Population health and waste management: scientific data and available options

Report of a meeting held in Rome, Italy, 29-30 March 2007.

The executive summary is also available in Russian.

The workshop, attended by international experts in epidemiology, environmental science, public health and economics, together with representatives of interest groups, reviewed and discussed the available evidence on the health effects of environmental exposures from waste incinerators and landfills.

The implications of such evidence were discussed in terms of policy action on waste management in the European context, with special emphasis on the need of limiting and removing harmful exposures and ensuring healthy environmental conditions. Limitations and uncertainties in available science were described with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps and priority needs in research.

Sessions were also dedicated to European case studies on health effects of landfills and incinerators, to economic evaluations of waste management options, and to methods and applications of participatory approaches for developing health-friendly policy response to the growing challenge of waste management in Europe.