Summary: As Liberia grapples with the consequences of open dumping and burning, of garbage environmental and public health experts are calling for urgent action to address this environmental and health crisis. We explain the public health impact of burning garbage in the open.
In low-income countries like Liberia, open dumping and burning garbage or dirt is a way of waste disposal for many residents. This has sparked concerns among public health and environmental experts.
But how does the burning of garbage in the open affect the environment or people who inhale the smoke from these burns?
What Does Open Burning Mean?
Open burning of garbage refers to the practice of burning waste materials in an open area such as a backyard or field rather than disposing of them properly through recycling, composting, or landfilling.
When this garbage is burnt, harmful pollutants are released into the air, soil, and water posing health risks to humans and the environment.
Garbage is leftover food, fruit, vegetable peels, fallen leaves of potted plants, waste paper, unwanted plastic objects, glass articles, metal objects, old wooden objects, rags, discarded shoes, and sewage that is perceived to lack utility.
What Do Experts Warn?
Arthur Becker, an environmental and climate change expert at the Environmental Protection Agency-Liberia says there are dire consequences of burning garbage in the open.
“It [open burning garbage] releases contaminants (toxic chemicals) during burning including nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), and polycyclic organic matter (POMs),” Becker explained in a WhatsApp chat, “People exposed to these air pollutants can experience eye and nose irritation, difficulty breathing, coughing and headaches.”
These chemicals released from open burnings generate elements that also contribute to the greenhouse effect, causing an exacerbation of climate change and posing a significant threat to the health of people across the world.
The greenhouse effect is an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere which is believed to cause the surface of the earth to become gradually warmer and to be a threat to its future.
These gases trap heat from the sun and stop it from going into space, making the earth to be hot. This phenomenon is a threat to the Earth’s future. It causes various adverse effects such as rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions, and loss of biodiversity.
Remember that when garbage is burned in the open it also releases Toxic chemicals which are substances or mixtures that may be harmful to the environment and human health if inhaled, swallowed, or absorbed through the skin.
What are the Public Health Effects of Burning Garbage in the Open?
Apart from the environmental consequences, several health effects/impacts are linked to open burning and can lead to illness and subsequent loss of life if care is not taken.
Health effect is a change in your health that is caused by being exposed to something bad for your body or organs. These health effects may be caused by an unclean environment including air pollution that causes respiratory problems, heart disease, and stroke. It may also be caused by water pollution, which can lead to stomach illnesses and other diseases; and soil contamination, which can expose individuals to toxic substances that can cause cancer and other illnesses.
Abayomie Grant, a senior lecturer at the University of Liberia’s Public Health Department, says “[open burning] introduces harmful chemicals in the environment thereby contributing to some diseases and illnesses. (Respiratory disorder, some form of cancer, cardiovascular disease.”
“Dioxins and furans are major poisonous gases released during open burning, which not only pose immediate health risks but also contribute to long-term environmental degradation and climate change,” Professor Grant wrote in a WhatsApp chat with LVL.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dioxins are a group of dangerous chemicals that are of concern because of their highly toxic potential that affect several organs and systems of humans. People who inhale these dioxins are often exposed to disease and may get sick.
Public health experts say if open burning of garbage continues in Liberia, the country will have a worsening health crisis that may increase respiratory infections and other environmentally induced illnesses including eye and nose irritation, difficulty breathing, coughing, headaches, lung infections, pneumonia, bronchiolitis, and allergies.
“Should this practice of waste management persist we will see a full bloom of respiratory, as well as other health-related illnesses,” Grant said,” The environment will become toxic for breathing due to the heaviness of the air.”
To further explain the grave threat associated with open burning garbage resulting from air pollution, a WHO 2014 assessment report shows that air pollution (outdoor and indoor pollution) is the leading cause of seven million premature deaths annually.
So, when these burnings are done indoors or outdoors, people acquire deadly sicknesses like ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infections in children
Does Open Burning Impacts Climate Change?
Climate change refers to the long-term changes in the earth that cause changes in the normal weather conditions of the earth. It can cause more extreme weather events like intense and/or frequent storms, floods, heat waves, and droughts. Climate change also leads to sea level rise and coastal erosion as a result of ocean warming.
As stated earlier, the open burning of garbage releases chemicals that create greenhouse gases which can contribute to climate change.
What Needs to Be Done
Open burning garbage is harmful. It affects the environment by introducing toxic chemicals that pollute the air, soil, and groundwater. When inhaled or ingested, these toxins can cause life-threatening illnesses including ischemic heart disease, stroke, chronic unhelpful lung disease, lung cancer, and acute lower respiratory infections in children that can lead to possible death.
The World Health Organization also explains that unsafe waste disposal can lead to environmental and marine pollution and clogging water drains, resulting in flooding and standing water that promotes diseases like cholera, malaria, and dengue. Each time people treat hazardous waste in an ugly manner like open burning it harms vulnerable children who are at higher risk of experiencing these negative health effects.
Experts say stringent methods ranging from the implementation of strict regulations and laws, provision of alternative waste disposal methods, increasing public awareness, encouraging community involvement, investing in waste management infrastructure, stakeholders’ collaborations, research, and innovation are the surest way to solve the problem.
“Supporting the creation of integrated solid waste management systems that improve waste collection and reduce the occurrence of trash in streets or informal dumpsites susceptible to open burning,” explains Beaker of the EPA.
“Supporting improved landfill management, which can reduce the occurrence of spontaneous fires; carrying out outreach efforts at the community level, to encourage waste prevention and to educate the public on the hazards of open waste burning,”
Employing these strategies collectively, experts say, is the best way to a more sustainable and effective approach to managing waste, mitigating its environmental and health impact, that will promote a cleaner and healthier environment.
This report is produced with funding from the USAID Media Activity. The funder has No say in the editorial decisions leading to the production of this content
