NEW YORK - Living near a
hazardous waste site containing persistent pollutants such as dioxins,
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, seems to increase
the risk of hospitalization for respiratory infections and asthma in children, a
study suggests.
Dr. David O. Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health and the
Environment, at the State University of New York at Albany, said these results
are consistent with the hypothesis that simply living near a waste site
constitutes a risk of exposure to contaminants, presumably by air transport, and
that these chemicals can reduce immune system function and lead to more
infections.
New York State has nearly 900 identified hazardous waste sites or highly
contaminated bodies of water. Carpenter and colleagues examined rates of
hospitalization in New York for acute respiratory infections and asthma by area
of residence for children ages 0 to 9 years.
Carpenter, who reported the study this week in Germany at the annual meeting
of the European Respiratory Society, told Reuters Health: "Our major finding is
that children living near to waste sites, whether landfills or contaminated
bodies of water, are hospitalized more frequently with acute respiratory
infections," compared to children living in "clean" areas.
"This remains true even after controlling for other known risk factors, such
as socioeconomic status, race and sex," he said.
The degree to which exposure to these contaminants suppresses immune system
function has been "underestimated," Carpenter added.
Unexpectedly, rates of hospitalization for asthma were also increased in
children living near a hazardous waste site. "Asthma is a disease due to an
overactive immune system, and we had expected that we would see a reduced rate
of hospitalization for asthma," Carpenter said.
"However, we are looking at asthmatics that are hospitalized for a very
severe attack, and on consideration we now suspect that this occurs primarily
when an asthmatic also has an infection." His team plans additional studies to
test whether this is the case.
Summing up, Carpenter said this study shows that exposure to organic
pollutants and other contaminants can harm health and just living near to a
contaminated site may cause exposure.
"While our specific study focused on air transport of the contaminants, they
are also in our food," Carpenter noted, "and the effect of exposure should not
be different whether it is via food or air. So we really need to get these
chemicals out of our environment to the greatest degree
possible."
