[Development of the agricultural sector in Italy: need to harmonize production and health protection]. / Lo sviluppo dell'agricoltura in Italia oggi: necessità di armonizzare aspetti produttivi e di tutela della salute.

Epidemiological data show excess of respiratory, dermatological, infectious, carcinogenic and musculoskeletal disorders among agricultural workers. Nevertheless, the national rates of reported cases do not correspond to the expected epidemiological data. In 2009, 3.914 cases of occupational diseases were reported to the national work compensation Institute (INAIL), as related to 1,200.000 agricultural workers employed in Italy. About 71% of these cases were related to musculoskeletal disorders. This shows a relevant difference between observed and expected cases, even more evident than in other sectors like constructions. More efficient preventive intervention is needed to improve this situation of under-reporting, through the implementation of epidemiological surveillance based on multiple sources of information. These sources should include the periodical health surveillance of active workers, the databank of General Practitioners, the hospital admission charts, and the case-lists of patients admitted to the Institutes of Occupational Health, according to a systematic active search of occupational cases.

[Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in rubber forming industry]. / Esposizione ad idrocarburi policiclici aromatici nello stampaggio della gomma.

Among various chemical agents present at the workplaces in the rubber industry, a particular attention was adressed to the Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) contained in oil and carbon black, but some questions regarding level of exposure are also controversially discussed. The literature reports that PAH may have irritant effects; moreover some of these have been recognized as probably or possibly carcinogenic to human by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the European Union, and other institutions. In Lombardy, a study aimed to evaluate the occupational exposure in Benzo[b]fluorantene the rubber forming industry was planned during last two years. The results of environmental air monitoring (the 16 most relevant, according to the American Environmental Protection Agency, EPA) and biological monitoring (urinary 1-hydroxypyrene excretion) show that PAH exposure in these workers is not higher than that observed in other study regarding low level and acceptable exposure.

[Rubber industry and exposure to carcinogenic chemical agents: an Italian Multicentric Study in Lombardy]. / Stampaggio della gomma ed agenti chimici cancerogeni: l'esperienza dello Studio PPTP-Gomma.

Evaluating the chemical risks at the workplaces, the potential carcinogenic risk is a primary interest. Particularly, in the rubber forming industry the main attention was directed to the hot processing as a possible source of exposure to chemical agents, several of which were classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and/or the European Union (EU). A study on occupational exposure to chemical carcinogens in the rubber forming industry was planned during last two years, involving a representative sample of firms. In the first step the occupational exposure and the use of preventive measures were evaluated by an investigation at workplace supported with standardized questionnaires. The presence of above 100 chemical agents was registered; 15 agents were classified to carcinogenic or probably carcinogenic to human. The evaluation of exposure by air sampling and monitoring of most substances of interest (acrylonitrile, 1,3-butadiene, styrene, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons), demonstrated a low level of occupational exposure, the common hygienic prevention measure being applied.

Exposure to mutagenic airborne particulate in a rubber manufacturing plant.

Epidemiological studies conducted in the 1980s revealed that people working in the rubber manufacturing industry had an increased risk of cancer. Even now, workers employed in rubber processing are still at risk despite the measures adopted to improve their working conditions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the presence of a genotoxic risk in a rubber industry and to verify whether or not it was possible to locate the most dangerous position among the different rubber-working processes. The mutagenic activity of airborne particulate was evaluated in samples collected in the mixing department of a rubber manufacturing plant. Ambient air samples were taken over 3-h period in two stable positions near the mixing (Banbury mixer) and calendering areas. Personal air samples were taken over 2-h period during a normal workday from five workers employed in different rubber processing operations (mixing, weighing, calendering, compounding and extruding). The mutagenic activity of the air samples was determined by plate incorporation assay using Salmonella typhimurium strains (TA 98, TA 98NR, TA 100, YG 1021) with and without metabolic activation. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); the presence of other presumable contaminants were carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed substantial direct and indirect frameshift mutagenicity in both ambient and personal samples. No mutagenic activity was present in S. typhimurium TA 100, except in the personal sample from a worker employed on the Banbury mixer. HPLC analysis revealed very low concentrations of PAHs. GC-MS analysis showed the presence of compounds such as azulene derivative, 1,2-dihydro-2,2,4-trimethylquinoline, N-methyl N-phenylbenzenamine, diphenylamine, bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate and bis(methyl-propyl)phthalate. We conclude that the high levels of mutagenic activity in ambiental and personal samples indicate the presence of substances with high genotoxic potency; no substantial differences were seen among the several rubber processing operations. PAHs were not involved in indoor pollution. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of compounds which may be produced by high temperatures to which the raw materials are subjected during rubber manufacturing processes. These substances are potential carcinogen though their mutagen properties have not been clearly determined.