Abstract
The inhalation of landfill smoke and odour poses a health
hazard to humans. This knowledge intensifies recognition of the public health
risks these landfills pose to residents living around them. Though the effects
of landfills on residential communities are well-known in literature, there are
inconclusive findings in developing countries on the effects on living close by
them. This study sought to address this knowledge gap by testing our main
hypothesis that the Retirement Landfill in Montego Bay, St. James has an impact
on the health of individuals living closer to it. The research questions looked
at how health effects vary amongst residents exposed to landfill smoke and
odour within 1-3km and 3-5km of the Retirement Landfill. Data were collected
using a cross sectional study design with non-probability sampling applied.
Interviewer administered questionnaires concerning demographics, medical
diagnosis of ill health and general perception of the Retirement landfill were
issued to a total of 384 household residents, with an equal split between residents
residing within (1–3km) and (3-5km) of the Retirement Landfill. The results showed that over 70 % of
respondents displayed at least one health symptoms when exposed to landfill
smoke while over 56% reported health symptom when exposed to landfill odour.
Residents closer to the Retirement Landfill were three times more likely to
experience respiratory symptoms and four times more likely to experience
gastrointestinal health symptoms, as a result of the smoke and odour from the
landfill. These findings strengthen our call for better solid waste management
policies aimed at increasing operational and infrastructural efficiencies at
the Retirement Landfill, through recycling initiatives and implementation of a
sanitary landfill.
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IJAHSS by IPRPD is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.