Study brings call to curb landfill sites Baby defects 'linked' to toxic dumps
By Aisling Irwin and David Millward
THOUSANDS of pregnant women living near landfill sites are running an increased risk of producing children with birth defects, according to a study published today. Spina bifida, holes in the heart, malformations of major blood vessels and a host of other defects are 33 per cent more likely in babies born to mothers living within 1.8 miles of the rubbish dumps, many of which contain highly-dangerous chemicals.
There are 8,000 sites in Britain, of which 2,000 are active and of these 400 are known to contain substantial amounts of industrial waste. Many dumps are on the periphery of large towns and cities.
Whitehall sources said last night that the Government had ordered its own study into the health risks allegedly posed by landfill sites.
The greatest risk is posed by heavy metals and an array of dangerous chemicals, including industrial solvents, pesticides, metals, arsenic and cyanide.
The findings of the team, led by Dr Helen Dolk of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, will intensify pressure on the Government to place curbs on the use of landfill sites for the disposal of hazardous material.
The environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth described the sites yesterday as "toxic time-bombs".
A spokesman said: "No one has a clue what toxic chemicals are dumped in many of them. The Government must urgently conduct detailed health studies around rubbish dumps. We must also tackle the source of the pollution. The Government must act to reduce the amount of toxic waste produced by industry."
But critics of Dr Dolk's research, published in The Lancet, claimed that her findings only demonstrated a statistical link, which could be explained by the higher number of poorer families - already at greater risk of birth defects - living near the dumps.
Dr Dolk's study took in 21 landfill sites in Britain, France, Italy, Denmark and Belgium. Her team searched registries to find over 1,000 records of defects in babies whose mothers had lived within four miles of a site.
They then discovered that there was a higher risk of defects for babies born to mothers living within 1.8 miles of the dumps, compared to those in the "outer ring".
Six sites were examined in Britain - two in the western north Thames region, three in northern England and one in Glasgow. The researchers would not disclose where the sites were, saying only that "there is public concern about the effects on health of several of the landfill sites included in our study".
Dr Dolk, whose team examined sites designated for hazardous industrial waste, warned that municipal dumps could pose similar dangers. She called for "systematic environmental health surveillance" of a variety of pollution sources. "Some of these sites have changed practice in recent years and things are improving, but it takes time for contamination to build up.
"We are a long way from establishing that there is a real risk but a lack of a systematic approach to looking at the health risks of waste disposal is very worrying."
Her concerns echo the findings of a study carried out by public health experts in Wales into medical problems in families near the Nant-y-Gwyddon landfill site in the Rhondda Valley.
The team, led by Prof Stephen Palmer of the University of Wales College of Medicine, found a "significant cluster of gastroschisis births (with organs protruding through the stomach)".
Allan Rogers, the local Labour MP, called for extensive research into the dangers. "This problem is not going to go away," he said.
Prof Goran Pershagen, of the Institute of Environmental Medicine in Stockholm, said: "Overall the evidence is very limited. The results point to further study."
He added that no explanation had been given on how the mothers could have been exposed to the chemicals.
But the Dolk team believes that possibilities include leaching of toxic chemicals into ground water, inhaling of gases and vegetables grown in contaminated soil.
