[Health risk assessment in the metal scrap recycle: the case of Brescia]. / Valutazione dei rischi alla salute nell'industria del riciclo dei rottami metallici: il caso di Brescia.

The recycle of metal scraps is one of the most important industrial activity of Brescia: almost 40% of the metal scraps produced in Italy are reprocessed in this Province. The melting process currently used produces air emissions containing dioxins, PCB and other pollutants which are dispersed in the atmosphere giving a contribution to the general environment pollution. This contribution has been and is being extensively studied in terms of air concentration and soil deposition but, because of its complexity and the difficulty to gather the necessary data, very little investigation has been made up to now on its impact on the health of workers and population. The difficulties are overcome by RAMET, a research Consortium established and financed by the main 24 metallurgical and siderurgical companies of Brescia, which can take advantage of the availability of the production facilities of its shareholders as pilot plants and has access to their database and experience. Starting from this unique favourable condition and in collaboration with the University of Brescia, RAMET is working on a research project having as main objective the assessment of the POPs dose adsorbed and the relevant consequences on workers and public health. The general scheme and organization of this project are given in this paper together with the outlines and the results of the main activities already completed or in progress.

Hemorrhoidal stapler prolapsectomy vs. Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy: a long-term randomized trial.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The notable success of stapled prolapsectomy in recent years led us to compare this technique with Milligan-Morgan hemorrhoidectomy in terms of the results obtained both in the immediate postoperative period and in the long term. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed conventional hemorrhoidectomy on 50 randomly selected patients and operated on a further 50 using the stapler technique. The patients were monitored over the immediate postoperative period (e.g., type of anesthesia, mean duration of operation, mean hospitalization time, analgesic administration, time before returning to work) and over a long-term follow-up period of 48 months (later complications such as prolapse relapse, bleeding, stenosis, incontinence). RESULTS: The stapled group experienced significantly less pain (mean number of analgesic tablets 2.60 vs. 15.9) and returned to normal activity sooner (8.04 vs. 16.9 days), as reported by other authors. In the long-term follow-up at 48 months, stapled hemorrhoidectomy was found to control prolapse, discharge, and bleeding, with no stenosis or significant incontinence, in 94% of cases. CONCLUSION: Our conclusions confirm the excellent advantages of stapled hemorrhoidectomy which allows the rapid recovery of patients and also promises the complete resolution of hemorrhoidal prolapse in the long term.