Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2014 Oct;20(4):313-7.
doi: 10.1179/2049396714Y.0000000080.

A follow-up of cancer incidence among former Finnish dump site residents: 1999-2011

Eero Pukkala

A follow-up of cancer incidence among former Finnish dump site residents: 1999-2011

Eero Pukkala. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2014 Oct.

Abstract

Background: In an analysis of the years 1976-1998, a 50% excess in cancer incidence was observed among residents in twelve blockhouses in Helsinki, Finland on a former dump area containing industrial and household waste.

Objective: To assess cancer risk over a 13-year period 1999-2011 among residents formerly living in houses built on a dump area.

Methods: All 1879 persons who ever lived in the former dump area were identified and the number of cancer cases in this population was obtained from the Finnish Cancer Registry.

Results: After 5 years of residence at the dump site, the standardized incidence ratio of cancer (all sites combined) was 1·32 (95% CI: 0·94-1·79) in men and 0·53 (95% CI: 0·33-0·82) for women, in comparison with the general Helsinki population (1999-2011). No significant excess cancer risks were found.

Conclusions: Residing on a former dump area was not found to result in an increased risk of cancer.

Keywords: Cancer,; Dump toxins,; Finland.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Järvinen K. Helsinki: City Construction Office, Viatek Oy; 1999. Myllypuron entisen kaatopaikan alueen maaperän ja pohjaveden saastuneisuustutkimus — vaihe 2. (Study on pollution of the soil and ground water in the former dump area in Myllypuro, Phase 2) [in Finnish]. Report No. Y6129.02.
    1. Pukkala E, Pönkä A. Increased incidence of cancer and asthma in houses built on a former dump area. Environ Health Perspect. 2001;109:1121–5. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Griffith J, Duncan RC, Riggan WB, Pellom AC. Cancer mortality in U.S. counties with hazardous waste sites and ground water pollution. Arch Environ Health. 1989;44:69–74. - PubMed
    1. Goldberg MS, Al-Homsi N, Goulet L, Riberdy H. Incidence of cancer among persons living near a municipal solid waste landfill site in Montreal, Quebec. Arch Environ Health. 1995;50:416–24. - PubMed
    1. Lewis-Michl EL, Kallenbach LR, Geary NS, Melius JM, Ju CL, Orr MF, et al. Atlanta, GA: Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry; 1998. Investigation of cancer incidence and residence near 38 landfills with soil gas migration conditions: New York State, 1980–1989. ATSDR/HS-98-93.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources