Vimercati Luigi, Baldassarre Antonio, Gatti Maria F, Gagliardi Tommaso, Serinelli Maria, De Maria Luigi, Caputi Antonio, Dirodi Angelica A, Galise Ida, Cuccaro Francesco, Assennato Giorgio
Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine, Occupational Medicine "B. Ramazzini", University of Bari Medical School, 70124, Bari, Italy.
ARPA PUGLIA, Environmental Protection Agency of Apulia, Corso Trieste 27, 70126, Bari, Italy.
Environ Monit Assess. 2016 Dec;188(12):673. doi: 10.1007/s10661-016-5693-5. Epub 2016 Nov 16.
In areas at high environmental risk, a major issue is the assessment of the exposure of the general population to industrial pollutants. To date, few studies have investigated exposure to heavy metals in a population residing in a high risk environmental area. The aim of this study is to evaluate the exposure to heavy metals in the industrial area of Taranto, Southern Italy, through biological monitoring techniques. We measured the levels of inorganic arsenic and methylated metabolites, lead, cadmium, chromium, and manganese in the urine samples of 279 subjects residing in Taranto and neighboring areas. After obtaining informed consent from each participant, qualified health staff administered a standardized structured questionnaire investigating lifestyle habits and assessing any confounding factors. The biological monitoring data showed high urinary concentrations of nearly all of the heavy metals investigated. These findings could be related to the presence of industrial plants and is sufficient to warrant the expectation that local and national institutions should be required to adopt preventive measures to reduce the environmental exposure of the general population to heavy metals.
在环境风险较高的地区，一个主要问题是评估普通人群暴露于工业污染物的情况。迄今为止，很少有研究调查居住在高风险环境地区人群的重金属暴露情况。本研究的目的是通过生物监测技术评估意大利南部塔兰托工业区人群的重金属暴露情况。我们测量了居住在塔兰托及其周边地区的279名受试者尿液样本中无机砷及其甲基化代谢产物、铅、镉、铬和锰的含量。在获得每位参与者的知情同意后，专业医护人员发放了一份标准化的结构化问卷，调查生活方式习惯并评估任何混杂因素。生物监测数据显示，几乎所有所调查的重金属在尿液中的浓度都很高。这些发现可能与工业工厂的存在有关，足以促使人们期望当地和国家机构应采取预防措施，以减少普通人群对重金属的环境暴露。
