Effectiveness of Closed System Drug Transfer Devices in Reducing Leakage during Antineoplastic Drugs Compounding.

This study, conducted in a centralized cytotoxic drug preparation unit, analyzes the effectiveness of two closed system drug transfer devices (CSTDs) in reducing leakage during antineoplastic drug compounding. Wipe/pad samplings inside and outside the preparation area were taken during surveillance programs from 2016 to 2021. All samples were analyzed for gemcitabine (GEM) contamination. In 2016, the presence of GEM in some samples and the contamination of the operators' gloves in the absence of apparent drug spilling suggested unsealed preparation systems. In subsequent monitoring, GEM was also evaluated in the vial access device and in the access port system to the intravenous therapy bag of TexiumTM/SmartSiteTM and Equashield® II devices after the reconstitution and preparation steps of the drug. The next checks highlighted GEM dispersion after compounding using TexiumTM/SmartSiteTM, with positive samples ranging from 9 to 23%. In contrast, gemcitabine was not present at detectable levels in the Equashield® II system in all of the evaluated samples. The Equashield® II closed system seems effectively able to eliminate spills and leakage during gemcitabine compounding. Since drugs with different viscosities can have different effects on CSTDs, Equashield® II needs to be considered with other antineoplastic drugs during a structured surveillance program.

Volatile Organic Compounds in Anatomical Pathology Wards: Comparative and Qualitative Assessment of Indoor Airborne Pollution.

The impact of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) on indoor air quality and on human health is widely recognized. However, VOC contamination in hospital indoor air is rarely studied and chemical compounds that singularly do not show high toxicity are not submitted to any regulation. This study aimed to compare VOC contamination in two different anatomical pathology wards in the same hospital. Hydrocarbons, alcohols, and terpenes were sampled by passive diffusive samplers. Analytical tests were performed by thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detector. Results highlighted a different VOC pollution in the two wards, due to the structural difference of the buildings and different organizational systems. The scarcity of similar data in the literature shows that the presence of VOCs in pathology wards is an underestimated problem. We believe that, because of the adverse effects that VOCs may have on the human health, this topic is worth exploring further.

Health Issues of Primary School Students Residing in Proximity of an Oil Terminal with Environmental Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds.

Residential proximity to industrial sites has been associated with adverse effects on human health. Children are more susceptible to airborne environmental exposure because their immune and respiratory systems are still developing. This study aimed to investigate whether living close to an oil terminal in Genoa where there is higher VOCs exposure is associated with an increased rate of school absenteeism because of disease in primary school children. Five schools were chosen for the recruitment of children and students residing in the industrial site (A) were compared to those living in residential sites (B). Sixty-six of the 407 students involved in the project were also selected for VOC monitoring. Source apportionment was carried out by comparing profiles of VOCs; principal component analysis was performed to study the correlation between profiles, and Kriging interpolation model was used to extend profiles to all participants. The concentration means of total VOCs were significantly higher in the industrial areas compared to controls. Adjusting for potential confounders, children who lived in area A had a significantly higher risk of being absent from school due to sore throat, cough, and cold compared to controls. o-Xylene, which is dispersed during the industrial activity, showed clear evidence of a significant association with respiratory symptoms.

Temporal and spatial variations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon concentrations around a coke oven plant.

UNLABELLED: From 1995 to 2004, in Genoa, Italy, daily concentrations of twelve polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in particulate phase (PM10), around a coke oven plant in operation from the 1950s and closed in 2002. The study permitted to identify the coke oven as the main PAH source in Genoa, causing constant exceeding of benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) air quality target (1.0 ng/m3) in the urban area till 1,900 meters distance downwind the plant. For this reason the plant was closed. Distance and daily hours downwind the coke plant were the main sources of variability of toxic BaP equivalent (BaPeq) concentrations and equations that best fitted these variables were experimentally obtained. During full plant activity, annual average BaPeq concentrations, measured in the three sampling sites aligned downwind to the summer prevalent winds, were: 85 ng/m3 at 40 m (site 2, industrial area), 13.2 ng/m3 at 300 m (site 3, residential area) and 5.6 ng/m3 at 575 m (site 4, residential area). Soon after the coke oven's closure (February 2002) BaPeq concentrations (annual average) measured in residential area, decreased drastically: 0.2 ng/m3 at site 3, 0.4 ng/m3 at site 4. Comparing 1998 and 2003 data, BaPeq concentrations decreased 97.6% in site 3 and 92.8% in site 4. Samples collected at site 3, during the longest downwind conditions, provided a reliable PAH profile of fugitive coke oven emissions. This profile was significantly different from the PAH profile, contemporary found at site 5, near the traffic flow. This study demonstrates that risk assessment based only on distance of residences from a coke plant can be heavily inaccurate and confirmed that seasonal variability of BaPeq concentrations and high variability of fugitive emissions of PAHs during coke oven activities require at least one year of frequent and constant monitoring (10-15 samples each month). IMPLICATIONS: Around a coking plant, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), concentrations depend mainly on downwind hours and distance. Equations that best fit these variables were experimentally calculated. Fugitive emissions of an old coke oven did not comply with the threshold BAP air concentration proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 1,900 m distance. The study identified the PAH profile of fugitive emissions of a coke oven, statistically different from the profile of traffic emissions. During its activity, in the Genoa residential area, 575 m away from the plant, 92.8% of found PAHs was due to coke oven emission only.

Is the smokers exposure to environmental tobacco smoke negligible?

BACKGROUND: Very few studies have evaluated the adverse effect of passive smoking exposure among active smokers, probably due to the unproven assumption that the dose of toxic compounds that a smoker inhales by passive smoke is negligible compared to the dose inhaled by active smoke. METHODS: In a controlled situation of indoor active smoking, we compared daily benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) dose, estimated to be inhaled by smokers due to the mainstream (MS) of cigarettes they have smoked, to the measured environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) they inhaled in an indoor environment. For this aim, we re-examined our previous study on daily personal exposure to BaP of thirty newsagents, according to their smoking habits. RESULTS: Daily BaP dose due to indoor environmental contamination measured inside newsstands (traffic emission and ETS produced by smoker newsagents) was linearly correlated (p = 0.001 R2 = 0.62) with estimated BaP dose from MS of daily smoked cigarettes. In smoker subjects, the percentage of BaP daily dose due to ETS, in comparison to mainstream dose due to smoked cigarettes, was estimated with 95% confidence interval, between 14.6% and 23% for full flavour cigarettes and between 21% and 34% for full flavour light cigarettes. CONCLUSIONS: During indoor smoking, ETS contribution to total BaP dose of the same smoker, may be not negligible. Therefore both active and passive smoking exposures should be considered in studies about health of active smokers.

Pinus nigra and Pinus pinaster needles as passive samplers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Nine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analysed in pine needles of different ages (from 6 to 30 months) collected from two species, Pinus nigra and Pinus pinaster, in seven sites located along a transect from a suburban to a rural area of Genoa (Italy). In all sites and for both species, concentrations of more volatile PAHs (phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene) were higher than those for other less volatile PAHs, which are preferentially sorbed to airborne particulates (benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzofluoranthenes, benzo[a]pyrene). Concentrations of total PAHs found in P. nigra in the rural sites were, on the average, 2.3 times higher than those in P. pinaster growing nearby. In both pine species, concentrations of volatile PAHs increased according to needle age. Annual trends of other PAHs were more variable, with a general decrease in older needles. P. pinaster needles are shown to be more reliable passive samplers, since they are more resistant to plant diseases, and considerable variation in PAH concentration was observed in P. nigra needles with moulds and fungi.

Personal daily exposures to benzo(a)pyrene of taxi drivers in Genoa, Italy.

Twenty-four hour personal exposures (both occupational and environmental) to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) of 15 taxi drivers working in Genoa, Italy, were monitored in May-July 1998 (15 samplings), February 1999 (7 samplings) and June 1999 (7 samplings). The mean BaP exposures measured at these different times were 1.4 ng/m3, 1.23 ng/m3 and 1.22 ng/m3, respectively, values were significantly greater than the levels found in controls (0.16+/-0.2 ng/m3). Mean daily personal BaP exposures of taxi drivers were not statistically different from the mean daily airborne BaP concentrations measured by fixed samplers during the same sampling periods.