Biological monitoring of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and to metallic elements in Italian Navy workers operating near the industrial area in Taranto (South Italy).

Objectives: To assess, by means of biological monitoring, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and to metallic elements in Italian Navy workers operating near the industrial area in Taranto, and thereby estimate the health risk.

Methods: A total of 450 workers in the Italian Navy were examined; they had office type jobs, and 150 of them worked near the industrial area in Taranto (exposed group), 150 in Taranto but far from this area (internal control group) and 150 in Brindisi (external control group). The recruited workers were administered a questionnaire inquiring about current and previous working activities, personal medical history, lifestyle and dietary habits, and their residence location.

Applicability of the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire for Screening Contact Dermatological Disorders in Sea Fishers.

This survey aimed to evaluate the applicability of the Nordic Occupational Skin Questionnaire (NOSQ) as a preliminary screening tool to investigate the presence of contact dermatological disorders in sea fishermen. The Italian version of the NOSQ was administered to 143 male fishermen working at an Apulia (Southern Italy) Fisheries, and 136 male workers who had never worked as sea fishers (controls). A significantly higher rate of frequency of transient itchy wheals on the hands, wrists, and forearms was recorded in the fishermen as compared to the controls (49.

Biological monitoring of exposure to low concentrations of benzene in workers at a metallurgical coke production plant: new insights into S-phenylmercapturic acid and urinary benzene.

Context: Urinary S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) and benzene (U-Ben) are usually measured at the end of the work shift (ES), although their kinetic of elimination is not clearly known.

Objective: To investigate SPMA and U-Ben elimination 16 h after the ES, in 93 coke production workers exposed to low benzene concentrations.

Materials And Methods: Airborne benzene (A-Ben) was measured by passive samplings, while SPMA, U-Ben, methyl-tert-butyl ether (U-MTBE), cotinine (U-Cot) and creatinine were determined on urine samples collected at ES and before the beginning of the next work shift (next BS).

Risk due to exposure to metallic elements in a birdshot factory.

The contribution of biological and environmental monitoring to the risk assessment of occupational exposure to lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and antimony (Sb) was studied in 18 workers at a birdshot factory (Exposed) and in 18 control workers (Controls) by the determination of both airborne Pb (PbA) and airborne As (AsA) only in the exposed workers and blood Pb (PbB), erythrocytic zinc protoporphyrin (ZPP), urinary Sb (SbU), and the urinary As species in exposed workers and controls. PbA (12-42 μg/m) and AsA (1-4 μg/m) were strongly correlated (r = .95).

Biological accidents at work among resident physicians in specialist training at Bari University Hospital, Italy.

The phenomenon of accidents at work was investigated among the resident physicians of the School of Medicine, Bari University, by a self-administered anonymous questionnaire probing personal details and inquiring about any accidents at work experienced during the training period, and by a comparison with the accidents reported to the Hospital Accidents Registry. At least 1 biological accident was reported by 18.2% of the 450 participants, this percentage being significantly higher in the surgical area (33.

Influence of Occupational and Environmental Exposure to Low Concentrations of Polychlorobiphenyls and a Smoking Habit on the Urinary Excretion of Corticosteroid Hormones.

The effects of occupational exposure to low concentrations of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) on the urinary excretion of corticosteroid hormones were evaluated, taking into account the influence of cigarette smoking. The study included 26 males working as electrical maintenance staff in a steel factory, previously exposed to a mixture of PCBs (exposed workers), and 30 male workers with no occupational exposure to PCBs (controls). Serum PCBs (33 congeners), urinary 17-hydroxycorticosteroids, 17-ketosteroids (KS) and pregnanes, and their respective glucuronidated and sulfonated compounds, were determined for each subject.

DNA damage and repair capacity in workers exposed to low concentrations of benzene.

DNA damage and cellular repair capacity were studied in 18 male fuel tanker drivers and 13 male filling-station attendants exposed to low and very low concentrations of benzene, respectively, and compared to 20 males with no occupational exposure (controls). Exposure to airborne benzene was measured using passive personal samplers, and internal doses were assayed through the biomarkers t,t-muconic acid, S-phenylmercapturic acid and urinary benzene. DNA damage was evaluated using tail intensity (TI) determined by the comet assay in peripheral lymphocytes.

Evaluation of chromosome aberration and micronucleus frequencies in blood lymphocytes of workers exposed to low concentrations of benzene.

The frequency of chromosome aberrations (CA) and micronuclei (MN) was investigated in the peripheral lymphocytes of workers occupationally exposed to low or very low concentrations of benzene. The study included 43 exposed workers (all males), namely 19 fuel-tanker drivers and 24 filling-station attendants, and 31 male subjects with no occupational exposure to the toxicant (controls). Benzene exposure was verified by means of environmental monitoring with passive personal samplers (Radiello(®)), and through biological monitoring, i.

[Health risk assessment of exposure to metals in the workers of the steel foundry and in the general population of Taranto (Italy)].

Objective: To study the urinary excretion of As, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Sn, Ba, Hg, Pb, Sb in workers at the Taranto integrated-cycle steel foundry and in subjects from the general population of Taranto, to assess the health risk posed by occupational exposure and environmental exposure, respectively, to these metals.

Materials And Methods: The study included 49 steel foundry workers (exposed), working in the minerals and agglomerates pools, steel processing plants 1 and 2 and maritime plants, and 50 subjects belonging to the general population of Taranto resident at various distances from the factory (controls), randomly selected from the exposed subjects and controls enrolled in previous research conducted in 2005. A questionnaire was administered to all participants, enquiring into general characteristics, lifestyle, diet, and any medical conditions.

The influence of diet on intra and inter-individual variability of urinary excretion of arsenic species in Italian healthy individuals.

To study the effect of eating foods with a high arsenic (As) content on the intra and inter-individual variability of urinary concentrations of the As species, daily urine samples were collected for 10 consecutive days from 12 healthy male subjects. A daily food diary was kept throughout the study period. Personal exposure to airborne As was measured once during the study.

Biomarkers of internal dose for the assessment of environmental exposure to benzene.

The urinary excretion of t,t-muconic acid (t,t-MA), S-phenylmercapturic acid (SPMA) and urinary benzene and the influence of a smoking habit and of exposure to urban traffic on the urinary excretion of these biomarkers were investigated in 137 male adults from the general population. All subjects were not occupationally exposed to benzene and resident in two cities in Puglia (Southern-Italy). Environmental exposure to benzene was measured using passive personal samplers.

Validity of new biomarkers of internal dose for use in the biological monitoring of occupational and environmental exposure to low concentrations of benzene and toluene.

Objectives: This study analyzes the validity of new, more sensitive and specific urinary biomarkers of internal dose, namely, urinary benzene for benzene and urinary toluene and S-benzylmercapturic acid (SBMA) for toluene, to assess their efficacy when compared to traditional biomarkers for biological monitoring of occupational exposure to low concentrations of these two toxic substances.

Methods: Assessment was made of 41 workers occupationally exposed to benzene and toluene, 18 fuel tanker drivers and 23 filling-station attendants, as well as 31 subjects with no occupational exposure to these toxic substances (controls). Exposure to airborne benzene and toluene was measured using passive Radiello personal samplers worn throughout the work shift.

Indoor formaldehyde and acetaldehyde levels in the province of Bari, South Italy, and estimated health risk.

Indoor and outdoor formaldehyde and acetaldehyde levels were assessed to characterize pollution in dwellings in the city and the Province of Bari, also taking into account seasonal variability, and to investigate health effects of aldehyde exposure on the general population. In 2007, passive environmental monitoring was performed, for 24 hours, in the kitchen of 59 dwellings, as well as outdoors for 27 of them. A questionnaire probing personal and home characteristics was administered to all 182 subjects habitually resident in the homes.

Significance of urinary arsenic speciation in assessment of seafood ingestion as the main source of organic and inorganic arsenic in a population resident near a coastal area.

In order to characterize the different sources of exposure to arsenic (As), urinary excretion of total As, the sum of inorganic As+MMA+DMA determined by the hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique, and the species As3, As5, monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and arsenobetaine were determined in 49 workers at a steel foundry, with presumed occupational exposure to As, and 50 subjects from the general population, all males. No evidence of occupational exposure to As resulted from environmental monitoring performed in the foundry, although the analysis of minerals used as raw materials showed the presence of As, particularly in fossils and fine ores. The urinary concentrations of As3, MMA, DMA, the sum of inorganic As+MMA+DMA and total As were not different in the two groups, while arsenobetaine appeared significantly higher in the controls than in the workers.

Lack of genotoxic effect in workers exposed to very low doses of 1,3-butadiene.

1,3-Butadiene (BD), a probable carcinogen to humans, has been shown to have an ill-defined genotoxicity in occupationally exposed workers. In the present study, the influence of exposure to very low doses of BD and to cigarette smoking was investigated on some cytogenetic endpoints, namely, sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and cells with a high frequency of SCE (HFC), in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Twenty-seven male workers employed in a petrochemical plant and 26 matched controls were included in the study.