Combining monitoring and modelling approaches for BaP characterization over a petrochemical area

Urinary concentrations of heavy metals in pregnant women living near a petrochemical area according to the industrial activity

BACKGROUND

The progressive industrialization has resulted in an increase in heavy metal pollution in the environment, which has a dangerous impact on human health. Prenatal exposure to heavy metals, even at very low concentrations, may be especially harmful to pregnant women and their children. Different industrial activities can contribute to heavy metal pollution in a specific area.

OBJECTIVE

1) To explore the concentrations of heavy metals in urine samples of pregnant women, and 2) to evaluate the potential effect of different industrial activities in Tarragona (Spain).

METHODS

Urinary levels of four heavy metals (nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb)) from 368 pregnant women recruited in the ECLIPSES study were analyzed. Home addresses and all the industries potentially releasing heavy metals were geo-referenced. Buffer zones were established within a 1.5, 3, and 5 km radius at the center of each industry. Subsequently, the number of participants living in and out of each buffer zone was recorded.

RESULTS

Urinary levels of Ni and Cd, but not those of Hg and Pb, were obviously increased in pregnant women living near most of the industrial sites. After adjustment for potential co-variates, only Cd showed notable differences according to the industrial activity. Compared to women living outside the buffer, Cd levels were increased in those living within 1.5 and 3 km of chemical industries, within 5 km of energy industries, within 1.5, 3, and 5 km of mineral industries, and within 3 and 5 km of metal processing industries.

CONCLUSION

Among the analyzed heavy metals, Cd showed an increasing trend in urinary concentrations in women living near chemical, energy, mineral, and metal processing industries. This study highlights the need to develop legislative measures to minimize Cd exposure, especially by sensitive populations. Moreover, additive or synergistic effects of co-exposure to other air pollutants should not be disregarded.

The Nutrition in Early Life and Asthma (NELA) birth cohort study: Rationale, design, and methods

BACKGROUND

Primary prevention strategies for asthma are lacking. Its inception probably starts in utero and/or during the early postnatal period as the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) paradigm suggests.

OBJECTIVES

The main objective of Nutrition in Early Life and Asthma (NELA) cohort study is to unravel whether the following factors contribute causally to the developmental origins of asthma: (1) maternal obesity/adiposity and foetal growth; (2) maternal and child nutrition; (3) outdoor air pollution; (4) endocrine disruptors; and (5) maternal psychological stress. Maternal and offspring biological samples are used to assess changes in offspring microbiome, immune system, epigenome and volatilome as potential mechanisms influencing disease susceptibility.

POPULATION

Randomly selected pregnant women from three health areas of Murcia, a south-eastern Mediterranean region of Spain, who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were invited to participate at the time of the follow-up visit for routine foetal anatomy scan at 19-22 weeks of gestation, at the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Unit of the "Virgen de la Arrixaca" University Clinical Hospital over a 36-month period, from March 2015 to April 2018.

DESIGN

Prospective, population-based, maternal-child, birth cohort study.

METHODS

Questionnaires on exposures and outcome variables were administered to mothers at 20-24 gestation week; 32-36 gestation week; and delivery. Children were surveyed at birth, 3 and 18 months of age and currently at 5 years. Furthermore, physical examinations were performed; and different measurements and biological samples were obtained at these time points.

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Among the 1350 women invited to participate, 738 (54%) were finally enrolled in the study and 720 of their children were eligible at birth. The adherence was high with 612 children (83%) attending the 3 months' visit and 532 children (72%) attending the 18 months' visit.

CONCLUSION

The NELA cohort will add original and unique knowledge to the developmental origins of asthma.

Effects of air pollution on dementia over Europe for present and future climate change scenarios

The scientific literature is scarce when referring to the influence of atmospheric pollutants on neurodegenerative diseases for present and future climate change scenarios. In this sense, this contribution evaluates the incidence of dementia (Alzheimer's disease, AD, and dementia from unspecified cause, DU) occurring in Europe associated with the exposure to air pollution (essentially NO₂ and PM2.5) for the present climatic period (1991-2010) and for a future climate change scenario (RCP8.5, 2031-2050). The GEMM methodology has been applied to air pollution simulations using the chemistry/climate regional model WRF-Chem. Present population data were obtained from NASA's Center for Socioeconomic Data and Applications (SEDAC); while future population projections for the year 2050 were derived from the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs-Population Dynamics. Overall, the estimated incidence rate (cases per year) of AD and DU associated with exposure to air pollution over Europe is 498,000 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 348,600-647,400] and 314,000 (95% CI 257,500-401,900), respectively. An important increase in the future incidence rate is projected (around 72% for both types of dementia) when considering the effect of climate change together with the foreseen changes in the future population, because of the expected aging of European population. The climate penalty (impacts of future climate change alone on air quality) has a limited effect on the total changes of dementia (approx. 0.5%), because the large increase in the incidence rate over southern Europe is offset by its decrease over more northern countries, favored by an improvement of air pollution caused by the projected enhancement of rainfall.

Environmental impact and human health risks of air pollutants near a large chemical/petrochemical complex: Case study in Tarragona, Spain

Chemical industries and oil refineries are known emission sources of environmental contaminants, such as metals/metalloids, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), among others. Based on the toxicological potential of these pollutants, harmful health effects can be expected for the population living near these facilities. One of the largest chemical/petrochemical complexes in Europe is located in Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain). In the last two decades, a number of investigations aimed at assessing the environmental impact of air pollutants potentially emitted by this industrial complex have been carried out. The present paper is a review of the available scientific information on the levels of air pollutants related with the activities of this chemical/petrochemical complex. Although there are currently some data on the environmental burdens of metals/metalloids, PAHs, VOCs and PCDD/Fs, there is an evident lack of specific biological monitoring studies on human health. Taking into account the amount of chemicals released to air and their toxicity, it is essential to perform an in-depth analysis of the current health status of the population living in Tarragona County.

Comparative analysis of contributions of wet deposition and photodegradation to the removal of atmospheric BaP by MFDCCA

Benzo [a] pyrene (BaP) in the atmosphere possess great carcinogenic potential to human health, and the understanding of its scavenging mechanisms has attracted considerable attention. In this work, a new quantitative method is proposed to make a comparative analysis of the long-term contributions of wet deposition and photodegradation to BaP removal based on multi-fractal detrended cross-correlation analysis (MFDCCA). According to the precipitation and global solar radiation (GSR) observations from 1998 to 2016 for two urban sites (Central/Western District and TsuenWan) in Hong Kong, the wet deposition and photodegradation of BaP are analyzed. Using MFDCCA method, long-term cross-correlation between precipitation/GSR and BaP are investigated. Moreover, the differences of multifractal features in cross-correlations of precipitation-BaP and GSR-BaP system are analyzed. Strong long-term persistence is observed in the cross-correlations for precipitation-BaP system in a one-year cycle; while cross-correlations between GSR and BaP show weak persistence over the whole timescale. Based on the meteorology in Hong Kong, this difference has been discussed. Then, contributions of wet deposition and photodegradation to atmospheric BaP removal are quantified based on MFDCCA method, which are further compared between summer and winter. The comparative analysis suggests that wet deposition plays a more significant role in the removal of atmospheric BaP. Specifically, in summer, the contributions of wet deposition are twice as much as that of photodegradation for both two sites; while in winter, the contribution of photodegradation is a little higher than that of wet deposition to BaP removal. Meanwhile, for wet deposition, the contributions in summer are about ten times greater than that in winter; while for photodegradation, the difference in contributions between summer and winter are relatively smaller. Furthermore, based on sliding window technique, the temporal evolutions in the contributions of wet deposition/photodegradation to BaP removal have been presented for both two sites. On this basis, it is discovered that the comprehensive contributions of wet deposition and photodegradation peak in June, and reach their lowest levels in December for both two sites. Quantifying the contribution of meteorological factors to the removal of atmospheric BaP is help for understanding its geochemical cycle.

Health risks for the population living near petrochemical industrial complexes. 1. Cancer risks: A review of the scientific literature

Petrochemical complexes and oil refineries are well known sources of a wide range of environmental pollutants. Consequently, the potential harmful health effects of living near these facilities is a topic of concern among the population living in the neighborhood. Anyhow, the number of studies carried out on this issue is rather limited and, in some cases, results are even slightly contradictory. The present Review was aimed at assessing whether living in the vicinity of petrochemical industries and oil refineries is associated with a higher incidence of cancer and cancer mortality. In this sense, up to 23 investigations were found in PubMed and Scopus databases. According to the type of cancer, leukemia and other hematological malignancies were reported as the main types of cancer for populations living in the neighborhood of petrochemical industries. This was concluded based on studies performed in Taiwan, Spain, United Kingdom, Italy and Nigeria. In contrast, no association was found in 4 different investigations conducted in Sweden, Finland and USA with the same purpose. Other scientific studies reported a high incidence of lung and bladder cancer in Taiwan, Italy and USA, as well as an excess mortality of bone, brain, liver, pleural, larynx and pancreas cancers in individuals living near petrochemical complexes from Taiwan, Spain, Italy, United Kingdom and USA. Thus, human exposure to certain carcinogenic pollutants emitted from petrochemical industries might increase the incidence of some cancers and cancer mortality. Anyway, since the limited number of investigations conducted until now, further studies are required in order to corroborate -in a more generalized way-this conclusion.

Air quality, health impacts and burden of disease due to air pollution (PM10, PM2.5, NO2 and O3): Application of AirQ+ model to the Camp de Tarragona County (Catalonia, Spain)

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact to human health of air pollutants, through the integration of different technics: data statistics (spatial and temporal trends), population attributable fraction using AIRQ+ model developed by the WHO, and burden of disease using Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). The levels of SO₂, NO, NO₂, O₃, H₂S, benzene, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, CO, benzo(a)pyrene and metals, obtained between 2005 and 2017 from the air quality monitoring network across Camp de Tarragona County, were temporally and spatially determined. Health impacts were evaluated using the AIRQ+ model. Finally, the burden of disease was assessed through the calculation of Years of Lost life (YLL) and Years Lost due to Disability (YLD). In general terms, air quality was good according to European quality standards, but it did not fulfil the WHO guidelines, especially for O₃, PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. Several decreasing (NO, NO₂, SO₂, PM₁₀ and benzene) and an increasing (O₃) temporal trend were found. Correlation between unemployment rate and air pollutant levels was found, pointing that the economic crisis (2008-2014) was a factor influencing the air pollutant levels. Reduction of air pollutant levels (PM_2.5) to WHO guidelines in the Camp de Tarragona County would decrease the adult mortality between 23 and 297 cases per year, which means between 0.5 and 7% of all mortality in the area. In this County, for lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to levels of PM_2.5 above the WHO threshold limits, DAYLs were 240 years. This means around 80 DALYs for 100,000 persons every year -between 2005 and 2017. Population attributable fraction (PAF) and burden of disease (DALYs) methodologies are suitable tools for regional and national policymakers, who must take decisions to prevent and to control air pollution and to analyse the cost-effectiveness of interventions.