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A Geographic Information System-Based Indicator of Waste Risk to Investigate the Health Impact of Landfills and Uncontrolled Dumping Sites - PubMed

️Wed Jan 01 2020

A Geographic Information System-Based Indicator of Waste Risk to Investigate the Health Impact of Landfills and Uncontrolled Dumping Sites

Lucia Fazzo et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020.

Abstract

Uncontrolled and poor waste management practices are widespread. The global health impact of hazardous waste exposure is controversial, but the excess of some diseases appears to be consistent. The Geographic Information System (GIS, ESRI Inc., Rome, Italy) method used to estimate the waste risk exposure, in an area with many illegal waste dumps and burning sites, is described. A GIS geodatabase (ESRI ArcGIS format) of waste sites' data was built. A municipal GIS-based indicator of waste risk (Municipal Risk Index: MRI) has been computed, based on type and quantity of waste, typology of waste disposal, known or potential environmental contamination by waste and population living near waste sites. 2767 waste sites were present in an area 426 km² large. 38% of the population lived near one or more waste sites (100 m). Illegal/uncontrolled waste dumps, including waste burning areas, constituted about 90% of all sites. The 38 investigated municipalities were categorized into 4 classes of MRI. The GIS approach identified a widespread impact of waste sites and the municipalities likely to be most exposed. The highest score of the MRI included the municipalities with the most illegal hazardous waste dumps and burning sites. The GIS-geodatabase provided information to contrast and to prosecute illegal waste trafficking and mismanagements.

Keywords: GIS-approach; dumping site; exposure; hazardous waste; landfills; uncontrolled waste.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

**Figure 1**
The municipalities at study (Campania Region, Sothern Italy).

**Figure 2**
The waste sites in the study area. Period: 2008–2017.

**Figure 3**
The steps for creating the break buffer overlaps up (detailed view): (a) buffer of 100 m without the dissolve option; (b) buffer of 100 m with the dissolve option; (c) the break buffer overlaps up derived from the intersection of (a,b).

**Figure 4**
Overlaps of waste site impact areas after the union between the census-tracts layer and the break buffer overlaps-up layer. Detailed view in the purple frame.

**Figure 5**
Distribution of Municipal Risk Index (MRI) classes by municipality.

Cited by

The 'land of fires': epidemiological research and public health policy during the waste crisis in Campania, Italy.
Alberti P. Alberti P. Heliyon. 2022 Dec 15;8(12):e12331. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12331. eCollection 2022 Dec. Heliyon. 2022. PMID: 36582724 Free PMC article. Review.
The health impact of hazardous waste landfills and illegal dumps contaminated sites: An epidemiological study at ecological level in Italian Region.
Fazzo L, Manno V, Iavarone I, Minelli G, De Santis M, Beccaloni E, Scaini F, Miotto E, Airoma D, Comba P. Fazzo L, et al. Front Public Health. 2023 Feb 27;11:996960. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.996960. eCollection 2023. Front Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36923045 Free PMC article.

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A Geographic Information System-Based Indicator of Waste Risk to Investigate the Health Impact of Landfills and Uncontrolled Dumping Sites - PubMed