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EVALUATION OF HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND SLUDGE COMPOSTING
Citation:
Clark, C., H. Bjornson, C. Linnemann, Jr., AND P. Gartside. EVALUATION OF HEALTH RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WASTEWATER TREATMENT AND SLUDGE COMPOSTING. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/1-84/014.
Description:
The investigation included (1) a prospective study of wastewater sludge compost workers, (2) serologic analyses of wastewater-exposed workers, (3) a mortality study of former wastewater employees, and (4) chemical analyses of specimens from a population whose drinking water was contaminated with pesticide waste dump leachate. The compost worker study involved workers and controls in 3 cities. An excess of skin, nose, and ear conditions was detected and tests were suggestive of low-grade inflammatory response. Aspergillus fumigatus were frequently detected in throat and nasal swabs of compost workers and were rarely detected in workers with little or no compost exposure. Analysis of sera from wastewater workers reporting G.I. illness indicated that among inexperienced workers Norwalk agent was associated with 13% of illness. Anti-HAV was not different among worker and control groups. An analysis of 815 death certificates from former wastewater workers revealed that for relatively rare causes of death, leukemia and cancer of the esophagus, the proportions of workers with these causes of death was about twice as many as expected.