0000000000437384
AUTHOR
Marco Cervino
Congenital anomalies among live births in a high environmental risk area—A case-control study in Brindisi (southern Italy)
Maternal exposure to ambient pollution has been increasingly linked to the risk of congenital anomalies (CAs) in the fetus and newborns. Recently, a descriptive study in the high environmental risk city of Brindisi (Italy) revealed an increased prevalence of total CAs, especially congenital heart disease (CHD) and ventricular septal defects (VSDs), both at the local level and in comparison with the pool of EUROCAT registries. This paper concerns a population-based case control study to investigate the association between maternal exposure to air pollutants - sulfur dioxide (SO2) and total suspended particulate (TSP) matter - and the risk of CA. Cases were newborns up to 28 days of age, born…
0109 Health effects of exposure to arsenic: a 39 years cohort study in manfredonia, italy
Background On September 26th 1976 an accident occurred in a chemical plant located in Manfredonia (Apulia region, Italy) where Caprolactam (plastic) and Urea (fertilisers) were produced. More than 12 tons of arsenic compounds, used in the production of Urea, were released in the atmosphere, contaminating the plant and surrounding areas. Our study investigates late effects of arsenic exposure among workers present on the day of the accident and during the site clearance. Methods We performed a historical cohort study including 1467 workers (39 females). Follow-up was performed by contacting municipalities of residence in Italy. Death certificates were collected. End of follow-up was either d…
Dispersion models and air quality data for population exposure assessment to air pollution
Evaluating the extent of exposure to chemicals in absence of continuous measurements of their concentration in air and direct measures of personal exposure is crucial for epidemiological studies. Dispersion models can be a useful tool for reproducing spatio-temporal distribution of contaminants emitted by a specific source. However, they cannot easily be applied to short-term epidemiological studies because they require precise information on daily emission scenarios for a long time, which are generally not available. The aim of this study was to better assess the exposure in the industrial area of Brindisi, which suffers from various critical epidemiological situations, by integrating air …
Long-term effect of arsenic exposure: Results from an occupational cohort study
Background In 1976 in Manfredonia (Italy), arsenic was released into the atmosphere due to an accident in a petrochemical plant. We aimed to analyze the mortality of workers involved in the factory for the site cleaning activities. Methods The cohort consisted of 1467 workers grouped into contract, fertilizer, and plastic workers. The outcome of interest was mortality for specific causes. Standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were computed. Results For all workers and all causes of death combined, the SMR was less than 1.0. Mortality ratios were increased for malignant neoplasms of the pleura, bone and melanoma of the skin. Contract workers, the group most…