Living near a landfill site can increase the risk of lung cancer, UK scientists claim

Homeowners living within three miles of rubbish tips are more likely to be admitted to hospital or suffer from lung cancer due to toxic pollutants, which are released from the rotten rubbish, a study found.

The research, which was completed in Italy and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, also claimed that children are at particular risk from the airborne pollutants.

People who live close to municipal solid waste landfills could be exposed to air pollutants emitted by the plants
Francesca Mataloni

Francesca Mataloni, of the Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, co-wrote the study. She said: “People who live close to municipal solid waste landfills could be exposed to air pollutants emitted by the plants.”

She added: “We found associations between H2S exposure from landfills and mortality from lung cancer as well as mortality and morbidity for respiratory diseases. The excess of lung cancer is a relatively new finding.”

The study examined 242,409 participants living within 3.1 miles of nine different landfills in Italy’s Lazio region.

Researchers tested levels of hydrogen sulphide, a colourless, flammable gas with a characteristic odour of rotten eggs, which is produced by decomposition.

The annual average exposure levels of hydrogen sulphide was 6.3 ng/m3, compared with people living close to larger landfills in Rome whose levels averaged 45.ng/m3.

At the end of the follow-up period there were 18,609 deaths.

The Italian-based research is the latest in a string of studies completed by scientists attempting to discover just how dangerous rubbish tips are.

Previous studies had suggested living near to waste sites was linked to respiratory illnesses caused by breathing in microorganisms and aerosols.

The excess of lung cancer is a relatively new finding
Francesca Mataloni
Meanwhile, an ecological study, which compared death rates, hospital admissions and reproductive health of those living near a landfill site in Wales and those who did not found no differences between the two populations.

Ms Mataloni added: “The evidence on the health of those living near landfills is still controversial.”

The UK follows the same EU Landfill Directive as Italy, with both countries adhering to the same rules and regulations.

Dr Jill Meara of Public Health England told the Daily Mail: “Well-managed modern landfill sites do not pose a significant risk to public health.

“We have reviewed studies looking at emissions from sites and research on health effects posed by modern landfill sites and concluded there is little cause for concern for those living nearby.”

Cancer in the UK

Lung cancer cell during replication. Photo: National Institutes of Health
10,000
Number of lives which could be saved with earlier diagnosis
352,197
Number of people diagnosed with cancer each year (2013)
161,823
Annual deaths from cancer (2012)
50%
Chance of living at least 10 years after cancer diagnosis (as of 2010-11)
41%
Percentage of cancer cases which are preventable  : Source: Cancer Research UK