Solid waste - its ecoepidemiological impact

Poor handling of solid waste is an unrecognised area of community development, with the potential risk at Pondicherry alarming in terms of public health, morbidity and loss of productivity. An earlier study on children (Khan et al. 1993) exposed the risk in terms of both morbidity and mortality. An epidemiological, case-control study was conducted. An assessment of health risk on exposure to solid waste is done. A high incidence rate indicated the impact of exposures on disease frequency. An individually manageable cost-effective, waste treatment technique - vermicomposting is advocated.