Using GIS to Estimate Population at Risk Because of Residence Proximity to Asbestos Processing Facilities in Colombia

Benjamin Lysaniuk, María Fernanda Cely-García, Margarita Giraldo, Joan M. Larrahondo, Laura Marcela Serrano-Calderón, Juan Carlos Guerrero-Bernal, Leonardo Briceno-Ayala, Esteban Cruz Rodriguez and Juan Pablo Ramos-Bonilla
Additional contact information
Benjamin Lysaniuk: IRD (MàD by CNRS)—UMR Prodig, 93222 Aubervilliers, France
María Fernanda Cely-García: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
Margarita Giraldo: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
Joan M. Larrahondo: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Facultad de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 110231, Colombia
Laura Marcela Serrano-Calderón: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil, Facultad de Ingeniería, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogotá 110231, Colombia
Juan Carlos Guerrero-Bernal: Facultad de Estudios Internacionales, Políticos y Urbanos (FEIPU), Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
Leonardo Briceno-Ayala: Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
Esteban Cruz Rodriguez: Facultad de Estudios Internacionales, Políticos y Urbanos (FEIPU), Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá 111711, Colombia
Juan Pablo Ramos-Bonilla: Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Ambiental, Universidad de Los Andes, Bogotá 111711, Colombia

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 24, 1-17

Abstract: The recent enactment of the law banning asbestos in Colombia raises a significant number of challenges. The largest factories that have historically processed asbestos include five asbestos-cement facilities located in the cities of Sibaté (Cundinamarca), Cali (Valle del Cauca), and Barranquilla (Atlántico), and Manizales (Caldas), which has two, as well as a friction products facility in Bogotá D.C. An asbestos chrysotile mine has also operated in Colombia since 1980 in Campamento (Antioquia). In the framework of developing the National Asbestos Profile for Colombia, in this study, we estimated the population residing in the vicinity of asbestos processing plants or the mine and, therefore, potentially at risk of disease. Using a geographic information system, demographic data obtained from the last two general population censuses were processed to determine the number of people living within the concentric circles surrounding the asbestos facilities and the mine. In previous studies conducted in different countries of the world, an increased risk of asbestos-related diseases has been reported for people living at different distance bands from asbestos processing facilities. Based on these studies, circles of 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, and 10,000 m radii, centered on the asbestos processing facilities and the mine that operated in Colombia, were combined with the census data to estimate the number of people living within these radii. Large numbers of people were identified. It is estimated that in 2005, at the country level, 10,489 people lived within 500 m of an asbestos processing facility or mine. In 2018, and within a distance of 10,000 m, the number of people was 6,724,677. This information can aid public health surveillance strategies.

Keywords: asbestos; environmental exposure; population; geographic information system; Colombia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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