[Biological monitoring in workers exposed to inorganic arsenic in a disused industrial plant in the area of Manfredonia]. / Monitoraggio biologico dell'esposizione professionale ad As inorganico in lavoratori di un impianto industriale dismesso nell'area di Manfredonia.

Inorganic arsenic and its methylated metabolities were measured in 108 spot urine samples obtained from the medical surveillance programme of workers exposed to inorganic Arsenic in July 2006. 15% of the samples showed levels higher than limit value of 35 microg/L (mean value 23,9 microg/L). After the improvement of the working conditions, in August-October 2006, we collected a urinary sample from each of the 108 workers enrolled. A questionnaire was also administrated, in order to investigate the influence of occupational and non occupational factors on the urinary arsenic excretion. The median value of urinary arsenic was 15,12 microg/L; among the 108 samples, 5% showed levels higher than limit value. A significant difference was observed in relation with sea-food consumption and aging stratification. In conclusion, we have described a significant reduction of urinary arsenic excretion between the two phases of biological monitoring, likely due to a proper hygienic work-related intervention.

[Exposure to PAHs, urinary 1-pyrenol and DNA adducts in samples from a population living at different distances from a steel plant]. / Esposizione a IPA, 1-idrossipirene urinario e addotti al DNA in campioni di popolazione residenti a diversa distanza da un polo siderurgico.

This study aims at measuring association between environmental exposure to PAHs and internal or biologically effective dose biomarkers among 212 individuals living at different distance from the industrial area of Taranto, Italy. Environmental PAH exposure was determined by area monitoring. PAH levels was measured by HPLC UV/FL. Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene levels were measured by HPLC/Fluorescence. The levels of DNA adducts were determined by 32P. post-labelling. A questionnaire was administered to gather personal data, residence, occupational history, alcohol, tobacco smoke, and diet, to control for other sources of exposure to PAH. Blood and urinary samples, drawn from the subjects studied were collected and analysed. A multivariate regression model was used to investigate the influence of several confounding factors. Housing was placed within 1 km from smokestacks in Taranto and Statte, whereas they were more far away in Locorotondo and in Alberobello. The prevalence of current smokers was 31.6%.

Biomarkers of carcinogen exposure and cancer risk in a coke plant.

To evaluate the association between an indicator of carcinogen exposure (peripheral blood leukocyte DNA adducts of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and an early indicator of neoplastic transformation (sputum epithelial cell membrane antigens binding by monoclonal antibodies against small cell lung cancer and against nonsmall cell lung cancer), a survey of 350 coke-oven workers and 100 unexposed workers was planned. This paper reports a pilot investigation on a subgroup of 23 coke-oven workers and 8 unexposed controls. A "gas regulator" worker with positive tumor antigen binding was identified. Results show that smokers, subjects with decreased pulmonary function (forced expiratory volume in 1 sec/forced vital capacity% < 80), and those with morphological dysplasia of sputum cells have higher levels of DNA adducts. The gas regulators showed the highest values for adducts; however, no significant difference of adduct levels was found between the coke-oven group and unexposed controls.