[Economic Appraisal of the Impact of the Ban on the Use of Lead in Gasoline on the Intellectual Quotient of 7-8 Years Old in the Community of Madrid]. / Evaluación económica del impacto de la prohibición de plomo en las gasolinas en el cociente intelectual de los niños de 7 y 8 años de la Comunidad de Madrid.

BACKGROUND: The repercussions on health of public policies are hard to assess from an economic point of view, which is why this is rarely done. The purpose of this study was to financially quantify the benefits of reducing blood lead levels in children aged 7-8 years in the Community of Madrid (Spain) as a result of the ban on the use of lead in gasoline. METHODS: The decrease the intellectual quotient (IQ) points was calculated through two studies on children aged 7-8 years according to their blood lead levels. A geometric mean of 3.8 µg/dl was obtained in the 1995 study and of 0.9 µg/dl in the 2010 study. The net increase in IQ was measured in terms of productivity gained throughout the working life as per the methods of Schwartz and Salkever. RESULTS: The decrease in blood lead levels in these children prevented a loss of between 135,391 and 144,153 IQ points; the current economic valuation of these points in terms of the productivity gained throughout the working life of this cohort of children was estimated to fall within the €626.4m- €865.4m range (2009). CONCLUSIONS: The figures of the economic benefits derived from the decision to ban leaded gasoline are very high.

[Methylmercury: existing recommendations; methods of analysing and interpreting the results; economic evaluation]. / Metilmercurio: recomendaciones existentes; métodos de análisis e interpretación de resultados; evaluación económica.

The beneficial effects of fish consumption are well- known. Nevertheless, there is worldwide concern regard methylmercury concentrations in fish, which is why many countries such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and numerous European countries have made fish consumption recommendations for their populations, particularly vulnerable groups, in order to México methylmercury intake. Blood and hair are the best biological samples for measuring methylmercury. The most widely-used method to analyse methylmercury is cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, although there are also direct methods based on the thermal decomposition of the sample. In recent years, the number of laboratories that measure mercury by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry has increased. In addition, the different kinds of mercury can be distinguished by coupling chromatography methods of separation. Laboratories that analyse mercury in biological samples need to participate in external quality control programmes. Even if mercury emissions are reduced, mercury may remain in the environment for many years, so dietary recommendations are fundamental in order to reduce exposure. It is necessary to propose public health measures aimed at decreasing mercury exposure and to evaluate the benefits of such measures from the economic and social standpoints.

Los efectos beneficiosos del consumo de pescado son bien reconocidos. Sin embargo, existe preocupación a nivel mundial sobre los niveles de metilmercurio en el pescado, por lo que muchos países como Estados Unidos, Australia, Nueza Zelanda, Canadá y muchos países europeos han realizado recomendaciones de consumo de pescado a la población , especialmente a los grupos vulnerables con el fin de reducir la ingesta de metilmercurio. La sangre y el pelo son las mejores muestras biológicas para medir el metilmercurio. El método de análisis más empleado ha sido la espectroscopia de absorción atómica con la técnica del vapor frío, aunque existen también métodos directos que se basan en la descomposición térmica de la muestra. En los últimos años han aumentado los laboratorios que miden el mercurio por espectrometría de masas con plasma acoplado por inducción. Además, se puede diferenciar las distintas especies de mercurio acoplando métodos de separación cromatográficos. Es necesario que los laboratorios que analizan mercurio en muestras biológicas participen en programas de garantía externa de la calidad. Aunque se logre reducir las emisiones de mercurio, el mercurio del medio ambiente todavía puede permanecer muchos años, por lo que es fundamental el consejo dietético para disminuir la exposición. No es aconsejable el uso de terapia quelante con fines diagnósticos o en pacientes asintomáticos. Es preciso proponer medidas de salud pública encaminadas a la disminución de la exposición al mercurio y que se evalúe también los beneficios de las mismas desde el punto de vista económico y social.

Air-spore in Cartagena, Spain: viable and non-viable sampling methods.

In the presented study the airborne fungal spores of the semiarid city of Cartagena, Spain, are identified and quantified by means of viable or non-viable sampling methods. Airborne fungal samples were collected simultaneously using a filtration method and a pollen and particle sampler based on the Hirst methodology. This information is very useful for elucidating geographical patterns of hay fever and asthma. The qualitative results showed that when the non-viable methodology was employed, Cladosporium, Ustilago, and Alternaria were the most abundant spores identified in the atmosphere of Cartagena, while the viable methodology showed that the most abundant taxa were: Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Alternaria. The quantitative results of airborne fungal spores identified by the Hirst-type air sampler (non-viable method), showed that Deuteromycetes represented 74% of total annual spore counts, Cladosporium being the major component of the fungal spectrum (62.2%), followed by Alternaria (5.3%), and Stemphylium (1.3%). The Basidiomycetes group represented 18.9% of total annual spore counts, Ustilago (7.1%) being the most representative taxon of this group and the second most abundant spore type. Ascomycetes accounted for 6.9%, Nectria (2.3%) being the principal taxon. Oomycetes (0.2%) and Zygomycestes and Myxomycestes (0.06%) were scarce. The prevailing species define our bioaerosol as typical of dry air. The viable methodology was better at identifying small hyaline spores and allowed for the discrimination of the genus of some spore types. However, non-viable methods revealed the richness of fungal types present in the bioaerosol. Thus, the use of both methodologies provides a more comprehensive characterization of the spore profile.