Humidification of indoor air for preventing or reducing dryness symptoms or upper respiratory infections in educational settings and at the workplace.

Background: Indoor exposure to dry air during heating periods has been associated with dryness and irritation symptoms of the upper respiratory airways and the skin. The irritated or damaged mucous membrane poses an important entry port for pathogens causing respiratory infections.

Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of interventions that increase indoor air humidity in order to reduce or prevent dryness symptoms of the eyes, the skin and the upper respiratory tract (URT) or URT infections, at work and in educational settings.

Human-biomonitoring and individual soil measurements for children and mothers in an area with recently detected mercury-contaminations and public health concerns: a cross-sectional study.

In this study, we assessed intracorporal mercury concentrations in subjects living on partially mercury-contaminated soils in a defined area in Switzerland. We assessed 64 mothers and 107 children who resided in a defined area for at least 3 months. Mercury in biological samples (urine and hair) was measured, a detailed questionnaire was administered for each individual, and individual mercury soil values were obtained.

Predicted Mercury Soil Concentrations from a Kriging Approach for Improved Human Health Risk Assessment.

Health-risks from contaminated soils are assessed all over the world. An aspect that many risk assessments share is the heterogeneity in the distribution of contaminants. In a preceding study, we assessed potential health-risks for mothers and children living on mercury-contaminated soils in Switzerland using human biomonitoring-values (HBM) and soil samples.