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De Maria L, Ledda C, Caputi A, Mansi F, Cannone ESS, Sponselli S, Cavone D, Birtolo F, Cannizzaro E, Ferri GM, Rapisarda V, Vimercati L. Biological Monitoring of Exposure to Benzene in Port Workers. Front Public Health 2020; 8:271. [PMID: 32766192 PMCID: PMC7379907 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.00271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Port workers are exposed to a wide range of occupational hazards that can cause injuries and occupational diseases. Among these, exposure to benzene is one of the most important but least studied. The highest occupational exposures for port workers occur during the filling and loading of gasoline, and cleaning of tanks and receptacles. The aim of the study was to evaluate occupational exposure to low levels of benzene by measuring trans,trans-muconic acid (t,t-MA) in urine samples from workers operating at fuelling stations in a tourist port of Southern Italy. The overall sample was composed of 43 port workers of a tourist port in Southern Italy. In 2018, each participant provided two (morning and evening) urine samples for the determination of urinary t,t-MA. Urinary excretion of t,t-MA was always higher at the end of the work shift than at the beginning with significant difference (p = 0.002). In smokers, median t,t-MA urinary excretion is higher than non-smokers both at the beginning (90.5 μg/g creatinine vs. 61.45 μg/g creatinine) and at the end of the work shift (128.2 μg/g creatinine vs. 89.5 μg/g creatinine). Urinary excretion of t,t-MA is higher at the end of the work shift than at the beginning in both smokers and non-smokers, but the difference is significantly higher in non-smokers (p = 0.003) than in smokers (p = 0.05). In conclusion, our results showed that the role of inhaled benzene at fuelling stations in a tourist port can be relevant. On the basis of these results and the known adverse effects of benzene on human health, we encourage the use of personal protective equipment in the fuelling area of ports in order to minimize exposure to benzene to workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi De Maria
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Caterina Ledda
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Occupational Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Antonio Caputi
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesca Mansi
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Enza Sabrina Silvana Cannone
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Stefania Sponselli
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Domenica Cavone
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Birtolo
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Emanuele Cannizzaro
- Department of Health Promotion Sciences Maternal and Infantile Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialities “Giuseppe D'Alessandro”, Occupational Medicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Giovanni Maria Ferri
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
| | - Venerando Rapisarda
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Occupational Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Luigi Vimercati
- Interdisciplinary Department of Medicine (DIM), Section of Occupational Medicine “B.Ramazzini”, School of Medicine, University of Bari “A. Moro”, Bari, Italy
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