[Perception of environmental health risks related to living in the vicinity of communal waste incineration plant].

OBJECTIVE

an evaluation of the environmental risk perception by residents living in proximity to the Solid Communal Waste Utilisation Plant (ZUSOK) in Warsaw.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

a questionnaire survey of 501 respondents was conducted. All subjects have been living within a radius of 3 km from the incinerator since at least 1998. The relations between declared opinions and demographic status of the respondents (gender, age, education level, distance from dwelling place to ZUSOK, and period of residence) were examined, and the resulting associations were expressed as odds ratios (OR).

RESULTS

only 32% of subjects knew about incinerator construction project, and 28% of them heard about the protests which had taken place there. It was found that just 12% of respondents felt sufficiently informed about the environmental impacts of ZUSOK activities. Their anxieties concerned the considerable infiltration of harmful substances to the environment (according to 60% of subjects, significantly more frequently women and people declaring lack of sufficient information about ZUSOK) and increase of health problems in the local community by the long-term incinerator activity (by 71% of respondents, significantly more frequently by respondents with lack of sufficient information). Emission of smoke/dust and unpleasant odour were declared as the most disturbing aspects of the neighbourhood by about 50% of subjects. The respondents declaring lack of sufficient information about incinerator activity complained more frequently about its disturbances. Continuous or very frequent smelling of air contamination was found a factor significantly increasing probability of negative assessment of ZUSOK neighbourhood.

CONCLUSION

it is necessary to take some information and education actions aimed at inhabitants of the vicinity of the plants potentially increasing environmental health risk.