Peritoneal mesothelioma mortality in Italy: Spatial analysis and search for asbestos exposure sources.

BACKGROUND: This study is part of a national plan of epidemiological surveillance of malignant mesothelioma (MM) mortality in Italy. The paper shows the results of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM) mortality study in Italian Regions and municipalities. METHODS: National Bureau of Statistics data for MPeM municipal mortality (ICD-10, Code C45.1) were analyzed in the time-window 2003-2014: mortality standardized rates (reference Italian population, census 2011), temporal trends of the annual national rates, Standardized Mortality Ratios and a municipal clustering analysis were performed. RESULTS: 747 deaths for MPeM were recorded (0.10/100,000): 464 in men (0.14/100,000) and in 283 women (0.07/100,000). No significant MPeM mortality temporal trend was found. Seventeen municipalities showed excesses of mortality for MPeM in at least one gender and/or overall population. Four clusters in male population, and one in women were identified. CONCLUSIONS: The study identifies some areas where remediation activities and/or health care actions may be warranted.

Hazardous waste and health impact: a systematic review of the scientific literature.

Waste is part of the agenda of the European Environment and Health Process and included among the topics of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. Disposal and management of hazardous waste are worldwide challenges. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the health impact of hazardous waste exposure, applying transparent and a priori defined methods. The following five steps, based on pre-defined systematic criteria, were applied. 1. Specify the research question, in terms of "Population-Exposure-Comparators-Outcomes" (PECO). POPULATION: people living near hazardous waste sites; Exposure: exposure to hazardous waste; Comparators: all comparators; Outcomes: all diseases/health disorders. 2. Carry out the literature search, in Medline and EMBASE. 3. Select studies for inclusion: original epidemiological studies, published between 1999 and 2015, on populations residentially exposed to hazardous waste. 4. Assess the quality of selected studies, taking into account study design, exposure and outcome assessment, confounding control. 5. Rate the confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome taking into account the reliability of each study, the strength of the association and concordance of results.Fifty-seven papers of epidemiological investigations on the health status of populations living near hazardous waste sites were selected for the evidence evaluation. The association between 95 health outcomes (diseases and disorders) and residential exposure to hazardous waste sites was evaluated. Health effects of residential hazardous waste exposure, previously partially unrecognized, were highlighted. Sufficient evidence was found of association between exposure to oil industry waste that releases high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and acute symptoms. The evidence of causal relationship with hazardous waste was defined as limited for: liver, bladder, breast and testis cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, asthma, congenital anomalies overall and anomalies of the neural tube, urogenital, connective and musculoskeletal systems, low birth weight and pre-term birth; evidence was defined as inadequate for the other health outcomes. The results, although not conclusive, provide indications that more effective public health policies on hazardous waste management are urgently needed. International, national and local authorities should oppose and eliminate poor, outdated and illegal practices of waste disposal, including illegal transboundary trade, and increase support regulation and its enforcement.

[Mortality results in SENTIERI Project]. / Risultati dell'analisi della mortalità nel Progetto SENTIERI.

SENTIERI Project (Mortality study of residents in Italian polluted sites) studies mortality of residents in 44 sites of national interest for environmental remediation (Italian polluted sites, IPS). The epidemiological evidence of the causal association between causes of death and exposures was a priori classified into one of these three categories: Sufficient (S), Limited (L) and Inadequate (I). In these sites various environmental exposures are present. Asbestos (or asbestiform fibres as in Biancavilla) has been the motivation for defining six sites as IPSs (Balangero, Emarese, Casale Monferrato, Broni, Bari-Fibronit, Biancavilla). In five of these, increases in malignant neoplasm or pleura mortality are detected; in four of them, results are consistent in both genders. In six other sites (Pitelli, Massa Carrara, Aree del Litorale Vesuviano, Tito, "Aree industriali della Val Basento", Priolo), where other sources of environmental pollution in addition to asbestos are reported, mortality from malignant neoplasm of pleura is increased in both genders in Pitelli, Massa Carrara, Priolo, "Litorale vesuviano". In the time span 1995-2002, a total of 416 extra cases of malignant neoplasm of pleura are detected in the twelve asbestos-polluted sites. Asbestos and pleural neoplasm represent an unique case. Unlike mesothelioma, most causes of death analyzed in SENTIERI have multifactorial etiology; furthermore, in most IPSs multiple sources of different pollutants are present, sometimes concurrently with air pollution from urban areas: in these cases, drawing conclusions on the association between environmental exposures and specific health outcomes might be complicated. Notwithstanding these difficulties, in a number of cases an etiological role could be attributed to some environmental exposures. The attribution could be possible on the basis of increases observed in both genders and in different age classes, and the exclusion of a major role of occupational exposures was thus allowed. For example, a role of emissions from refineries and petrochemical plants was hypothesized for the observed increases in mortality from lung cancer and respiratory diseases in Gela and Porto Torres; a role of emissions from metal industries was suggested to explain increased mortality from respiratory diseases in Taranto and in Sulcis-Iglesiente-Guspinese. An etiological role of air pollution in the raise in congenital anomalies and perinatal disorders was suggested in Falconara Marittima, Massa-Carrara, Milazzo and Porto Torres. A causal role of heavy metals, PAH's and halogenated compounds was suspected for mortality from renal failure in Massa Carrara, Piombino, Orbetello, "Basso bacino del fiume Chienti" and Sulcis-Iglesiente-Guspinese. In Trento-Nord, Grado and Marano, and "Basso bacino del fiume Chienti" increases in neurological diseases, for which an etiological role of lead, mercury and organohalogenated solvents is possible, were reported. The increase for non-Hodgkin lymphomas in Brescia was associated with the widespread PCB pollution. Mortality for causes of death with a priori Sufficient or Limited evidence of association with the environmental exposure exceeds the expected figures, with a SMR of 115.8% for men (90% IC 114.4-117.2; 2 439 extra deaths) and 114.4% for women (90% CI 112.4-116.5; 1 069 extra deaths). These excesses are also observed when analysis is extended to all the causes of death (i.e. with no restriction to the ones with a priori Sufficient or Limited evidence): for a total of 403 692 deaths (both men and women), an excess of 9 969 deaths is observed, with an average of about 1 200 extra deaths per year. Most of these excesses are observed in IPSs located in Southern and Central Italy. The procedures and results of the evidence evaluation are presented in a 2010 Supplement of Epidemiology & Prevention devoted to SENTIERI.

[The contribution of cancer registries in environmental health studies]. / Il contributo dei Registri tumori negli studi su ambiente e salute.

Cancer incidence is an outcome of interest in studies assessing the health impact of polluted sites, for which an example is represented by SENTIERI Project. Incidence data are characterized by better diagnostic quality and are not influenced by survival factors, furthermore they allow the investigation of high-survival neoplasms (i.e. childhood cancer) and rare malignancies. Furthermore, the study of incidence is more informative than mortality for non-lethal tumours, therefore it represents an advancement in respect to the study of mortality completed in SENTIERI Project. In the last decade in Italy some environmental epidemiology studies used cancer register data, for example the Biancavilla (Sicily) investigation on fluoro-edenite related mesothelioma and the study in an area of Naples Province where hazardous waste was extensively dumped. In this frame, ISS planned some collaborative studies with Siracusa, Mantua and Ferrara cancer Registries, where three major polluted sites are located. Following these pilot studies an ISS-AIRTUM (Italian Association of Cancer Registries) collaborative study has been planned. For a description of SENTIERI, refer to the 2010 supplement of Epidemiology & Prevention, devoted to the Project.

[Scientific collaboration between Istituto Superiore di Sanità and Italian Association of Cancer Registries for the study of cancer incidence in Italian polluted sites]. / Collaborazione scientifica ISS-AIRTUM per lo studio dell'incidenza dei tumori nei siti di interesse nazionale per le bonifiche.

The collaborative study between Istituto superiore di sanità and Associazione italiana registri tumori (ISS-AIRTUM) aims at investigating cancer incidence in polluted sites for adults and for children (0-14 years) and adolescents (15-19 years) to comment the study results in the light of a set of a priori hypotheses. On the whole, 141 out of 298 municipalities included in SENTIERI Project are served by a Cancer Register participating to the AIRTUM network. For a description of SENTIERI, refer to the 2010 Supplement of Epidemiology & Prevention devoted to SENTIERI Project. The time window of the study is the period 1996-2005. The number of expected cases in each polluted site will be estimated by applying incidence rates of the national pool of cancer registries and of the pool of the geographic macroarea in which each site is located: Northern, Central, Southern Italy and Islands. Cancer incidence in children and adolescents is one of the main priorities of international public health institutions, because of the need to protect childhood health from involuntary exposure to environmental risk factors. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) will be computed using expected figures derived from the national pool of cancer registries.

Cancer mortality and congenital anomalies in a region of Italy with intense environmental pressure due to waste.

OBJECTIVES: Waste management in the Campania region has been characterised, since the 1980s, by widespread uncontrolled and illegal practices of waste dumping, generating concerns over the health implications. The objective of this study was to evaluate possible adverse health effects of such environmental pressure. METHODS: The health effects of waste-related environmental exposures in Campania were assessed in a correlation study on nine causes of death (for the years 1994-2001) and 12 types of congenital anomaly (CA) (1996-2002) in 196 municipalities of the provinces of Naples and Caserta. Poisson regression was used to analyse the association between health outcomes and environmental contamination due to waste, as measured through a composite index, adjusting for deprivation. RESULTS: Statistically significant excess relative risks (ERR, %) in high-index compared with low-index (unexposed) municipalities were found for all-cause mortality (9.2 (95% CI 6.5 to 11.9) in men and 12.4 (9.5 to 15.4) in women and liver cancer (19.3 (1.4 to 40.3) in men and 29.1 (7.6 to 54.8) in women). Increased risks were also found for all cancer mortality (both sexes), stomach and lung cancer (in men). Statistically significant ERRs were found for CAs of the internal urogenital system (82.7 (25.6 to 155.7)) and of the central nervous system (83.5 (24.7 to 169.9)). CONCLUSION: Although the causal nature of the association is uncertain, findings support the hypothesis that waste-related environmental exposures in Campania produce increased risks of mortality and, to a lesser extent, CAs.