# Combustion of plastic waste and human health effects in Guatemala

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMORY UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $531,481

## Abstract

Project Abstract
Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel combustion is a major contributor to poor ambient air pollution and
health. Global efforts to address HAP in low- and middle-income countries have focused on provision of clean
cookstoves. Household waste burning, especially of plastics, is a major, but unaddressed environmental and
health hazard in countries that lack infrastructure to properly dispose of waste. In rural Guatemala, 95% of
households use solid fuels for cooking and 71% burn waste as the primary means of disposal. Burning plastic
releases bisphenols and phthalates, which may disrupt neurodevelopment, endocrine, and reproductive function.
No studies have examined biomarkers of exposure to chemicals in women of reproductive age who are
disproportionately exposed to airborne burning plastic, likely at higher levels than in high-income countries. There
are no emissions estimates of air pollutants from plastic waste incineration in Central America. This proposal will
implement community working groups that will improve air quality by reducing household plastic waste burning,
reduce exposure, and improve health-related quality of life in women of reproductive age. Using a randomized
cluster trial design, we will randomize 20 rural villages (10 intervention; 10 control) in Jalapa, Guatemala and
randomly select 400 women of reproductive age (20 in each village) who report burning plastic trash as a primary
form of waste disposal to participate in urine biomonitoring and personal air monitoring. In 10 intervention
villages, we will invite community members to participate in 12-week working groups to implement alternatives
to burning plastic and determine achievable interventions over the subsequent 9 months. We will use the
Behavior Change Wheel and RE-AIM, two implementation science frameworks, and a mixed-methods approach,
to refine, implement, and evaluate community-initiated interventions that address plastic waste. We will assess
opportunities, capabilities and motivations that determine behaviors, as well as the reach, effectiveness,
adoption, implementation fidelity, maintenance and sustainability of interventions. At baseline, 4 and 12 months,
we will measure personal exposures to fine particulate matter and black carbon, and urinary biomarkers of
exposure (e.g., bisphenols, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds) in
400 women of reproductive age (15-44 years). We will use filter-based antimony and 1,3,5-Triphenylbenzene,
known tracers of plastic incineration, to quantify emissions estimates of air pollutants due to plastic burning.
Based on plastic waste reductions in intervention villages, we will assess regional impacts of pollutant emissions
reduction, using a 3D chemical transport model. This is the first study to use an implementation science approach
to implement and evaluate fidelity to intervention strategies to reduce plastic waste burning. Our findings will be
incorporate...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10470720
- **Project number:** 5R01ES032009-02
- **Recipient organization:** EMORY UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Eri Saikawa
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $531,481
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-08-18 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10470720

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10470720, Combustion of plastic waste and human health effects in Guatemala (5R01ES032009-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10470720. Licensed CC0.

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