A meta-analysis of mortality data in Italian contaminated site whith industrial waste landfills or illegal dumps

Objectives:Adverse effects of waste management represent a public health issue. Mortality meta-analysis in Italian National Priority Contaminated Sites (NPCSs) with industrial waste landfills or illegal dumps is presented. Methods:24 NPCSs include industrial waste landfills or illegal dumps. Class 1 (10 NPCSs with industrial waste landfills) and Class 2 (14 NPCSs with illegal dumps) were categorized. Random-effects model meta-analyses of Standardized Mortality Ratios non-adjusted (SMRs) and adjusted for Deprivation (DI-SMRs) computed for each CS (1995-2002) were performed for overall 24 NPCSs and the two classes. The North-Southern gradient was considered. Result: 24 CSs pooled-SMRs are significantly increased in both genders for cancer of liver (men: SMR = 1.13; women: SMR = 1.18), bladder (men: SMR = 1.06; women:SMR = 1.11), and for cirrhosis (men: SMR = 1.09; women: SMR = 1.13). In Class 2 the increase is confirmed in both genders for liver and bladder cancers and for cirrhosis and in men only for lung cancer. Congenital anomalies and adverse perinatal conditions are not increased. Conclusion: The results are consistent with the hypothesis of adverse health effects of non-adequately managed hazardous waste. Causal interpretation is not allowed, but the meta-analytic approach provides more confidence in the findings.

Cancer incidence in Priolo, Sicily: a spatial approach for estimation of industrial air pollution impact

The territory around the industrial Sicilian area of Priolo, Italy, has been defined as a contaminated site (CS) of national priority for remediation because of diffuse environmental contamination caused by large industrial settlements. The present study investigates the spatial distribution of cancer into the CS territory (period 1999-2006). Different geographical methods used for the evaluation of the impact of industrial air pollutants were adopted. Using the database of Syracuse Province Cancer Registry, gender-specific standardised incidence ratios were calculated for 35 tumour sites for the CS overall and for each municipality included in the CS. A cluster analysis for 17 selected neoplasms was performed at micro-geographical level. The identification of the priority index contaminants (PICs) present in environmental matrices and a review of their carcinogenicity have been performed and applied in the interpretation of the findings. The area has a higher cancer incidence with respect to the provincial population, in particular excess is registered among both genders of lung, bladder and breast cancers as well as skin melanoma and pleural mesothelioma and there is an a priori evidence of association with the exposure to PICs. The study highlights the need to provide different approaches in CSs where several exposure pathways might be relevant for the population. The presence of potential sources of asbestos exposure deserves specific concern

Environmental concentrations of fibers with fluoro-edenitic composition and population exposure in Biancavilla (Sicily, Italy)

Introduction. The town of Biancavilla (Sicily) was included in the National Priorities List of Contaminated Sites due to environmental dispersion of amphibole fibers owing to the extraction of materials from a local quarry. The present report summarizes results from several, hitherto unpublished, environmental surveys carried out in the area, as well as from published analyses of the chemistry and composition of fibers.Methods. Data included here comprises environmental fiber concentrations by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) analysis in soil, indoor and outdoor air, personal monitoring, as well as a chemical characterization of the fibers.The full chemical structure and spectroscopic characterization of fibers were obtained through a multi-analytical approach: SEM-EDS, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), as well as Mössbauer (MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopies.Results. Data analyzed provided a spatial and temporal picture of fiber concentrations in Biancavilla, and a qualitative assessment of population exposure. Results suggest that until 2000, the population had been exposed to high levels of amphibole fibers. Mitigation measures adopted since 2001, gradually reduced exposure levels to about 0.1-0.4 ff/l. Previous studies on fibrous amphiboles from Biancavilla reported considerable chemical variability. Differences in composition, especially concerning the presence of Si, Ca, Fe, and Na, were found both within and between samples. Compared to the previously investigated prismatic fluoro-edenite, these fibrous fluorine amphiboles consistently showed higher average values of Si and Fe content, whereas Ca was significantly lower, which we consider a distinctive characteristic of the fluorine fibrous variety.Conclusions. The population of Biancavilla had been highly exposed to a suite of fibrous amphiboles for over 50 years. Dust mitigation measures have gradually reduced exposure, but continuous environmental follow-up is necessary in order to monitor exposurelevels and prevent adverse health effects for future generations

The impact measure of solid waste management on health: the hazard index

The risk associated with waste exposure depends on the level of emissions arising from waste disposal and from the effects of these emissions on human health (dose-reponse). In 2007 an epidemiological study was conducted in two Italian provinces of the Campania Region, namely Naples and Caserta, with the aim of assessing the health effects deriving from exposure to waste. In these studies, the important aspect is the population exposure assessment, in relation to the different types of waste disposal. The Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPA Campania) has identified and characterized the various authorized/unauthorized dumping sites in the provinces of Naples and Caserta. Most of the waste disposals used are illegal and invisible (sunken or buried); thus, the toxic substances therein contained are unknown and difficult to identify. In order to locate the possible areas exposed to a higher waste-related health risk, a synthetical "hazard index" (at the municipality level) was designed. By means of GIS, the number of waste impact areas was identified for each of the 196 municipalities in the two provinces; then, Census data (ISTAT 2001) was used to estimate the proportion of the population living in the impact areas. The synthetical hazard index at municipality level accounts for three elements: a) the intrinsic characterization of the waste disposal, determining the way in which the pollutant is released; b) the impact area of the dumping site (within 1 km radius), same areas are influenced by more than one site; c) the density of the population living in the "impact area" surrounding the waste disposal site

Individuazione e valutazione dei contaminanti ambientali provenienti da impianti di discarica per rifiuti solidi urbani e assimilabili e per rifiuti pericolosi

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche - Biblioteca Centrale - P.le Aldo Moro, 7 , Rome / CNR - Consiglio Nazionale delle RichercheSIGLEITItal

Tigriopus fulvus: The interlaboratory comparison of the acute toxicity test

The paper reports the results of an interlaboratory comparison involving 11 laboratories, with the objectives of apply and validate a new standardized ecotoxicological method on marine crustacean Tigriopus fulvus. Copper was chosen as reference toxicant as indicated in the official method. The results of two independent tests performed by all the participants, demonstrated that the new method is simple, fast and easy to learn. This is confirmed even by the values of z-score index calculated for each laboratory and the relative coefficient of variation (CV) which are 6.32% after 24. h, 6.56 after 48. h and 35.3% after 96. h, mentioned in the ISO standards for the precision of interlaboratory assays. Therefore its use could be recommended in environmental studies and monitoring

Cancer incidence in Priolo, Sicily: a spatial approach for estimation of industrial air pollution impact

The territory around the industrial Sicilian area of Priolo, Italy, has been defined as a contaminated site (CS) of national priority for remediation because of diffuse environmental contamination caused by large industrial settlements. The present study investigates the spatial distribution of cancer into the CS territory (period 1999-2006). Different geographical methods used for the evaluation of the impact of industrial air pollutants were adopted. Using the database of Syracuse Province Cancer Registry, gender-specific standardised incidence ratios were calculated for 35 tumour sites for the CS overall and for each municipality included in the CS. A cluster analysis for 17 selected neoplasms was performed at micro-geographical level. The identification of the priority index contaminants (PICs) present in environmental matrices and a review of their carcinogenicity have been performed and applied in the interpretation of the findings. The area has a higher cancer incidence with respect to the provincial population, in particular excess is registered among both genders of lung, bladder and breast cancers as well as skin melanoma and pleural mesothelioma and there is an a priori evidence of association with the exposure to PICs. The study highlights the need to provide different approaches in CSs where several exposure pathways might be relevant for the population. The presence of potential sources of asbestos exposure deserves specific concern