Babies born to mothers who live near hazardous waste landfill sites have a higher risk of serious birth defects, according to a European study. Women who live within three kilometres of a hazardous landfill site are more likely to have babies with nervous-system problems, holes in the heart and malformations of the large arteries and veins in the chest, according to the report, published in the latest edition of the medical journal, The Lancet. Nearly 3500 births, stillbirths and terminations of pregnancy were included in the study of women living near 21 hazardous waste landfill sites in Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Denmark.