Burden of Marble Factories and Health Risk Assessment of Kidney (renal) Stones Development in District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Burden of Marble Factories and Health Risk Assessment of Kidney (renal) Stones Development in District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Objective: The marble industry�s disposal, consisting of very fine powder, is becoming one of the environmental problems around the world. The current study was proposed to evaluate health (incidences of kidney stones) risk assessment that might result from marble industries in district Buner. Method: A three months survey was done from August- October 2014 in district Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). Different health care centers were visited for sampling purpose. Results: A total of 1000 individuals, exposed to marble effluents (contaminated water), suffering from kidney stones including males and females in a ratio (M: F is 2.33:1) were observed. The individuals having age of 26-40 years suffered 74% infection of urolithiasis followed by 41-60 years (20%), and lowest rate of kidney infections was observed in 15-25 years individuals. The Tehsil Daggar has highest number (390: 65%) of marble industries as compared to Tehsil Gagra (210: 35%). Similarly, the kidney infection rate was high in Daggar (560: 56%) as compared to Gagra (440: 44%). The most common symptom of kidney infection observed was pain (94%) followed by urinary bladder infection (80%) and Anemia (78%).