Residential exposure to air pollution and incidence of leukaemia in the industrial area of Viadana, Northern Italy.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollution has been proposed as one of the potential risk factors for leukaemia. Work-related formaldehyde exposure is suspected to cause leukaemia. METHODS: We conducted a nested register-based case-control study on leukaemia incidence in the Viadana district, an industrial area for particleboard production in Northern Italy. We recruited 115 cases and 496 controls, frequency-matched by age, between 1999 and 2014. We assigned estimated exposures to particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and formaldehyde at residential addresses, averaged over the susceptibility window 3rd to 10th year prior to the index date. We considered potential confounding by sex, age, nationality, socio-economic status, occupational exposures to benzene and formaldehyde, and prior cancer diagnoses. RESULTS: There was no association of exposures to PM10, PM2.5, and NO2 with leukaemia incidence. However, an indication of increased risk emerged for formaldehyde, despite wide statistical uncertainty (OR 1.46, 95%CI 0.65-3.25 per IQR-difference of 1.2 µg/m3). Estimated associations for formaldehyde were higher for acute (OR 2.07, 95%CI 0.70-6.12) and myeloid subtypes (OR 1.79, 95%CI 0.64-5.01), and in the 4-km buffer around the industrial facilities (OR 2.78, 95%CI 0.48-16.13), although they remained uncertain. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first study investigating the link between ambient formaldehyde exposure and leukaemia incidence in the general population. The evidence presented suggests an association, although it remains inconclusive, and a potential significance of emissions related to industrial activities in the district. Further research is warranted in larger populations incorporating data on other potential risk factors.

Spatial variability of nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde and residential exposure of children in the industrial area of Viadana, Northern Italy.

Chipboard production is a source of ambient air pollution. We assessed the spatial variability of outdoor pollutants and residential exposure of children living in proximity to the largest chipboard industry in Italy and evaluated the reliability of exposure estimates obtained from a number of available models. We obtained passive sampling data on NO2 and formaldehyde collected by the Environmental Protection Agency of Lombardy region at 25 sites in the municipality of Viadana during 10 weeks (2017-2018) and compared NO2 measurements with average weekly concentrations from continuous monitors. We compared interpolated NO2 and formaldehyde surfaces with previous maps for 2010. We assessed the relationship between residential proximity to the industry and pollutant exposures assigned using these maps, as well as other available countrywide/continental models based on routine data on NO2, PM10, and PM2.5. The correlation between NO2 concentrations from continuous and passive sampling was high (Pearson's r = 0.89), although passive sampling underestimated NO2 especially during winter. For both 2010 and 2017-2018, we observed higher NO2 and formaldehyde concentrations in the south of Viadana, with hot-spots in proximity to the industry. PM10 and PM2.5 exposures were higher for children at < 1 km compared to the children living at > 3.5 km to the industry, whereas NO2 exposure was higher at 1-1.7 km to the industry. Road and population densities were also higher close to the industry. Findings from a variety of exposure models suggest that children living in proximity to the chipboard industry in Viadana are more exposed to air pollution and that exposure gradients are relatively stable over time.

Proximity to chipboard industries increases the risk of respiratory and irritation symptoms in children: the Viadana study.

Emissions related to wood production processes are a recognized health hazard for professionally exposed subjects. The health effects of living close to wood industries are not known, particularly in the pediatric population. We aimed at investigating if living close to chipboard industries is a health hazard for the children in the Viadana district (Northern Italy). In December 2006, all the children (3-14 years) living in the Viadana district, where two big chipboard industries are located, were surveyed through a parental questionnaire (n=3854). The children were geocoded, and the distance of their houses/schools from the closest wood plant was computed. Independently of sex, age, nationality, residential area, traffic, parents' education, passive/parental smoking, questionnaire compiler and his/her environmental concern, the children living at <2 km from chipboard industries had a greater prevalence of respiratory (OR=1.33, 95%CI: 1.11, 1.60), cough/phlegm (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.08, 1.88), nose/throat/mouth (OR=1.47, 95%CI: 1.23, 1.75), eye (OR=1.24, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.48) symptoms, school-days lost (OR=1.24, 95%CI: 1.04, 1.48), and emergency (OR=2.14, 95%CI: 1.47, 3.11) and hospital (OR=2.21, 95%CI: 1.17, 4.18) admissions. There was an inverse dose-response relationship between the adverse health outcomes considered and the distance from the plants. The attributable fractions for the children living close to the chipboard industries were substantial, ranging from 13% (eye symptoms) to 27% (cough/phlegm). The present findings suggest that emissions from chipboard industries might have a serious impact on children's health status and should therefore be reduced and closely monitored.

[Cause-specific mortality in populations exposed and unexposed to outdoor emissions of formaldehyde and wood dust: the Viadana study]. / Confronto dell'esperienza di mortalità per cause specifiche di popolazioni esposte e non esposte a fonti emissive esterne di formaldeide e polveri di legno: lo studio di Viadana.

AIM: to describe the mortality risk for all causes and chronic diseases among people living in the industrial district of Viadana (Mantua), where wooden furniture factories producing formaldehyde and wood dust are situated. DESIGN: mortality for the years 1996-2005 among residents in the municipalities where the industrial plants are located (exposed areas) was compared with the mortality among people living in the areas without plants (non-exposed areas). MAIN OUTCOMES: standardized mortality ratios (SMR), using as reference the total population of the Province of Mantua. RESULTS: overall mortality risk was slightly higher in the non-exposed areas and in the district of Viadana than in the Province of Mantua. Mortality risk for all cancers in the exposed areas was lower than in the Province of Mantua (SMR=0.93; 95% IC 0.87-0.99). Mortality for prostate cancer was significantly increased in the exposed areas compared to non-exposed areas (RR=1.83; 95% IC 1.08-3.09) and to the Province of Mantua as a whole (SMR=1.39; 95% IC 1.06-1.79). Mortality maps suggest a higher mortality risk for prostate cancer, mainly among exposed areas. An excess of mortality for leukaemia (non-statistically significant) and for respiratory diseases (statistically significant) was found in Gazzuolo and Sabbioneta, both located in the exposed area. CONCLUSION: no statistically significant excess risk of mortality for cancer of upper aerodigestive tract was found among residents in municipalities where wood dust and formaldehyde producing factories were active. The increased mortality risk for prostate cancer and leukaemia needs to be deeply analyzed.