Review Article

A Review of the Epidemiological Methods Used to Investigate the Health Impacts of Air Pollution around Major Industrial Areas

Table 2

Studies investigating cancer.

ReferenceCountryIndustrial backgroundHealth outcomeEpidemiological designExposure assessment

Zambon et al., 2007 [4] ItalyIndustrial waste incinerators, Municipal solid waste incinerators, Medical waste incinerators, thermal power plants, oil refinery industrial plants for the production of primary aluminiumVisceral and
extravisceral sarcoma
Case control (72 cases and 405 controls) Dispersion modeling (Industrial Source Complex Model in long-term mode, version 3 (ISCLT3))
Biggeri et al., 1996 [5]ItalyShipyard, iron foundry, incinerator, and Trieste city centerLung cancer (mortality)Case-control study (755 case-control pairs)Distance and angle from each subject location to each pollution source
Yu et al., 2006
[6]
TaiwanOil refineryLeukemiaCase control (171 cases and 410 controls)Distance, based on previous studies (3 km radius from the geographic centroid of any of the four petrochemical complexes)
Simonsen et al., 2010 [7]United StatesPetrochemical industriesLung cancer (registry)Case control (455 cases and 437 controls)Distance (0.5 miles, 1 mile, and 2 miles)
Edwards et al., 2006 [8]United KingdomIron and steel, chemical, and heavy engineering industriesLung cancer (registry)Case-control study (204 cases and 339 controls)Distance, guided by a validation study using data from historical records
Petrauskaite et al., 2002 [9]LithuaniaProduction of mineral fertilizers, aluminum fluoride, and sulfuric acidLung cancer (mortality)Case-control study (410 cases 410 controls)Distance, based on measurements of sulfuric acid and the prevailing wind (6 km)
Lopez-Cima et al., 2011 [10]Spain23 industrial installations reporting to the EPERLung cancer Case-control study (626 case, 626 controls)Distance
Pascal et al.,
2011 [1]
FranceOil refining, oil storage, petrochemical and organic chemical activities, chlorine chemistry, steel and metal working, chemical plants, waste incineration plant, portAll cancers, lung cancer, bladder cancer, breast cancer, multiple myeloma, malignant non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and acute leukemia (hospitalisations)Standardised incidence ratioCoupling of a dispersion model (ADMS4), a meteorological model and kriging to assess the SO2 levels
Viel et al., 2011 [11]France13 municipal solid waste incineratorsNon-Hodgkin's lymphomas (registry)Standardised incidence ratioDispersion model (Atmospheric Dispersion Model System version 3—ADMS 3) for each category of pollutants (dioxins, metals, and dusts)
Perceived exposure areas (criteria not
Bhopal et al., 1994 [12]
Bhopal et al., 1998 [13]
United KingdomCoke ovens (66 from 1980)Cancer (registry)Standardised incidence ratiospecified), modeled exposure (model not specified) 24-hour mean daily measures of SO2 and smoke over 56 months (1987–91)
Wilkinson et al., 1999 [14]United Kingdom11 oil refineries Lymphohaematopoietic malignancyStandardised incidence ratioDistance (0–2 km, 0–7.5 km, and eight bands around refinery perimeters)
Axelsson et al., 2010 [15]SwedenIndustrial complex including a large cracker producing ethylene and propeneLeukemia, lymphoma, cancers of the lung, liver, and central nervous system, all cancers taken together (registry)Standardised incidence ratioModels (unspecified) of ethylene levels
Eitan et al., 2010 [16]IsraelPetroleum refineries, oil-fired power plant, and several large petrochemical, chemical, and agrochemical industriesLung cancer, bladder cancer, and non-Hodgkin's lymphomaStandardised incidence ratioSpatial interpolation of SO2 and PM10 routine monitoring data
Schechter et al., 1989 [17]CanadaTwo natural gas refineriesCancer (registry)Standardised incidence ratioUnclear
Monge-Corella et al., 2008 [18]Spain18 EPER-registered paper, pulp, and board industriesLung cancer (mortality)Standardised incidence ratioDistance (≤5 km from a paper, pulp, and board industry, ≤5 km from any other industrial installation, towns having no EPER-registered industry within 5 km of their municipal centroid (reference level))
Pless-Mulloli et al., 1998 [19]United KingdomTeesideLung cancer (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioDistance (0.1–2.7 km, 1.5–4 km, and farther)
García-Pérez et al., 2010 [20]Spain118 integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) category 2 metal production and processing installations which report their emissions to the EPERLeukemia (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioSee Monge-Corella
García-Pérez et al., 2009 [21]Spain57 combustion installations which report their emissions to the EPERLung, larynx, and bladder cancer (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioSee Monge-Corella
García-Pérez et al., 2010 [22] Spain 118 integrated pollution prevention and control (IPPC) category 2 metal production and processing installations that reported their releases to air and water in 2001 Tumours of the digestive system (mortality) Standardised mortality ratio See Monge-Corella
Ramis et al., 2009 [23]Spain452 industries reporting releases to air to the EPER, grouped by industrial sectorNon-Hodgkin's lymphomas (mortality)Standardized mortality ratioDistance (1, 1.5, and 2 km).
Cambra et al., 2011 [24]Spain284 industries declaring to the EPER emissions of pollutantsLung cancer (mortality), haematological tumours (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioDistance (<2 km, >2 km)
Michelozzi et al., 1998 [25]ItalyA large waste disposal site (one of the largest in Europe), a waste incinerator, and a petrochemical refineryAll cancers, laryngeal cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, and lymphatic and haematopoietic cancers (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioDistance (3, 8, 10 km, 10 concentric circles with a radius increasing from 1 to 10 km to define nine bands)
Pekkanen et al., 1995 [26]FinlandRefineryLeukemia, hematological cancers, all cancers (registries)Standardised mortality ratioDistance (4,4–7.9, 8–11.9, 12–15.9, and >16 km)
Sans et al., 1995 [27]United KingdomPetrochemical processing: alcohols, styrene, olefins, benzene, vinyl chloride monomer, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC)Cancer incidence and mortality for all cancers, leukaemias, and cancer of the larynxStandardised mortality ratioDistance (0–3 km, 7–5 km, and eight bands between circles of radii 0.5, 1–0, 2–0, 3–0, 4–6, 5–7, 6-7, and 7–5 km)
Yang et al., 2000 [28]TaiwanKaohsiung oil refineryLung cancer (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioDistance
Pan et al., 1994 [29]TaiwanKaohsiung oil refineryCancer in children (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioDistance
Tsai et al., 2009 [30]TaiwanPetrochemical industriesBladder cancer (mortality)Standardised mortality ratioIn each district, the number of employees of the industries divided by the population, in three clases