Abstract
Poorly managed and wrongly sited waste dumps in living areas may serve as pathogen and epidemiology centres. Germs (viruses, bacteria and fungi) breed regularly in waste dumps and landfills. Waste dumps, incinerator plants and land-fills may emit toxic compounds that are detrimental to human health and well-being. Exposed waste dumps and land-fills are also eyesores that are social menace to the residents where they are sited. Uncontrolled waste dumps are danger zones to scavengers, mostly youths, who may tramp on infected sharp objects while searching for ‘treasure’. Waste dumps, where wastes are burnt openly, generate carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other gases due to burning of remnants of chemicals containing sulphide, nitrate, fluoride, benzene, nicotine, lead etc, which react with oxygen to form poisonous gases that are inhaled by residents. These antibodies affect the lung and weaken the heart and other organs in the body. Medical wastes like bandages, cotton wools, medicine containers, syringes, needles and bottles should be professionally managed because their reuse is dangerous. The objectives of this study is to examine the health implication of improper management of waste dumps, to highlight the danger in the local methods of waste management predominant in developing nations, to evaluate the various diseases caused by waste dumping sites, incinerator plants and landfills and to recommend alternative methods of waste management that will imbibe the doctrine of sustainable development. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed to draw inference on the impacts of waste dumps on public health.
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