Neurobehavioral effects of inhaled manganese in Italian adolescents

1openopenLucchini RLucchini, Robert

Global occupational health: Current challenges and the need for urgent action

Background: Global occupational health and safety (OHS) is strictly linked to the dynamics of economic globalization. As the global market is increasing, the gap between developed and underdeveloped countries, occupational diseases, and injuries affect a vast number of workers worldwide. Global OHS issues also become local in developed countries due to many factors, including untrained migrant workers in the informal sector, construction, and agriculture. Objective: To identify the current status and challenges of global occupational health and safety and the needs for preventive action. Findings: Absence of OHS infrastructure amplifies the devastating consequences of infectious outbreaks like the Ebola pandemic and tuberculosis. Interventions in global OHS are urgently needed at various levels:1.  Increased governmental funding is needed for international organizations like the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization to face the increasing demand for policies, guidance, and training. 2.Regulations to ban and control dangerous products are needed to avoid the transfer of hazardous production to developing countries. 3.The OHS community must address global OHS issues through advocacy, position papers, public statements, technical and ethical guidelines, and by encouraging access of OHS professionals from the developing countries to leadership positions in professional and academic societies. 4.Research, education, and training of OHS professionals, workers, unions and employers are needed to address global OHS issues and their local impact. 5.Consumers also can influence significantly the adoption of OHS practices by demanding the protection of workers who are producing he goods that are sold in the global market.. Conclusions: Following the equation of maximized profits prompted by the inhibition of OHS is an old practice that has proven to cause significant costs to societies in the developed world. It is now an urgent priority to stop this process and promote a harmonized global market where the health of workers is guaranteed in the global perspective

Occupational Health and Safety in the Expanding Economies: Severe Challenges and the Need for Action Through Education and Training

The occupational health and safety (OHS) situation in expanding economies is not encouraging. As was dramatically demonstrated by the recent epidemic of Ebola virus disease in West Africa in which many health care workers lost their lives, the majority of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are currently not able to adequately prevent occupational diseases. Every year occupational health services in these countries fall farther behind those in high-income countries (HICs). The widening gap in occupational health services between the global north and the global south parallels the increasing gap between high- and low-income countries in national wealth, a gap apparently caused by unbalanced development of globalized markets

Profiles and species of Mn, Fe and trace metals in soils near a ferromanganese plant in Bagnolo Mella (Brescia, IT)

For the last forty-five years (from 1974 to present) ferroalloy production in Bagnolo Mella, Northern Italy, has generated particulate emissions enriched in potentially toxic metals and metalloids including arsenic (As), lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn). Of these, Mn is unique in that it has a significant background concentration and is seldom studied as a contaminant but is potentially a significant toxin derived from dusts regionally. Here we examine the distribution, redistribution, speciation and bioavailability of the Mn-contaminated top soils affected by atmospheric emissions adjacent to the ferroalloy plant. Four sites, variably located in the study area in terms of both distance and direction from the plant, were considered as representative of increasing levels of industrial influence. Soil profiles showed that metal concentrations (measured by X-ray fluorescence) varied considerably by location, i.e. higher in the sites closer to the plant and also at the surface level, although distributed throughout the top 15 cm, suggesting appreciable redistribution possibly due to soil mixing or infiltration. Most metal concentrations were correlated, except Mn which was independent and more variable across the sites than the other elements. Sequential chemical extractions indicated that Pb was primarily associated with Mn oxides, while As was most significantly associated with iron oxides. When Mn concentration significantly exceeded background levels, it was present in phases that were resistant to acid dissolution, very different from typical uncontaminated soils. X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) analyses suggested this recalcitrant Mn phase is likely a Mn-bearing spinel such as magnetite, that can be particularly toxic if ingested or inhaled. These first results highlight the legacy of ferroalloy production on surrounding soils, as well as the importance of Mn speciation for soil apportionment evaluation and human exposure estimation

AN INTEGRATED MODEL FOR THE ASSESSMENT OF STRESS-RELATED RISK FACTORS IN HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

5Abstract To assess the risk from exposure to occupational stress and burnout in health care workers (HCW), a cross-sectional study was planned to compare objective data that can represent potential job stressors in hospital wards and subjective symptoms reported by the workers. Medical doctors, nurses and ancillary workers of the Internal Medicine Wards of a large public hospital in Northern Italy participated in the study. Three subjective questionnaires were administered: the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). In addition, seven objective parameters were collected as average during the 3 months period prior to the study: a) working understaffed; b) ratio number of patients/HCW on service; c) ratio number of HCW on sick leave/ HCW on service; d) number of skipped days off after night shifts; e) days of sick leave; f) number of deceased patients; g) number of accidents at work. A total group of 230 HCW were examined, employed in six different sub-units of the Medical wards. The female workers were 67.8% and the male workers 32.2%, the mean age was 37.4 years (SD 9.3) in the total group of HCW, 35.1 years (SD 7.9) in females and 42.3 years (SD 10.3) in males. The average scores of subjective and objective parameters resulted significantly higher in the same sub-units. The correlation analysis showed that the subjective questionnaires were highly inter-related. The multivariate analysis showed that the days of sick leave were significantly related to the subjective questionnaires, and the subjective subscales of emotional exhaustion (from MBI), job demand and decision latitude (from JCQ) and STAIt were significantly related to some of the objective parameters. These results support the integrated use of multiple subjective and objective assessment as the most appropriate approach for the evaluation of occupational stress.openopenAlbini, Elisa; Zoni, Silvia; Parrinello, Giovanni; Benedetti, Laura; Lucchini, RobertoAlbini, Elisa; Zoni, Silvia; Parrinello, Giovanni; Benedetti, Laura; Lucchini, Robert

COVID-19 incidence and mortality in Lombardy, Italy: An ecological study on the role of air pollution, meteorological factors, demographic and socioeconomic variables

Lombardy, the most populated and industrialized Italian region, was the epicentre of the first wave (March and April 2020) of COVID-19 in Italy and it is among the most air polluted areas of Europe. We carried out an ecological study to assess the association between long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on COVID-19 incidence and all-cause mortality after accounting for demographic, socioeconomic and meteorological variables. The study was based on publicly available data. Multivariable negative binomial mixed regression models were fitted, and results were reported in terms of incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and standardized mortality ratios (SMR). The effect of winter temperature and humidity was modelled through restricted cubic spline. Data from 1439 municipalities out of 1507 (95%) were included in the analyses, leading to a total of 61,377 COVID-19 cases and 40,401 deaths from all-causes collected from February 20th to April 16th and from March 1st to April 30th, 2020, respectively. Several demographic and socioeconomic variables resulted significantly associated with COVID-19 incidence and all-cause mortality in a multivariable fashion. An increase in average winter temperature was associated with a nonlinear decrease in COVID-19 incidence and all-cause mortality, while an opposite trend emerged for the absolute humidity. An increase of 10 μg/m3 in the mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 over the previous years was associated with a 58% and 34% increase in COVID-19 incidence rate, respectively. Similarly, a 10 μg/m3 increase of annual mean PM2.5 concentration was associated with a 23% increase in all-cause mortality. An inverse association was found between NO2 levels and COVID-19 incidence and all-cause mortality. Our ecological study showed that exposure to PM was significantly associated with the COVID-19 incidence and excess mortality during the first wave of the outbreak in Lombardy, Italy

Prolactin Changes as a Consequence of Chemical Exposure

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Evolucion de la enzima ACC oxidasa durante almacenaje de manzanas y peras

Resumen (Spanish, English)84 p.Frutos de dos cvs. de manzanas (Braeburn y Fuji) y peras (Packham´s Triumph y Beurre Bosc) fueron cosechados en dos épocas de cosecha (temprana y tardía) y almacenados en frío convencional (FC) y atmósfera controlada (AC) durante seis meses en cámaras pertenecientes al Centro de Pomáceas de la Universidad de Talca. Se utilizó FC y dos condiciones de AC para manzanas, mientras que para peras fueron FC y una AC. Frutos de cada especie y variedad fueron removidos cada mes de almacenaje para evaluar sus índices de madurez (TPE ul/kg.h; CIE ppm; Firmeza Lb.; S.Solubles ºBrix y Almidón) y la actividad de la enzima ACC oxidasa, responsable de la biosíntesis de etileno. Las evaluaciones se realizaron a salida de almacenaje y luego de 7 y 15 días a Tº ambiente para manzanas y de 3 días para peras, como simulación del periodo de comercialización. Los resultados arrojaron que en el caso de manzanas los cultivares Braeburn y Fuji producen su alza climatérica en almacenaje y en periodo de comercialización, presentando alza en la TPE y CIE, disminución en firmeza, principalmente en FC y E2 de cosecha. Además se correlacionó positivamente la actividad de la enzima ACC oxidada con los índices de madurez TPE y CIE, encontrándose que la mayor actividad de la enzima coincide con el alza de TPE y disminución de firmeza, para ambas variedades de manzanas, efecto más marcado para condición FC. En el caso de los cultivares de peras, mostraron que el uso de AC retrasa la entrada al climacterio de la fruta, mientras que en FC pierden calidad en almacenaje y de manera acelerada durante periodo de comercialización. Se incluye también en el presente trabajo, tratamientos en manzanas cv. Braeburn y peras cv. Packham´s Triumph con etileno exógeno (Ethrel) y un inhibidor de la acción del etileno (1-MCP). Se observó que tanto en manzanas como peras se puede adelantar en 1 día el alza climatérica en peras y 2 días en manzanas con el uso de Ethrel, con respecto a Control (No tratada), mientras que el inhibidor de la acción del etileno (1MCP) retrasa el climacterio en ambas especies por periodo de tiempo mayor al utilizado en comercialización (17 días en peras y 29 días en manzanas)