U.K. landfill legacy. (The Beat).A study published in the 25 January 2002 issue of The Lancet by the European Commission's Eurohazcon project found that women living within 3 km of a hazardous waste Hazardous waste Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes. landfill have a 40% greater risk of conceiving a child with a chromosomal birth defect birth defect Genetic or trauma-induced abnormality present at birth. A more restrictive term than congenital disorder, it covers abnormalities that arise during the formation of an embryo's organs and tissues and does not include those caused by diseases (e.g. such as Down syndrome Down syndrome, congenital disorder characterized by mild to severe mental retardation, slow physical development, and characteristic physical features. Down syndrome affects about 1 in every 730 live births and occurs in all populations equally. . The study has sparked controversy in the United Kingdom, where 8 of the 23 waste sites studied are located. The others are located in Denmark, Italy, Belgium, and France. Reacting to the article's release, U.K. environmental groups called on their government to reduce the landfilling of hazardous waste by increasing landfill tax A landfill tax is a form of tax that is applied in some countries to increase the cost of landfill. The tax is typically levied in units of currency per unit of weight or volume (£/t, E/t, $/yard³). rates and to set stricter regulatory targets for decreasing the flow of such waste to landfills. Waste industry officials countered that the study is irrelevant to modern regulated landfills. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion