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Research highlights the lung health risks associated with living near a landfill

A large study carried out in Italy has found that people living within 5 km of a landfill site could be at a higher risk for lung health issues.


A large study carried out in Italy has found that people living within 5 km of a landfill site could be at a higher risk for lung health issues.

The research, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, involved 242,409 people who lived close to nine different landfills in the Lazio region of Italy.

The scientists wanted to test whether being exposed to the air pollutants used in waste treatment would have any clear impacts on the health of the participants.

They found that people living close to the landfills were at a higher risk of experiencing lung health issues, echoing the findings of previous studies.

However, the researchers also found a strong link between exposure to hydrogen sulphide – a gas emitted by landfills – and lung cancer-related deaths, a relatively new finding. 

Further research is needed to back up these findings. 

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