Genetic damage in coal and uranium miners.

Mining has a direct impact on the environment and on the health of miners and is considered one of the most hazardous occupations worldwide. Miners are exposed to several occupational health risks, including genotoxic substances, which may cause adverse health effects, such as cancer. This review summarizes the relation between DNA damage and mining activities, focusing on coal and uranium miners.

Cancer Incidence and Mortality among Petroleum Industry Workers and Residents Living in Oil Producing Communities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Petroleum extraction and refining are major sources of various occupational exposures and of air pollution and may therefore contribute to the global cancer burden. This systematic review and meta-analysis is aimed at evaluating the cancer risk in petroleum-exposed workers and in residents living near petroleum facilities. Relevant studies were identified and retrieved through PubMed and Web of Science databases.

Exposure to nanoparticles derived from diesel particulate filter equipped engine increases vulnerability to arrhythmia in rat hearts.

Air pollution is well recognized as a central player in cardiovascular disease. Exhaust particulate from diesel engines (DEP) is rich in nanoparticles and may contribute to the health effects of particulate matter in the environment. Moreover, diesel soot emitted by modern engines denotes defective surfaces alongside chemically-reactive sites increasing soot cytotoxicity.

Incidence of lung cancer and mortality among civil construction industry workers: A protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: The construction sector is one of the most stable growth industries in the world. However, many studies have suggested an association between occupational exposure in civil construction and lung cancer risk. Thus, this study aims to assess lung cancer risk in civil construction workers occupationally exposed to physical and chemical agents through a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Plasma Metabolic Profiling in Patients With Silicosis and Asbestosis.

Objectives: To explore the circulating metabolites and related pathways in silicosis and asbestosis exposure to different mineral dust.

Methods: Plasma of 30 silicosis, 30 asbestosis, and 20 healthy controls was analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Metabolic networks and the relevance of the identified metabolic derangements were explored.

The legacy of weapons grade plutonium production: Health status of Hanford complex workers who manage the waste.

The extent and etiology of health effects in workers who maintain underground storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Hanford) have been subjects of controversy and concern for several decades. Hanford is a decommissioned nuclear production complex managed by the US Department of Energy in southeast Washington State. This integration-of-evidence review evaluates the relationship between exposure to vapors from mixed chemical and radioactive waste stored in underground storage tanks at Hanford and worker health.

Lung Cancer Mortality and Styrene Exposure in the Reinforced-Plastics Boatbuilding Industry: Evaluation of Healthy Worker Survivor Bias.

The evidence for styrene's being a human lung carcinogen has been inconclusive. Occupational cohorts within the reinforced-plastics industry are an ideal population in which to study this association because of their relatively high levels of exposure to styrene and lack of concomitant exposures to other known carcinogens. However, healthy worker survivor bias (HWSB), where healthier workers stay employed longer and thus have higher exposure potential, is a likely source of confounding bias for exposure-response associations, in part due to styrene's acute effects.

Incidence of mesothelioma and asbestosis by occupation in a diverse workforce.

Objective: We sought to characterize detailed patterns of mesothelioma and asbestosis incidence in the workforce as part of an occupational disease surveillance program in Ontario, Canada.

Methods: The Occupational Disease Surveillance System (ODSS) cohort was established using workers' compensation claims data and includes 2.18 million workers employed from 1983 to 2014.

What Does a Cardio-oncology Service Offer to the Oncologist and the Haematologist?

Cardio-oncology is an emerging subspecialty arising from the need for multidisciplinary collaboration to address the increasing prominence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among cancer patients. This overview outlines the case for establishing cardio-oncology services and defines the ways in which these services benefit cancer patients. The primary objective of cardio-oncology is to manage CVDs in order to allow cancer patients to complete the best cancer treatments safely and with minimal interruption.

Occupational and environmental asbestos exposure and the risk of lung cancer in Korea: A case-control study in South Chungcheong Province of Korea.

Despite the use of large amounts of asbestos in the 1990s, few studies have been conducted in Korea on occupational and environmental asbestos exposure and lung cancer risk. The main aim of this study was to estimate the risk of lung cancer development caused by occupational and environmental asbestos exposures in residents of South Chungcheong Province, where about half of the asbestos mines in Korea operated. We conducted a case-control study, for which the information on asbestos exposure history and demographic characteristics was provided by the Environmental Health Center for asbestos of Soonchunhyang University Cheonan Hospital.

Pulmonary inflammatory response from co-exposure to LPS and glyphosate.

Unlabelled: Agricultural airborne work exposures are complex in nature and workplace exposures are a risk for respiratory outcomes in workers. Endotoxin and glyphosate are two common agents in agricultural exposures. While endotoxin (lipopolysaccaride, LPS) is a potent inflammatory agent it explains only a portion of the respiratory inflammatory response.

Occupational Exposure to Carbon Nanotubes and Carbon Nanofibres: More Than a Cobweb.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are erroneously considered as singular material entities. Instead, they should be regarded as a heterogeneous class of materials bearing different properties eliciting particular biological outcomes both in vitro and in vivo. Given the pace at which the industrial production of CNTs/CNFs is increasing, it is becoming of utmost importance to acquire comprehensive knowledge regarding their biological activity and their hazardous effects in humans.

Occupations and exposure events in acute and subacute irritant-induced asthma.

Background: Exposures leading to irritant-induced asthma (IIA) are poorly documented.

Methods: We retrospectively screened the medical records of patients with IIA diagnosed in an occupational medicine clinic during 2000-2018. We classified the cases into acute (onset after single exposure) and subacute (onset after multiple exposures) IIA.

Prenatal developmental toxicity studies on fumes from oxidised asphalt (OA) in the rat.

The prenatal developmental toxicity of the fumes of oxidised asphalt (OA) was tested by nose-only inhalation in the rat. The test material was generated by collecting fumes from the headspace of storage tanks filled with OA. The composition of these fumes was matched to fumes sampled at a workplace where the same OA was applied in a pour-and-roll operation, representing occupational exposure with high concentrations of fumes to not underestimate the possible hazard.

[Changes of neuron specific enolase in serum of patients with silicosis].

To explore the changes of neuron specific enolase (NSE) concentration in serum samples of patients with silicosis. In January 2020, 455 cases of silicosis diagnosed in Yantaishan Hospital from January 2018 to December 2019 were collected, and 60 healthy cases and 120 cases of lung cancer were selected as the healthy group and the lung cancer group. The serum levels of NSE were detected by chemical immunofluorescence assay and compared.

Caustic Mist Exposure and Respiratory Outcomes in a Cohort Study of Alumina Refinery Workers.

A common chemical exposure in alumina refining is caustic mist. Although recognized as a strong airways irritant, little is known of the chronic respiratory effects of caustic mist in alumina refining. A suitable metric for caustic mist exposure assessment in alumina refining for epidemiological purposes has not been identified.

[Silica-induced scleroderma in miners in former uranium ore mining (Wismut AG)].

As part of the reappraisal of the legacy of Wismut AG, 12 patients with silica-induced scleroderma among underground uranium ore mine workers (Wismut AG) under long-term exposure to silica fine dust, as well as radon and its daughter products, during the 1960s and 1970s are reported on. Silica-induced scleroderma is clinically, serologically and immunologically indistinguishable from idiopathic systemic sclerosis. In experimental studies, endothelial cells, monocytes and fibroblasts, as well as their synthesis rates and the release of cytokines and chemokines, were activated by silica fine dust in a way that is consistent with the pathophysiological processes in idiopathic systemic sclerosis.

Less Common Respiratory Conditions: Occupational Lung Diseases.

Occupational lung diseases are caused by workplace inhalation of chemicals, dusts, or fumes. They include asbestosis, silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP), and occupational asthma. These diseases have nonspecific respiratory symptoms and are only identified if an occupational history is taken.

In vitro toxicity of fibrous glaucophane.

The health hazard represented by the exposure to asbestos may also concern other minerals with asbestos-like crystal habit. One of these potentially hazardous minerals is fibrous glaucophane. Fibrous glaucophane is a major component of blueschist rocks of California (USA) currently mined for construction purposes.

Respiratory symptoms and their association with exposure to respiratory dust among indigo-dyed cotton workers.

Indigo-dyed cotton weavers are exposed to various dust particles that may contain chemical contaminants from indigo fermentation process and can be related to respiratory symptoms. This cross-sectional study thus investigates the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and their association with respiratory dust (RD) exposure among workers in northeastern Thailand. It recruited 146 indigo-dyed cotton weavers.

Impaired exercise capacity in electrostatic polyester powder paint workers.

Purpose: Limited number of studies investigated the effects of Electrostatic powder paints (EPP) on human health. We investigated the effects of EPP exposure on lung function, exercise capacity, and quality of life, and the factors determining exercise capacity in EPP workers.

Methods: Fifty-four male EPP workers and 54 age-matched healthy male individuals (control group) were included.