Environmental and lifestyle factors affect benzene uptake biomonitoring of residents near a petrochemical plant

Background

We monitored urinary benzene excretion to examine factors affecting benzene uptake in a sample of the general population living near a petrochemical plant.

Methods

Our study population included 143 subjects: 33 petrochemical plant workers (W) with low level occupational benzene exposure; 30 residents in a small town 2 km from the plant (2kmR); 26 residents in a second small town located 2 to 4 km from the plant (4kmR); and 54 urban residents 25 km from the plant (25kmR). Exposure to benzene was evaluated by personal air sampling during one work-shift for the W group, and from 8.00 to 20:00 for general population subgroups, and by urinary benzene (BEN-U).

Results

Median airborne benzene exposure was 25, 9, 7 and 6 μg/m³ benzene among the W, 2kmR, 4kmR, and 25kmR subgroups, respectively; the highest level was found among the workers, while there was no significant difference among the other groups. Median BEN-U was 2 to 14-fold higher in smokers compared to non-smokers; among non-smokers BEN-U was the highest in W (median 236 ng/L), and lower in the 2kmR (48 ng/L) and 4kmR (63 ng/L) subgroups than in the 25kmR (120 ng/L) subgroup. A multiple linear regression analysis, explaining up to 73% of BEN-U variability, confirmed that active smoking and airborne benzene most strongly affected BEN-U. Among the non-smoking, non-occupationally exposed study subjects, a positive association was found between BEN-U and the distance of residence from the plant. This association was explained by increased exposure to urban traffic emissions in the study group residing at a greater distance from the plant. Environmental tobacco smoke had a marginally positive role.

Conclusion

Among factors affecting benzene uptake in non-occupationally exposed individuals, urban residence contributes to benzene exposure more than residing in close proximity to a petrochemical plant.     

Contaminants in water: non-target UHPLC/MS analysis

Contamination of water resources is one of the major problems to be faced for environment preservation and sustainability. The monitoring of target compounds based on mass spectrometry and selected reaction monitoring mode is often insufficient to definitely assess the quality of surface water. Also potentially harmful non-target pollutants simultaneously present must be taken into account. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry is suitable to obtain complete information on water composition. Hybrid mass spectrometers such as triple quadrupole/linear ion trap, hybrid quadrupole/time-of-flight and linear ion trap/orbitrap analyzers should be used. Here, we review ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry methods developed for post-target and non-target screening analysis of water emerging contaminants, such as pesticides and their degradation products, pharmaceuticals and drug side-reaction products, surfactants and illicit drugs. The major points are the following: (1) the possibility of performing retrospective analysis only by high-resolution mass analyzer; (2) the compatibility of mass analyzer with ultra-high performance liquid chromatography; (3) the use of deconvolution software to detect unknowns; and (4) the limited availability of library database.     

Is meltwater from Alpine glaciers a secondary DDT source for lakes?

A sharp increase in 2005 of pp'DDT and its metabolites was observed in mussels and fish from lakes Como and Iseo, the main glacier-fed southern Alpine lakes. DDTs in zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were more than 150 times higher than levels in 2003, and concentrations in pelagic fish (0.12 mgkg(-1) w.w.) exceeded the Italian safety threshold for human consumption (0.05 mgkg(-1) w.w.). The histological examination of the ovaries revealed many mussels with oocyte degeneration throughout the studied period. Prior to being banned in Italy in 1978, DDT was used in large amounts for fruit-tree treatment from the 1950s to 1970s in valleys just below the glaciers. Since glacier volume was increasing at that time and then continuously retreated, meltwater should be the main cause of the pollution peak recently observed in biota of downstream lakes. PCBs did not peak in biota tissues to a comparable extent probably because local sources were not as important as for DDTs.     

Development of Insoluble PVA Electrospun Nanofibers Incorporating R-Limonene or β-Cyclodextrin/R-Limonene Inclusion Complexes

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - Electrospinning of water-soluble polymers is considered a green process for encapsulating active compounds in polymeric nanofibers, but generally the...     

Genetic diagnosis by chorionic villus sampling before 8 gestational weeks: Efficiency,reliability, and risks on 317 completed pregnancies

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA-CVS) was attempted in 328 high-risk pregnancies at 6–7 weeks of gestation. Sampling was feasible in 97.7 per cent of cases; chorionic tissue specimens of more than 10 mg were obtained in 94.4 per cent ofcases at the first needle insertion and in 100 per cent after a second attempt. Fetal karyotyping succeeded in 99.4 per cent of cases, while no diagnostic failures were reported in enzymatic and DNA analyses. Fetal loss rate in the first 4 weeks after CVS was significantly higher than in the later CVS series (7.2 vs. 2.5 per cent), but 50 per cent of losses were observed within 2 weeks in cases of inviable aneuploidies. A high incidence of severe limb abnormalities (1.6 per cent) was detected in pregnancies intended to continue, confirming the aetiological role of early CVS. Unclear visualization of the placental limits and poor control of the needle path are thought to be the main reasons for the vascular disruption of the chorionic plate, and thereby hypoxic embryo tissue damage. A better selection of cases, together with high-resolution vaginal ultrasound visualization, and analytical techniques requiring a minimal amount of tissue should avoid any teratogenic effect of early CVS.     

Port safety and the container revolution: A statistical study on human factor and occupational accidents over the long period

Several factors can affect occupational accident frequency, namely economical factors, technologies used (low automation, discontinuous operating) job design, organization of work/environmental conditions and human factors. In particular, technological advances in industrial activities can give rise to improvement in productivity and in occupational health and safety, but not necessarily simultaneously. The beginning of the container transport dates back to 50 years ago, but while containerization changed everything, from ships and ports to patterns of global trade, its impact on work injuries was not explored at all. The aim of this paper is to investigate the relationship between work organization, job experience, productivity and occupational accidents, from the starting of the container expansion to nowadays, considering Genoa port (Italy), one of the largest of the Mediterranean Sea. In order to minimize possible reporting biases, such as underreporting or reclassification to a lower level of severity, injury statistics are elaborated starting from data collected directly on-site, from internal accident or medical-aid reports. An in-depth statistical analysis on occupational injuries in the years 1980–2006 is carried out, with reference to frequency indexes, mechanism of injury and material causes. The increase of container-ships traffic and, consequently, the sharp change in port infrastructure involved a rapid modification also in the work organization, with particular reference to the number and characteristics of workforce (decrease from 5783 to nearly 1000 employees and increase of low experience workers from 28% to 74%). The striking high percentage increase of young or low experienced workers in handling container (and performing correlated new tasks) caused a remarkable increase of the risk for occupational injuries. In the studied port, we recorded an increase of the frequency index (injuries per hundred thousand hours worked) from 13.0 to 29.7. It results that the increased expansion of shipping container utilization is not connected to a correspondent human factor safety implementation. Main risk factors are pointed out, revealing an increase of accidents due to transport vehicle (+8.3%) and a reduction of accidents caused by substance or materials (?4.5%). These factors show a statistical significant correlation with the new job tasks. Consideration of these findings may enable managerial solutions and workplace organization interventions for the prevention of injuries and safety performance improvement in port activities.     

墨西哥为实现2025年温室气体减排目标在电力生产中使用可再生能源

本研究介绍了到2025年时墨西哥电力生产的4种设想前景.第一种设想前景的关键是使用石油产品特别是燃料油,这代表了墨西哥过去能源政策的足迹.第二种设想前景是优先使用天然气,这反映了由于能源领域改革而于20世纪90年代中期形成的能源消费型.第三种设想前景认为,从技术的和经济的角度看来,大量使用可再生能源是可行的.第四种设想前景认为,目前和相当一段时间内要使用能源改革中形成的天然气技术,而在2007年以后,才开始大量使用可再生能源.这4种设想前景都依据温室气体(GHG)和酸雨前身气体(ARPG)推算到2025年.     

拉普拉塔河流域以及巴塔哥尼亚地区及相关海域水生态栖息地的改变

本文描述了南美大陆南部陆地和东南沿海地区环境特性及水生栖息地和群落的现状(GIWA巴塔哥尼亚大陆架亚区),结果来自一项GIWA项目框架任务所完成的一份全面评估,绝大部分依据的是公开发表的数据.分析主要集中在跨边界水资源目前的情况和人类活动带来的影响.内陆水体的栖息地和群落变化主要是由为发电和其他用途而建的水坝和水库引起的.从活水环境到净水环境影响了生境,造成了生物群落的改变.在拉普拉塔(La Plata)河流域,外来入侵物种使本地物种消失.过度捕捞和污染影响了生物多样性,造成了海洋栖息地质量下降.本篇文章讨论了相关的原因,讨论了布宜诺斯艾利斯省和渔业资源由两国共享的阿根廷-乌拉圭公共渔业区对沿海生态环境的政策选择.