title: Fetal deaths and proximity to hazardous waste sites in Washington State.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The in utero period is one of increased susceptibility to environmental effects. The effects of prenatal exposure to environmental toxicants on various adverse pregnancy outcomes, including fetal death, are not well understood.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We examined the risk of fetal death in relation to maternal residential proximity to hazardous waste sites.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a population-based case-control study using Washington State vital records for 1987-2001. Cases were women with fetal deaths at > or = 20 weeks (n = 7,054). Ten controls per case were randomly selected from live births. Locations of 939 hazardous waste sites were identified from the Department of Ecology registry. We measured distance from maternal residence at delivery to the nearest hazardous waste site, and calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The risk of fetal death for women residing < or = 0.5 miles, relative to > 5 miles, from a hazardous waste site was not increased (adjusted OR = 1.06; 95% CI, 0.90-1.25). No associations were observed for any proximity categories < or = 5 miles from sites with contaminated air, soil, water, solvents, or metals; however, fetal death risk increased among women residing < or = 1 mile from pesticide-containing sites (OR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13-1.46).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results do not suggest that fetal death is associated with residential proximity to hazardous waste sites overall; however, close proximity to pesticide-containing sites may increase the risk of fetal death.
authors.affiliation: Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington 98109-1024, USA. bmueller@fhcrc.org
authors.forename: Beth A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Mueller
authors.forename: Carrie M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Kuehn
authors.forename: Carrie K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Shapiro-Mendoza
authors.forename: Kay M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Tomashek
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005843:Geography; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D006801:Humans; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity; D011247:Pregnancy; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014861:Washington / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D006256:Hazardous Waste; D010575:Pesticides