Giovanni Battista Raffi

Indoor climate and air quality in new offices: effects of a reduced air-exchange rate

SummaryIn response to a request from the personnel of a credit bank that had been moved into a new building, an evaluation was made of employee health complaints. The prevalence of symptoms was determined using a self-administered questionnaire. Ventilation effectiveness, contaminant concentrations (which included chemicals and bioaerosols) and microclimate were studied to establish their relationship to environmental discomfort and to the health problems mentioned by the employees. Indoor air quality — which was assessed in different seasons — revealed relatively high levels of carbon dioxide and bioaerosols in areas occupied by employees as compared with other places. Temperature and humidity were considered to be satisfactory. Although a causative agent was not isolated, the authors conclude that an ineffective rate of room air exchange, possibly in interaction with chemical contaminants, may be responsible for the discomfort and, perhaps, for the health symptoms experienced by workers in fully enclosed rooms.

FAILURE OF URINARY trans,trans-MUCONIC ACID AS A BIOMARKER FOR INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL BENZENE EXPOSURE AT PPB LEVELS

Benzene is a widespread pollutant whose main source in the environment is automotive emission. There is increasing interest in the exposure of the population to this pollutant as benzene is present also in the indoor environment due to cigarette smoke, drinking water, and food. The aim of this study was to evaluate, in an adult nonsmoking population not occupationally exposed to benzene, whether it is possible to detect differences in the urinary concentration of trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) between low and high environmental exposure to benzene. A study sample of 31 employees working in pharmacies in a large town in Italy with low environmental exposure to benzene (4.8 µg/m³) was compared to a high (8.1 µg/m³) benzene exposure group. Analysis of urinary t,t-MA was carried out by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC; photodiode array detector); analysis of environmental benzene samples was by gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The statistical analysis revealed no significant differences in urinary levels of t,t-MA of subjects with high (mean concentration: 157.9 µg/gcreatinine) versus low exposure (mean concentration: 114.2 µg/gcreatinine). Data show that it is difficult to correlate urinary t,t-MA with benzene exposure at parts per billion levels.

Lack of sensitivity of urinary trans, trans-muconic acid in determining low-level (ppb) benzene exposure in children

Abstract Benzene is a widespread pollutant of which the main source in the outside environment is automotive traffic. Benzene is also present in cigarette smoke, and small quantities exist in drinking water and food; all of these sources contribute to pollution of indoor environments. Benzene exposure may be studied with biologic indicators. In the present study, the authors evaluated whether differences in urinary concentrations of trans, trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) were detectable in a sample of 150 children and if the chemical was correlated with environmental exposures to low levels of benzene. The children attended primary schools that had significantly different—but low—environmental benzene levels. Analysis of urinary t,t-MA was achieved with high-performance liquid chromatography (photodiode array detector), and analysis of passive air samplers for benzene was performed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Statistical analysis (Kruskal-Wallis test) indicated that differences in urinary levels of t,t-MA in children from urban and rural areas were not statistically significant (p = .07), nor were there significant differences between children with and without relatives who smoked (p = .69). As has been shown in other studies of children and adults, results of our study evidenced (1) the difficulty of correlating concentrations of urinary biomarkers with environmental exposure to benzene at a parts-per-billion level (i.e., traffic and environmental tobacco smoke) and, consequently, (2) the lack of specificity of t,t-MA as a biological indicator for the study of a populations exposure.

A new risk of occupational disease: allergic asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis in persons working with beneficial arthropods

Allergic asthma and rhinoconjunctivitis have been reported in workers who are constantly in close contact with arthropods during the course of breeding and research. We investigated a group of ten people working with beneficial arthropods in a “bio-factory.” The following tests were carried out: skin prick test with allergens present in the workplace, baseline pulmonary function test, aspecific bronchial provocation test with ultrasonically nebulized distilled water, and pulmonary function test after workplace exposure in two subjects. The results demonstrated a good correlation between skin prick test, previous RAST positive reactions, clinical symptoms, and exposure. Pulmonary function test after workplace exposure proved positive in one asthmatic subject and in one subject with rhinoconjunctivitis. It is concluded that the evidence supports the occupational nature of these allergic diseases and that there is a need for careful surveillance and environmental monitoring within the workplace.

Enflurane as an internal standard in monitoring halogenated volatile anaesthetics by headspace gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Recently. we proposed the use of a run-only headspace-GC-MS method for the biological monitoring of ppb concentrations of unmodified volatile anaesthetics (isoflurane, sevoflurane and halothane, plus nitrous oxide) in post-shift urine of operating theatre personnel. The adoption of enflurane (a volatile anaesthetic no longer used in clinical practice) as a poper and viable internal standard improves intra-day and inter-day accuracy in halide quantitation, providing a GC-MS reference method useful in the practice of biomonitoring of exposure of operating theatre personnel to modern volatile anaesthetics (isoflurane. sevoflurane, halothane).

Study of DDT Blood Level in a Group of Workers Exposed to Pesticides

Blood levels of DDT, DDE, and other DDT metabolites were determined in a group of workers with previous occupational exposure to DDT as spraymen. The larger part of total DDT was in the form of metabolite DDE, which is thought to be introduced into the human body primarily from external sources. Total DDT blood level was correlated positively with both age and occupational exposure (R = 0.58 and 0.52, respectively), and linear regressions between storage and these variables were demonstrated. Although the storage of these compounds in body fat was not studied, the analysis of covariance showed a significant increase of DDT blood level in the group of workers with longer occupational exposure, which was not dependent on age.

Is Freon 113 Neurotoxic? A Case Report

SummaryA case of neuropathy in a woman occupationally exposed to Freon 113 (Trichlorotrifluoroethane) is described. It is suggested that this fluorocarbon may have a neurotoxic action and the need of further information and research to confirm this hypothesis is emphasized.