Environmental Pollution from Illegal Waste Disposal and Health Effects: A Review on the “Triangle of Death”

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Maria Triassi²  Rossella Alfano²  Maddalena Illario¹  Antonio Nardone²  Oreste Caporale²  Paolo Montuori² 

[1] Department of Traslational Medical Science, “Federico II” University, Naples 80131, Italy; E-Mail:;Department of Public Health, “Federico II” University, Naples 80131, Italy; E-Mails:

关键词: Campania Region;    landfill;    incineration;    waste;    human health;    human biomonitoring;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph120201216

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The term “triangle of death” was used for the first time by Senior and Mazza in the journal The Lancet Oncology referring to the eastern area of the Campania Region (Southern Italy) which has one of the worst records of illegal waste dumping practices. In the past decades, many studies have focused on the potential of illegal waste disposal to cause adverse effects on human health in this area. The great heterogeneity in the findings, and the bias in media communication has generated great healthcare doubts, anxieties and alarm. This paper addresses a review of the up-to-date literature on the “triangle of death”, bringing together the available information on the occurrence and severity of health effects related to illegal waste disposal. The Scopus database was searched using the search terms “waste”, “Campania”, “Naples”, “triangle of death” and “human biomonitoring”. Despite the methodological and sampling heterogeneity between the studies, this review examines the evidence from published data concerning cancer incidence, childhood mortality and birth defects, so that the current situation, knowledge gaps and research priorities can be established. The review aims to provide a contribution to the scientific community, and to respond to the concerns of the general population.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.