Imperial College London
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DrPhilippaDouglas

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

Visiting Researcher Association
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 3273p.douglas

 
 
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Location

 

G04Emmanuel Kaye BuildingRoyal Brompton Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Robertson:2019:10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.02.006,
author = {Robertson, S and Douglas, P and Jarvis, D and Marczylo, E},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.02.006},
journal = {International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health},
pages = {364--386},
title = {Bioaerosol exposure from composting facilities and health outcomes in workers and in the community: a systematic review update},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.02.006},
volume = {222},
year = {2019}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BackgroundRapid population growth and urbanisation around the world has led to increasing waste generation rates.  Composting of organic waste in large-scale facilities is part of a growing trend in the UK, and elsewhere, to better manage and re-use the organic waste.  However, composting inevitably generates bioaerosols, which have been associated with human health effects.  In 2015, we reported that there was some, albeit limited, qualitative  evidence linking bioaerosol emissions from composting facilities to poor respiratory health in nearby residents.  However, the limited evidence precluded any quantitative assessment.  Since then, the number of operational industrial-scale composting facilities in England has increased by 9% - nearly twice the growth from 2012-2014.  At the same time, rapid urbanisation has led to expansion of city borders with more people living near large composting facilities and exposed to bioaerosol pollution.  It is essential that regulatory authorities have access to the most up to date and accurate information. ObjectiveIn this update of a systematic review published in 2015, we review and summarise the evidence from more recent studies that have assessed bioaerosol exposures within and near composting facilities and their associated health effects in both community and occupational health settings.  Specifically, we wanted to find out if new evidence has emerged since the previous review to strengthen and confirm its conclusions.  Material and methodsTwo electronic databases (Medline and Embase) and bibliographies were searched for studies reporting on health outcomes and/or exposure to bioaerosols from composting facilities published between 1 January 2014 and 15 June 2018.  Identification of relevant articles and data extraction was undertaken and studies were assessed for risk of bias.  Results 23 studies met the inclusion criteria (15 exposure studies, 4 health studies, 4 health and exposure studies (one of which used an exposure
AU  - Robertson,S
AU  - Douglas,P
AU  - Jarvis,D
AU  - Marczylo,E
DO  - 10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.02.006
EP  - 386
PY  - 2019///
SN  - 1438-4639
SP  - 364
TI  - Bioaerosol exposure from composting facilities and health outcomes in workers and in the community: a systematic review update
T2  - International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2019.02.006
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/67537
VL  - 222
ER  -
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