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Living near incinerator may up birth defect risk

Last Updated: 2003-05-29 13:00:47 -0400 (Reuters Health)

LONDON (Reuters) - Pregnant women living near incinerators or crematoriums may have a higher risk of having a child with birth defects, according to findings of a British research team published on Thursday.

Scientists at the University of Newcastle said they uncovered a 17 percent higher incidence of spina bifida and a 12 percent greater incidence of heart defects in an analysis of almost 245,000 births in northwest England between 1956 and 1993.

"We found an increased risk of spina bifida and heart defects in relation to proximity to incinerators and an increased risk of stillbirth, anencephalus (a brain abnormality) and other congenital anomalies in relation to proximity to crematoriums," Professor Louise Parker said in a report in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Both gave out harmful chemicals including dioxins. Parker and her colleagues called for further studies, including examining pollution levels emitted by the buildings, because they said they could not establish a cause for the defects from their results.

"Further investigations using actual pollution levels and high quality data ... are needed," Parker added.

Copyright 2002 Reuters.