulfide
KW - Malodor
KW - Solid waste landfills
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U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.021
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2011.05.021
M3 - Article
C2 - 21679938
AN - SCOPUS:79960624468
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 111
SP - 847
EP - 852
JO - Environmental research
JF - Environmental research
IS - 6
ER -