Residential proximity to environmental hazards and adverse health outcomes.

How living near environmental hazards contributes to poorer health and disproportionate health outcomes is an ongoing concern. We conducted a substantive review and critique of the literature regarding residential proximity to environmental hazards and adverse pregnancy outcomes, childhood cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, end-stage renal disease, and diabetes. Several studies have found that living near hazardous wastes sites, industrial sites, cropland with pesticide applications, highly trafficked roads, nuclear power plants, and gas stations or repair shops is related to an increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Government agencies should consider these findings in establishing rules and permitting and enforcement procedures to reduce pollution from environmentally burdensome facilities and land uses.

[1]  J A Stolwijk,et al.  Risk of congenital malformations associated with proximity to hazardous waste sites. , 1992, American journal of epidemiology.

[2]  A. Bolotin,et al.  Perinatal Mortality and Residential Proximity to an Industrial Park , 2008, Archives of environmental & occupational health.

[3]  R. Bhopal,et al.  Residential proximity to industry and adverse birth outcomes , 1999, The Lancet.

[4]  J. Maantay,et al.  Asthma and air pollution in the Bronx: methodological and data considerations in using GIS for environmental justice and health research. , 2007, Health & place.

[5]  Chun-Yuh Yang,et al.  Association of Brain Cancer with Residential Exposure to Petrochemical Air Pollution in Taiwan , 2008, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[6]  A. Czeizel,et al.  Congenital abnormalities and indicators of germinal mutations in the vicinity of an acrylonitrile producing factory. , 1999, Mutation research.

[7]  Rudolph P. Rull,et al.  Neural tube defects and maternal residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications. , 2004, American journal of epidemiology.

[8]  M Vrijheid,et al.  Risk of congenital anomalies near hazardous-waste landfill sites in Europe: the EUROHAZCON study , 1998, The Lancet.

[9]  N. Gouveia,et al.  Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Perinatal Mortality: A Case–Control Study , 2008, Environmental health perspectives.

[10]  Gary M. Shaw Dr.P.H.,et al.  Residential mobility during pregnancy for mothers of infants with or without congenital cardiac anomalies: a reprint. , 1991 .

[11]  Chengsheng Jiang,et al.  Leaking Underground Storage Tanks and Environmental Injustice: Is There a Hidden and Unequal Threat to Public Health in South Carolina? , 2013, Environmental justice.

[12]  Beate Ritz,et al.  Residential proximity to traffic and adverse birth outcomes in Los Angeles county, California, 1994-1996. , 2003, Environmental health perspectives.

[13]  P. Reynolds,et al.  Residential Exposure to Traffic in California and Childhood Cancer , 2004, Epidemiology.

[14]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Risk of Asthmatic Episodes in Children Exposed to Sulfur Dioxide Stack Emissions from a Refinery Point Source in Montreal, Canada , 2008, Environmental health perspectives.

[15]  M Vrijheid,et al.  Chromosomal congenital anomalies and residence near hazardous waste landfill sites , 2002, The Lancet.

[16]  R. Andridge,et al.  Evidence of high rates of undiagnosed asthma in central Ohio elementary schoolchildren. , 2013, The Journal of school health.

[17]  Debra A. Deres,et al.  Maternal residential exposure to hazardous wastes and risk of central nervous system and musculoskeletal birth defects. , 1997, Archives of environmental health.

[18]  S. Hearne,et al.  Public opinion about public health--United States, 1999. , 2000, MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report.

[19]  R Smith,et al.  Analysis of incidence of childhood cancer in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom in relation to proximity to main roads and petrol stations. , 1999, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[20]  C. Neumann,et al.  Hazard screening of chemical releases and environmental equity analysis of populations proximate to toxic release inventory facilities in Oregon. , 1998, Environmental health perspectives.

[21]  T. Woodruff,et al.  Disparities in exposure to air pollution during pregnancy. , 2001, Environmental health perspectives.

[22]  R. Hubbard,et al.  Living near a main road and the risk of wheezing illness in children. , 2001, American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine.

[23]  J. Tsai,et al.  Wilms' tumor and exposures to residential and occupational hazardous chemicals. , 2006, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[24]  F. Zhan,et al.  Are Maternal Occupation and Residential Proximity to Industrial Sources of Pollution Related? , 2008, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[25]  F. Berrino,et al.  Childhood leukemia and road traffic: A population‐based case‐control study , 2004, International journal of cancer.

[26]  R K Griffiths,et al.  Hospital admissions for asthma in preschool children: relationship to major roads in Birmingham, United Kingdom. , 1994, Archives of environmental health.

[27]  M. Vinceti,et al.  Risk of birth defects in a population exposed to environmental lead pollution. , 2001, The Science of the total environment.

[28]  C. Chevrier,et al.  Risk of congenital anomalies in the vicinity of municipal solid waste incinerators. , 2004, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[29]  A. Schecter,et al.  Effect of Proximity to Hazardous Waste Sites on the Development of Congenital Heart Disease , 2004, Archives of environmental health.

[30]  A. Scheuerle,et al.  Maternal residential proximity to waste sites and industrial facilities and conotruncal heart defects in offspring. , 2009, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[31]  G M Shaw,et al.  Congenital malformations and birthweight in areas with potential environmental contamination. , 1992, Archives of environmental health.

[32]  M. Daniel,et al.  Neighbourhood socioeconomic status, maternal education and adverse birth outcomes among mothers living near highways , 2008, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

[33]  G. Shaddick,et al.  Case-control study of hospital admission with asthma in children aged 5–14 years: relation with road traffic in north west London , 1999, Thorax.

[34]  E. Knox,et al.  Roads, railways, and childhood cancers , 2006, Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

[35]  R. Knorr,et al.  Adult leukemia and proximity-based surrogates for exposure to Pilgrim plant's nuclear emissions. , 1996, Archives of environmental health.

[36]  Sacoby M. Wilson,et al.  The Spatial Distribution of Leaking Underground Storage Tanks in Charleston, South Carolina: An Environmental Justice Analysis , 2012 .

[37]  Jing Nie,et al.  Exposure to traffic emissions throughout life and risk of breast cancer: the Western New York Exposures and Breast Cancer (WEB) study , 2007, Cancer Causes & Control.

[38]  Gonzalo López-Abente,et al.  Adverse birth outcomes in the vicinity of industrial installations in Spain 2004–2008 , 2013, Environmental Science and Pollution Research.

[39]  S. Carozza,et al.  Agricultural pesticides and risk of childhood cancers. , 2009, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[40]  E. Knox,et al.  Hazard proximities of childhood cancers in Great Britain from 1953-80. , 1997, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[41]  David O. Carpenter,et al.  Increased Rate of Hospitalization for Diabetes and Residential Proximity of Hazardous Waste Sites , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[42]  Peggy Reynolds,et al.  Childhood cancer and agricultural pesticide use: an ecologic study in California. , 2002, Environmental health perspectives.

[43]  Peggy Reynolds,et al.  Residential proximity to agricultural pesticide applications and childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. , 2009, Environmental research.

[44]  Peter H Langlois,et al.  Maternal exposures to hazardous waste sites and industrial facilities and risk of neural tube defects in offspring. , 2007, Annals of epidemiology.

[45]  D. G. McCarver,et al.  Proximity of residence to trichloroethylene-emitting sites and increased risk of offspring congenital heart defects among older women. , 2004, Birth defects research. Part A, Clinical and molecular teratology.

[46]  J. Tu,et al.  Loose-coupling an air dispersion model and a geographic information system (GIS) for studying air pollution and asthma in the Bronx, New York City , 2009, International journal of environmental health research.

[47]  J Wakefield,et al.  Risk of adverse birth outcomes in populations living near landfill sites , 2001, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[48]  T. Tango,et al.  Risk of Adverse Reproductive Outcomes Associated with Proximity to Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators with High Dioxin Emission Levels in Japan , 2004, Journal of epidemiology.

[49]  M. Khoury,et al.  Residential mobility during pregnancy: implications for environmental teratogenesis. , 1988, Journal of clinical epidemiology.

[50]  W. King,et al.  Residential mobility during pregnancy. , 2004, Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology.

[51]  David W. S. Wong,et al.  An examination of race and poverty for populations living near industrial sources of air pollution , 1999, Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology.

[52]  R. Hershkovitz,et al.  Major congenital malformations and residential proximity to a regional industrial park including a national toxic waste site: An ecological study , 2006, Environmental health : a global access science source.

[53]  Peggy Reynolds,et al.  Traffic patterns and childhood cancer incidence rates in California, United States , 2002, Cancer Causes & Control.

[54]  Peter H Langlois,et al.  Residential proximity to waste sites and industrial facilities and chromosomal anomalies in offspring. , 2008, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[55]  Chengsheng Jiang,et al.  Spatial disparity in the distribution of superfund sites in South Carolina: an ecological study , 2013, Environmental Health.

[56]  E. Knox,et al.  Childhood cancers, birthplaces, incinerators and landfill sites. , 2000, International journal of epidemiology.

[57]  J. Wakefield,et al.  Cancer risks in populations living near landfill sites in Great Britain , 2002, British Journal of Cancer.

[58]  Rudolph P. Rull,et al.  Residential Traffic Density and Childhood Leukemia Risk , 2008, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention.

[59]  L. Dodds,et al.  Congenital Anomalies and Other Birth Outcomes Among Infants Born to Women Living Near a Hazardous Waste Site in Sydney, Nova Scotia , 2001, Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique.

[60]  O. Raaschou-Nielsen,et al.  Air pollution from traffic at the residence of children with cancer. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[61]  Maria Blettner,et al.  Leukaemia in young children living in the vicinity of German nuclear power plants , 2008, International journal of cancer.

[62]  M. Wjst,et al.  Road traffic and adverse effects on respiratory health in children. , 1993, BMJ.

[63]  I. Hertz-Picciotto,et al.  A Case-Control Study of Pesticides and Fetal Death Due to Congenital Anomalies , 2001, Epidemiology.

[64]  S. Carozza,et al.  Risk of Childhood Cancers Associated with Residence in Agriculturally Intense Areas in the United States , 2008, Environmental health perspectives.

[65]  D. Carpenter,et al.  Low birth weight and residential proximity to PCB-contaminated waste sites. , 2003, Environmental health perspectives.

[66]  F. Zhan,et al.  Maternal Residential Proximity to Waste Sites and Industrial Facilities and Oral Clefts in Offspring , 2006, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[67]  E Lebret,et al.  Chronic respiratory symptoms in children and adults living along streets with high traffic density. , 1996, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[68]  Zhiyong Hu,et al.  Linking stroke mortality with air pollution, income, and greenness in northwest Florida: an ecological geographical study , 2008, International journal of health geographics.

[69]  Thomas J. Smith,et al.  Residential exposure to petrochemicals and the risk of leukemia: using geographic information system tools to estimate individual-level residential exposure. , 2006, American journal of epidemiology.

[70]  L. Parker,et al.  Adverse pregnancy outcomes around incinerators and crematoriums in Cumbria, north west England, 1956–93 , 2003, Journal of epidemiology and community health.

[71]  Maureen F. Orr,et al.  Elevated birth defects in racial or ethnic minority children of women living near hazardous waste sites. , 2002, International journal of hygiene and environmental health.

[72]  P A McKinney,et al.  Incidence of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in the vicinity of nuclear sites in Scotland, 1968-93. , 1996, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[73]  Gavin Shaddick,et al.  Do people living near inner city main roads have more asthma needing treatment? Case-control study , 1996, BMJ.

[74]  S Selvin,et al.  Maternal Residential Proximity to Hazardous Waste Sites and Risk for Selected Congenital Malformations , 1997, Epidemiology.

[75]  N. Sohler,et al.  International Journal of Health Geographics Open Access the Complexities of Measuring Access to Parks and Physical Activity Sites in New York City: a Quantitative and Qualitative Approach , 2022 .

[76]  P. Barry Ryan,et al.  Potential Residential Exposure to Toxics Release Inventory Chemicals during Pregnancy and Childhood Brain Cancer , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[77]  B. Brunekreef,et al.  Motor vehicle exhaust and chronic respiratory symptoms in children living near freeways. , 1997, Environmental research.

[78]  D. Hémon,et al.  Acute childhood leukaemia and environmental exposure to potential sources of benzene and other hydrocarbons; a case-control study , 2004, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[79]  D. Payne-Sturges,et al.  Symposium on integrating the science of environmental justice into decision-making at the Environmental Protection Agency: an overview. , 2011, American journal of public health.

[80]  Bryan Langholz,et al.  Traffic density and the risk of childhood leukemia in a Los Angeles case-control study. , 2002, Annals of epidemiology.

[81]  G. Shaw,et al.  Residential mobility during pregnancy for mothers of infants with or without congenital cardiac anomalies: a reprint. , 1992, Archives of environmental health.

[82]  H. Ochoa-Acuña,et al.  Risk of limb birth defects and mother's home proximity to cornfields. , 2009, Science of the Total Environment.

[83]  Ronald H. White,et al.  Socioeconomic and Racial Disparities in Cancer Risk from Air Toxics in Maryland , 2005, Environmental health perspectives.

[84]  Manuel Pastor,et al.  Is There Environmental Racism? The Demographics of Hazardous Waste in Los Angeles County , 1997 .

[85]  P. Buffler,et al.  Factors associated with residential mobility in children with leukemia: implications for assigning exposures. , 2009, Annals of epidemiology.

[86]  Ravi Maheswaran,et al.  Stroke Mortality Associated With Living Near Main Roads in England and Wales: A Geographical Study , 2003, Stroke.

[87]  Maria Blettner,et al.  Case-control study on childhood cancer in the vicinity of nuclear power plants in Germany 1980-2003. , 2008, European journal of cancer.

[88]  G. Shaddick,et al.  Cancer incidence and mortality around the Pan Britannica Industries pesticide factory, Waltham Abbey. , 1997, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[89]  J. J. Abellán,et al.  Geographic density of landfill sites and risk of congenital anomalies in England , 2008, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[90]  M. Canfield,et al.  Residential mobility patterns and exposure misclassification in epidemiologic studies of birth defects , 2006, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.

[91]  M. Goldberg,et al.  Low birth weight and preterm births among infants born to women living near a municipal solid waste landfill site in Montreal, Quebec. , 1995, Environmental research.

[92]  Chun-Yuh Yang,et al.  Childhood Leukemia and Traffic Air Pollution in Taiwan: Petrol Station Density as an Indicator , 2008, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A.

[93]  I. Hertz-Picciotto,et al.  Case-cohort analysis of agricultural pesticide applications near maternal residence and selected causes of fetal death. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[94]  R Neutra,et al.  Examining associations between childhood asthma and traffic flow using a geographic information system. , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

[95]  S. Pan,et al.  Residential Proximity to Industrial Plants and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma , 2003, Epidemiology.

[96]  J Wakefield,et al.  Proximity to coke works and hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular disease in England and Wales , 2001, Thorax.

[97]  Sergio Teggi,et al.  Adverse pregnancy outcomes in a population exposed to the emissions of a municipal waste incinerator. , 2008, The Science of the total environment.

[98]  D. Dockery,et al.  Does Living Near a Superfund Site Contribute to Higher Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Exposure? , 2006, Environmental health perspectives.

[99]  C. Kuehn,et al.  Fetal Deaths and Proximity to Hazardous Waste Sites in Washington State , 2007, Environmental health perspectives.

[100]  S. Edge,et al.  Breast cancer risk and exposure in early life to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using total suspended particulates as a proxy measure. , 2005, Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention : a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, cosponsored by the American Society of Preventive Oncology.

[101]  K Sexton,et al.  Residential Proximity to Industrial Sources of Air Pollution: Interrelationships among Race, Poverty, and Age , 2001, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[102]  J. Weinberg,et al.  Spatial analysis of bladder, kidney, and pancreatic cancer on upper Cape Cod: an application of generalized additive models to case-control data , 2009, Environmental health : a global access science source.

[103]  Sergio Teggi,et al.  Risk of congenital anomalies around a municipal solid waste incinerator: a GIS-based case-control study , 2009, International journal of health geographics.

[104]  P. Reynolds,et al.  Agricultural Pesticide Use and Childhood Cancer in California , 2005, Epidemiology.

[105]  Peter Langlois,et al.  Linking Environmental Hazards and Birth Defects Data , 2006, International journal of occupational and environmental health.