Sergio Pili

Male fertility following occupational exposure to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)

BACKGROUND The inconsistent epidemiological results of the endocrine disrupting effects of DDT fuel a harsh debate on its global ban. OBJECTIVES We tested the hypothesis that occupational exposure to dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) causes impairment in male fertility in a cohort of DDT exposed workers, in Sardinia, Italy. METHODS We accessed official records on date of marriage and date of birth of the first child to estimate time to pregnancy (TTP) in the spouses of 1223 workers employed in a 1946-1950 anti-malarial campaign. The TTP calculation was censored at the 13th month after date of marriage. We used a modified Coxs proportional hazard model to calculate the fecundability ratio (FR) by job, by cumulative exposure to DDT, and by time window in relation to the anti-malarial operations, adjusting by paternal age at marriage. RESULTS Among the spouses of DDT applicators, fecundability did not vary during DDT use (FR=1.22, 95% CI 0.84-1.77) nor in the following decade (FR=1.01, 95% CI 0.67-1.50) with reference to the prior years. A significant increase occurred among the unexposed and the less exposed sub-cohorts, which generated a non-significantly reduced FR among the DDT applicator sub-cohort with reference to the unexposed following exposure. CONCLUSION We did not find evidence of an impairment in male fertility following heavy occupational exposure to DDT. However, although fecundability was highest among the spouses of the DDT applicators in the years prior to the anti-malarial campaign, we cannot exclude that DDT exposure prevented an increase parallel to that observed among the unexposed and the less exposed sub-cohorts.

0277 Environmental exposure to nanoparticles in Sardinia, Italy: a pilot study of residential exposure nearby an industrial area and a military shooting range

Objectives Objective of our pilot study was to explore the airborne ultrafine particle count in residential areas nearby industrial and military settings with reference to urban and rural areas. Method We monitored airborne ultrafine (ranging 7nm - 10 microm) particles in residential areas nearby a large oil refinery, a military shooting range, in the largest urban area in the region and in a rural area. We conducted eight samplings (6 h each) using a Electrical low pressure impactor (ELPI plus - Dekati, Tampere, FInland). Wind speed and direction, temperature and humidity during each sampling were registered. Data on other potential sources of ultrafine particles, from both anthropic and natural origin, were also resigeterd. The airborne nanoparticle concentration was expressed as particle count/ cm3. Results The median ultrafine particle count was 7408 (max 179605)/cm3 in the residential area nearby the oil refinery, 9079 (max 114281)/cm3 nearby the military shooting range, 19040 (max 142324)/cm3 in the urban area and 25419 (max 373434) in the rural area. Conclusions Our results show that ultrafine particles were ubiquitous in the sampling sites. Median counts were higher in the rural area than nearby industrial and military settings. We speculate that anthropic activities, including widespread use of wood burning fireplaces in rural areas, as well as technical measures to control industrial particulate emissions implemented in the past years, might have contributed. Further studies and additional sampling will allow a more detailed picture of exposure levels to better characterise risk of possible adverse health outcomes associated with environmental exposure to nanoparticles.

Ultrafine particle distribution and chemical composition assessment during military operative trainings

(1) Background: The assessment of airborne particulate matter (PM) and ultrafine particles (UFPs) in battlefield scenarios is a topic of particular concern; (2) Methods: Size distribution, concentration, and chemical composition of UFPs during operative military training activities (target drone launches, ammunition blasting, and inert bomb impact) were investigated using an electric low-pressure impactor (ELPI+) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), equipped with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS); (3) Results: The median of UFPs, measured for all sampling periods and at variable distance from sources, was between 1.02 × 103 and 3.75 × 103 particles/cm3 for drone launches, between 3.32 × 103 and 15.4 × 103 particles/cm3 for the ammunition blasting and from 7.9 × 103 to 1.3 × 104 particles/cm3 for inert launches. Maximum peak concentrations, during emitting sources starting, were 75.5 × 106 and 17.9 × 106 particles/cm3, respectively. Particles from the drone launches were predominantly composed of silicon (Si), iron (Fe) and calcium (Ca), and those from the blasting campaigns by magnesium (Mg), sulphur (S), aluminum (Al), iron (Fe), barium (Ba) and silicon (Si); (4) Conclusions: The investigated sources produced UFPs with median values lower than other anthropogenic sources, and with a similar chemical composition.

Education and Training in Global Occupational Health and Safety: A Perspective on New Pathways to Sustainable Development

The institution of specific Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training programs open to international trainees from developing countries in some European, American and Asian universities is now a well-established reality. Courses and seminars that focus particularly on this subject, widely varying in approach and duration, have been held for years at these universities; these academic institutions have combined their potential to attract students from developing countries with the scheduling of interesting lectures and training activities, depending on the availability of funds sufficient to cover travel and lodging costs. Interdisciplinarity is the key to the entire program and is its main strength, as the trainees have the opportunity to condense the technical notions and methodological aspects of different disciplines (occupational health, industrial hygiene, safety management, ergonomics) in one course. We firmly believe that these programs are a precious instrument for the training of occupational health professionals from low-income countries, as they are able to address their choices correctly, hopefully achieving the goal of reducing the human costs of development.

O48-5 Sources of variation in airborne nanoparticle concentration in urban areas and in proximity to oil refinery plants

Introduction Several studies have shown a correlation between air pollution and mortality from cancer and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases in highly populated urban areas and in proximity to industrial settlements. Ultrafine particles in the aerodynamic diameter range of 1 nm - 10 µm have been suggested as the most relevant risk factor. Methods During March 2014 – September 2015, we conducted outdoor air monitoring at the entrance of elementary schools and kindergartens located in 4 highly populated Italian urban areas and 5 towns in close proximity to oil refinery plants. We used a Electric Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI+ Dekati, Tampere, Finland), which allows to measure absolute number, mass and surface area of particles, in 14 classes of aerodynamic diameter within the range 6 nm – 10 µm. Results Although within a broad range, median values of particle count were highest in two towns nearby large oil refineries in the wintertime (54,200/cm³) and in the summertime (53,502/cm³) compared with the other urban areas. Overall, the median ultrafine particle count in the towns nearby the oil refineries ranged 7,385–54,200/cm³, while it ranged 16,908–47,417/cm³ in the most populated urban areas, with top readings equal to 292,238 and 928,179/cm³, nearby the industrial settlements and in the urban areas respectively. Results were similar when considering mass units or surface area. Air concentrations were significantly affected by the weather conditions. Conclusions Our results show that airborne ultrafine particle levels overlap between residential areas nearby oil refineries, and populated urban areas. Apart from industrial emissions, urban traffic and traditional heating systems do appear to contribute, as suggested by significantly higher counts in the wintertime. Monitoring airborne ultrafine particles all year long in more numerous urban and industrial locations might allow to better characterise environmental exposure and its relation to the health status of the resident population.

P228 Recreational physical activity and risk of lymphoma subtypes

Background Physical activity is known to protect against several cancers and to improve survival and quality of life in cancer patients. Few studies have addressed the association between physical activity and risk of non Hodgkin lymphoma and its subtypes. Methods During 1998–2004, a case-control study on the aetiology of lymphoma was conducted Sardinia, Italy as part of the European multicentre study EPILYMPH. Information on lifetime recreational physical activity was collected using a standardised questionnaire. Risk of the major lymphoma subtypes associated with ever practicing physical activity and with quartiles of hours of recreational physical activity in the lifetime was calculated with unconditional logistic regression analysis, adjusting by age, gender, education and study centre. Results Risk of lymphoma overall and B-cell lymphoma was not associated with ever practicing recreational physical activity (OR = 0.9, 95% CI: 0.7–1.3). However, a significant protective effect was observed in the upper quartile of hours of recreational physical activity in the lifetime (OR = 0.4, 95% CI: 0.3–0.8). The inverse association was consistent across the major lymphoma subtypes, namely diffuse large B cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, and multiple myeloma. Conclusions Our results suggest an inverse association between risk of the major lymphoma subtypes and prolonged recreational physical activity.