Indoor air pollution impacts cardiovascular autonomic control during sleep and the inflammatory profile.

The present study explores the modifications of cardiovascular autonomic control (CAC) during wake and sleep time and the systemic inflammatory profile associated with exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) in a cohort of healthy subjects. Twenty healthy volunteers were enrolled. Indoor levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were monitored using a portable detector for 7 days. Together, a 7-day monitoring was performed through a wireless patch that continuously recorded electrocardiogram, respiratory activity and actigraphy. Indexes of CAC during wake and sleep time were derived from the biosignals: heart rate and low-frequency to high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) index of sympathovagal balance with higher values corresponding to a predominance of the sympathetic branch. Cyclic variation of heart rate index (CVHRI events/hour) during sleep, a proxy for the evaluation of sleep apnea, was assessed for each night. After the monitoring, blood samples were collected to assess the inflammatory profile. Regression and correlation analysis were performed. A positive association between VOC exposure and the CVHRI (Δ%=+0.2% for 1µg/m3 VOCs, p=0.008) was found. The CVHRI was also positively associated with LF/HF during sleep, thus higher CVHRI values corresponded to a shift of the sympathovagal balance towards a sympathetic predominance (r=0.52; p=0.018). NO2 exposure was positively associated with both the pro-inflammatory biomarker TREM-1 and the anti-inflammatory biomarker IL-10 (Δ%=+1.2% and Δ%=+2.4%, for 1µg/m3 NO2; p=0.005 and p=0.022, respectively). The study highlights a possible causal relationship between IAP exposure and higher risk of sleep apnea events, associated with impaired CAC during sleep, and a pro-inflammatory state counterbalanced by an increased anti-inflammatory response in healthy subjects. This process may be disrupted in vulnerable populations, leading to a harmful chronic pro-inflammatory profile. Thus, IAP may emerge as a critical and often neglected risk factor for the public health that can be addressed through targeted preventive interventions.

Exposure to airborne particulate matter in working from office and working from home employees.

The main aim of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the differences, in terms of exposure to PM (particulate matter), between WFO (working-from-office) and WFH (working-from-home) conditions. Two measurement surveys were performed: a long-term and a short-term campaign, focused on the monitoring of personal exposure to size-fractionated PM in these different working conditions. Results of the long-term campaign show that the WFH subject is exposed to higher (up to 4 times) PM concentration, compared to the WFO subject. Specific activities performed by the subjects impacted their exposure concentrations, even if the most relevant contribution to total exposure was made by desk work. Results of the short-term campaign indicate that the subjects can be divided into two groups: subjects most exposed during the WFH mode (HE_H - Higher_Exposure_Home) and subjects most exposed during the WFO mode (HE_O - Higher_Exposure_Office). HE_H group is exposed to levels of pollutants up to 4 times higher in the domestic than in the office environment, during the moment of desk work. The HE_O group is exposed to higher (double) concentration levels during desk work during the WFO day. Considering the possible growing trend towards remote work it is important to evaluate these "new domestic offices" comprehensively.

Exposure Assessment and Monitoring of Antiblastic Drugs Preparation in Health Care Settings: A Systematic Review.

Several antiblastic drugs (ADs) are classified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, and/or toxic for reproduction. Despite established guidelines and safe handling technologies, ADs contamination of the work environments could occur in healthcare settings, leading to potential exposure of healthcare staff. This systematic review aims to investigate the main techniques and practices for assessing ADs occupational exposure in healthcare settings. The reviewed studies unveil that workplace contamination by ADs appears to be a still-topical problem in healthcare settings. These issues are linked to difficulties in guaranteeing: (i) the adherence to standardized protocols when dealing with ADs, (ii) the effective use of personal protective equipment by operators involved in the administration or management of ADs, (iii) a comprehensive training of the healthcare personnel, and (iv) a thorough health surveillance of exposed workers. A "multi-parametric" approach emerges as a desirable strategy for exposure assessment. In parallel, exposure assessment should coincide with the introduction of novel technologies aimed at minimizing exposure (i.e., risk management). Assessment must consider various departments and health operators susceptible to ADs contamination, with a focus extended beyond worst-case scenarios, also considering activities like surface cleaning and logistical tasks related to ADs management. A comprehensive approach in ADs risk assessment enables the evaluation of distinct substance behaviors and subsequent exposure routes, affording a more holistic understanding of potential risks.

Understanding the limitations and application of occupational exposure models in a REACH context.

Exposure modeling plays a significant role for regulatory organizations, companies, and professionals involved in assessing and managing occupational health risks in workplaces. One context in which occupational exposure models are particularly relevant is the REACH Regulation in the European Union (Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006). This commentary describes the models for the occupational inhalation exposure assessment of chemicals within the REACH framework, their theoretical background, applications, and limitations, as well as the latest developments and priorities for model improvement. Summing up the debate, despite its relevance and importance in the context of REACH not being in question, occupational exposure modeling needs to be improved in many respects. There is a need to reach a wide consensus on several key issues (e.g., the theoretical background and the reliability of modeling tools), to consolidate and monitor model performance and regulatory acceptance, and to align practices and policies regarding exposure modeling.

Evolution and Applications of Recent Sensing Technology for Occupational Risk Assessment: A Rapid Review of the Literature.

Over the last decade, technological advancements have been made available and applied in a wide range of applications in several work fields, ranging from personal to industrial enforcements. One of the emerging issues concerns occupational safety and health in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and, in more detail, it deals with how industrial hygienists could improve the risk-assessment process. A possible way to achieve these aims is the adoption of new exposure-monitoring tools. In this study, a systematic review of the up-to-date scientific literature has been performed to identify and discuss the most-used sensors that could be useful for occupational risk assessment, with the intent of highlighting their pros and cons. A total of 40 papers have been included in this manuscript. The results show that sensors able to investigate airborne pollutants (i.e., gaseous pollutants and particulate matter), environmental conditions, physical agents, and workers' postures could be usefully adopted in the risk-assessment process, since they could report significant data without significantly interfering with the job activities of the investigated subjects. To date, there are only few "next-generation" monitors and sensors (NGMSs) that could be effectively used on the workplace to preserve human health. Due to this fact, the development and the validation of new NGMSs will be crucial in the upcoming years, to adopt these technologies in occupational-risk assessment.

Association of subjective health symptoms with indoor air quality in European office buildings: The OFFICAIR project.

The aim of this study was to explore the association between the building-related occupants' reported health symptoms and the indoor pollutant concentrations in a sample of 148 office rooms, within the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed in 37 office buildings among eight countries, which included (a) 5-day air sampling of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), aldehydes, ozone, and NO2 (b) collection of information from 1299 participants regarding their personal characteristics and health perception at workplace using online questionnaires. Stepwise and multilevel logistic regressions were applied to investigate associations between health symptoms and pollutant concentrations considering personal characteristics as confounders. Occupants of offices with higher pollutant concentrations were more likely to report health symptoms. Among the studied VOCs, xylenes were associated with general (such as headache and tiredness) and skin symptoms, ethylbenzene with eye irritation and respiratory symptoms, a-pinene with respiratory and heart symptoms, d-limonene with general symptoms, and styrene with skin symptoms. Among aldehydes, formaldehyde was associated with respiratory and general symptoms, acrolein with respiratory symptoms, propionaldehyde with respiratory, general, and heart symptoms, and hexanal with general SBS. Ozone was associated with almost all symptom groups.

Toxicological assessment method for evaluating the occupational risk of dynamic olfactometry assessors.

The paper aims to propose a new method to evaluate the occupational exposure risk for examiners involved in dynamic olfactometry. Indeed, examiners are possibly exposed to hazardous pollutants potentially present in odorous samples. A standardized method to evaluate the examiners' occupational safety is not yet available and the existing models present some critical aspect if applied to real odorous samples (no uniform reference concentrations applied and presence of compounds for which no toxicity threshold is available). A deepening of assessment procedure to evaluate the occupation exposure risk for olfactometric assessors is necessary. This paper proposes a standardized approach for risk assessment in dynamic olfactometry. The proposed approach allows the quantification synthetic and conservative risk indices. In this model, the use of the hazard index for the odorous mixture was proposed to assess the non-carcinogenic risk; the calculation of the inhalation risk was applied to estimate the carcinogenic risk. Different databases can be used to retrieve proper occupational exposure limits, according to the proposed hierarchical basis. These implementations allow obtaining the complete characterization of real samples which can be used to calculate the minimum dilution factor for protecting the panellists' health.

Features and Practicability of the Next-Generation Sensors and Monitors for Exposure Assessment to Airborne Pollutants: A Systematic Review.

In the last years, the issue of exposure assessment of airborne pollutants has been on the rise, both in the environmental and occupational fields. Increasingly severe national and international air quality standards, indoor air guidance values, and exposure limit values have been developed to protect the health of the general population and workers; this issue required a significant and continuous improvement in monitoring technologies to allow the execution of proper exposure assessment studies. One of the most interesting aspects in this field is the development of the "next-generation" of airborne pollutants monitors and sensors (NGMS). The principal aim of this review is to analyze and characterize the state of the art and of NGMS and their practical applications in exposure assessment studies. A systematic review of the literature was performed analyzing outcomes from three different databases (Scopus, PubMed, Isi Web of Knowledge); a total of 67 scientific papers were analyzed. The reviewing process was conducting systematically with the aim to extrapolate information about the specifications, technologies, and applicability of NGMSs in both environmental and occupational exposure assessment. The principal results of this review show that the use of NGMSs is becoming increasingly common in the scientific community for both environmental and occupational exposure assessment. The available studies outlined that NGMSs cannot be used as reference instrumentation in air monitoring for regulatory purposes, but at the same time, they can be easily adapted to more specific applications, improving exposure assessment studies in terms of spatiotemporal resolution, wearability, and adaptability to different types of projects and applications. Nevertheless, improvements needed to further enhance NGMSs performances and allow their wider use in the field of exposure assessment are also discussed.

Indoor gaseous air pollutants determinants in office buildings-The OFFICAIR project.

The aim of this study was to identify determinants of aldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) indoor air concentrations in a sample of more than 140 office rooms, in the framework of the European OFFICAIR research project. A large field campaign was performed, which included (a) the air sampling of aldehydes and VOCs in 37 newly built or recently retrofitted office buildings across 8 European countries in summer and winter and (b) the collection of information on building and offices' characteristics using checklists. Linear mixed models for repeated measurements were applied to identify the main factors affecting the measured concentrations of selected indoor air pollutants (IAPs). Several associations between aldehydes and VOCs concentrations and buildings' structural characteristic or occupants' activity patterns were identified. The aldehyde and VOC determinants in office buildings include building and furnishing materials, indoor climate characteristics (room temperature and relative humidity), the use of consumer products (eg, cleaning and personal care products, office equipment), as well as the presence of outdoor sources in the proximity of the buildings (ie, vehicular traffic). Results also showed that determinants of indoor air concentrations varied considerably among different type of pollutants.

[Chemical risks in research laboratories]. / I rischi nei laboratori di ricerca: i rischi di tipo chimico.

SUMMARY: Research laboratories represent peculiar employment realities, generally characterized by the use of reduced volumes of several chemicals, often used in mixture, thus defining a potential exposure to multiple chemical agents. Methods. The aim of the study is to provide a brief review of the most widely used methods for assessing chemical risk in laboratories, with particular emphasis on their limits and advantages. Results. The approach most often used for assessing chemical risk in research laboratories involves the use of a qualitative modeling approach for risk assessment or quantitative exposure assessment tools. Conclusions. Chemical risk assessment algorithms represent a useful solution for the purposes of the initial screening for the assessment of chemical risk in research laboratories: their ease of use makes them easily accessible, but on the other hand does not allow to take into proper consideration the particularities of the assessed exposure scenarios. Regarding the exposure estimation models, although these instruments have a wide range of applicability, there is no solid and complete validation, which evaluates the accuracy and reliability for this peculiar type of exposure scenarios.

A History of Industrial Hygiene: the Clinica del Lavoro in Milan and the Italian Association of Industrial Hygienists.

In 1969, the Italian Association of Industrial Hygienists (AIDII) was founded in Milan by Academics working at the Clinica del Lavoro, one of the oldest institutions for work prevention in the world and within the most prolific institutes in the world on Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene. AIDII was founded as a scientific association with the primary purpose of promoting the development, deepening and dissemination of Industrial Hygiene, the scientific discipline aimed at identifying, assessing and controlling chemical, physical and biological risk factors (as well as transversal risks) either inside or outside the workplace, which can alter the health and wellbeing status of workers and/or the general population, for the purpose of effective prevention and protection of human health. Over the decades, the activities of AIDII have evolved to meet some of the current needs and challenges, while remaining consistent with the basics set by the founders.

Short-term particulate matter exposure influences nasal microbiota in a population of healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND: Exposure to air pollutants, such as particulate matter (PM), represents a growing health problem. The aim of our study was to investigate whether PM could induce a dysbiosis in the nasal microbiota in terms of α-diversity and taxonomic composition. METHODS: We investigated structure and characteristics of the microbiota of 40 healthy subjects through metabarcoding analysis of the V3-V4 regions of the 16s rRNA gene. Exposure to PM10 and PM2.5 was assessed with a personal sampler worn for 24h before sample collection (Day -1) and with measurements from monitoring stations (from Day -2 to Day -7). RESULTS: We found an inverse association between PM10 and PM2.5 levels of the 3rd day preceding sampling (Day -3) and α-diversity indices (Chao1, Shannon and PD_whole_tree). Day -3 PM was inversely associated also with the majority of analyzed taxa, except for Moraxella, which showed a positive association. In addition, subjects showed different structural profiles identifying two groups: one characterized by an even community and another widely dominated by the Moraxella genus. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the role of PM exposure in influencing microbiota and altering the normal homeostasis within the bacterial community. Whether these alterations could have a role in disease development and/or exacerbation needs further research.

Precision and Accuracy of a Direct-Reading Miniaturized Monitor in PM2.5 Exposure Assessment.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the precision, accuracy, practicality, and potential uses of a PM2.5 miniaturized monitor (MM) in exposure assessment. These monitors (AirBeam, HabitatMap) were compared with the widely used direct-reading particulate matter monitors and a gravimetric reference method for PM2.5. Instruments were tested during 20 monitoring sessions that were subdivided in two different seasons to evaluate the performance of sensors across various environmental and meteorological conditions. Measurements were performed at an urban background site in Como, Italy. To evaluate the performance of the instruments, different analyses were conducted on 8-h averaged PM2.5 concentrations for comparison between direct-reading monitors and the gravimetric method, and minute-averaged data for comparison between the direct-reading instruments. A linear regression analysis was performed to evaluate whether the two measurement methods, when compared, could be considered comparable and/or mutually predictive. Further, Bland-Altman plots were used to determine whether the methods were characterized by specific biases. Finally, the correlations between the error associated with the direct-reading instruments and the meteorological parameters acquired at the sampling point were investigated. Principal results show a moderate degree of agreement between MMs and the reference method and a bias that increased with an increase in PM2.5 concentrations.

Exposure to airborne particles associated with the handling of graphene nanoplatelets.

BACKGROUND: It is recognized that engineering control measures are needed to reduce occupational exposure to engineered nanomaterials (NMs): of these, fume hoods are among the most widespread collective protection equipment used while handling NMs in occupational settings.  It is known that in some circumstances, handling NMs in fume hoods can result in a significant release of NMs. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of fume hoods in reducing exposure while handling graphene nanoplatelets and to define the conditions that result in a lower dispersion of particles and thus less operator exposure. METHODS: An experimental protocol was established to monitor the variations of airborne particle concentrations while handling graphene in fume hoods (transferring and pouring). The measurement locations were at the laboratory, inside the hood and at operator's breathing zone. Handling tasks were performed under different operating conditions: the variable factors included hood face velocity and sash height. RESULTS: Results of this study indicate that the handling of graphene nanoplatelets may pose a potential risk of contamination of the work environment and hence exposure of the involved operators, if adequate control measures are not taken. In fact, when inadequate or not sufficiently cautionary operational conditions were utilized, non-negligible increases in airborne graphene particle concentrations during the nanomaterial manipulation phases were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Some operating conditions (e.g., face velocity, sash height) can be adjusted to avoid relevant personal exposure conditions and contamination of the work environment by NMs, thus ensuring safer conditions.

Short-term particulate matter exposure induces extracellular vesicle release in overweight subjects.

BACKGROUND: Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a plausible molecular mechanism linking particulate matter (PM) inhalation to its systemic effects. Microvesicles (MVs) are released from many cell types in response to various stimuli. Increased body mass index (BMI) could modify the response to PM exposure due to enhanced PM uptake and/or an underlying pro-oxidative state. We investigated the relationship between EV release and PM10/PM2.5 exposure in a cohort of 51 volunteers. Subjects were stratified based on their BMI to evaluate whether overweight BMI is a determinant of hypersusceptibility to PM effects. RESULTS: Exposure to PM10/PM2.5 was assessed with a personal sampler worn for 24hours before plasma collection and confirmed with monitoring station data. Size and cellular origin of plasma EVs were characterized by Nanosight analysis and flow cytometry, respectively. Multivariate regression models were run after log-transformation, stratifying subjects based on BMI (≥ or <25kg/m2). PM exposure resulted in increased release of EVs, with the maximum observed effect for endothelial MVs. For PM10 and PM2.5, the adjusted geometric mean ratio and 95% confidence interval were 3.47 (1.30, 9.27) and 3.14 (1.23, 8.02), respectively. Compared to those in normal subjects, PM-induced EV alterations in overweight subjects were more pronounced, with visibly effect in all MV subtypes, particularly endothelial MVs. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings emphasize the role of EV release after PM exposure and the susceptibility of overweight subjects. Larger studies with accurate exposure assessment and complete EVs characterization/content analysis, could further clarify the molecular mechanism responsible for PM effects and of hypersusceptibility of overweight subjects.

Occupational exposure to arsenic and cadmium in thin-film solar cell production.

INTRODUCTION: Workers involved in the production of Cd/As-based photovoltaic modules may be routinely or accidentally exposed to As- or Cd-containing inorganic compounds. METHODS: Workers' exposure to As and Cd was investigated by environmental monitoring following a worst-case approach and biological monitoring from the preparation of the working facility to its decommissioning. Workplace surface contamination was also evaluated through wipe-test sampling. RESULTS: The highest mean airborne concentrations were found during maintenance activities (As = 0.0068 µg m(-3); Cd = 7.66 µg m(-3)) and laboratory simulations (As = 0.0075 µg m(-3); Cd = 11.2 µg m(-3)). These types of operations were conducted for a limited time during a typical work shift and only in specifically suited containment areas, where the highest surface concentrations were also found (laboratory: As = 2.94 µg m(-2), Cd = 167 µg m(-2); powder containment booth: As = 4.35 µg m(-2), Cd = 1500 µg m(-2)). The As and Cd urinary levels (As_u; Cd_u) were not significantly different for exposed (As_u = 6.11±1.74 µg l(-1); Cd_u = 0.24±2.36 µg g(-1) creatinine) and unexposed workers (As_u = 6.11±1.75 µg l(-1); Cd_u = 0.22±2.08 µg g(-1) creatinine). CONCLUSION: Despite airborne arsenic and cadmium exposure well below the threshold limit value (TLV) when the operation is appropriately maintained in line, workers who are involved in various operations (maintenance, laboratory test) could potentially be at risk of significant exposure, well in excess of the TLV. Nevertheless, the biological monitoring data did not show significant occupationally related arsenic and cadmium intake in workers and no significant changes or differences in arsenic and cadmium urinary level among the exposed and unexposed workers were found.

Occupational exposure to chrysotile in an asbestos cement factory in Kyrgyzstan.

OBJECTIVES: An increasing number of countries are banning the production and use of asbestos, in compliance with the ratification of the C162 Asbestos Convention and the Basel Convention, and in response to the call for its elimination in the ILO resolution and WHO reports on the health risks associated with asbestos. Nevertheless, several countries, including Kyrgyzstan, are still miners and/or manufacturers of asbestos. The main objective of the study is to assess the occupational exposure to chrysotile of workers engaged in a production facility of asbestos-cement products in Kyrgyzstan. METHODS: Monitored workers (n = 16, for a total of n = 18 samples) were divided into 3 "Similar Exposure Groups" (SEGs; SEG-1: asbestos loading; SEG-2; asbestos-cement mixing; SEG-3: cutting of asbestos-cement sheets) according to EN 689 standard. Samples were collected through personal sampling and subsequently examined by means of scanning electron microscope equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer for the compositional analysis of each fibre. The numerical concentration of airborne asbestos fibres was henceforward determined by dividing the number of fibres and the volume of sampled air (expressed in the number of fibres per millilitre of air: ff/ml). RESULTS: Investigated workers resulted to be exposed to chrysotile fibres. Results (GM ± GSD) outlined extremely high exposure levels for SEG-1 (2.2 ± 2.1 ff/ml) and SEG-3 (4.7 ± 1.6 ff/ml) workers and lower-but still relevant-exposure values for SEG-2 (0.91 ± 2.6 ff/ml) workers. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained in this case study can help to document potentially critical situations of occupational exposure to asbestos that can still occur nowadays in low and middle-income countries where asbestos is still mined and processed.

An In-Field Assessment of the P.ALP Device in Four Different Real Working Conditions: A Performance Evaluation in Particulate Matter Monitoring.

This study aimed to assess the performance, in terms of precision and accuracy, of a prototype (called "P.ALP"-Ph.D. Air Quality Low-cost Project) developed for monitoring PM2.5 concentration levels. Four prototypes were co-located with reference instrumentation in four different microenvironments simulating real-world and working conditions, namely (i) office, (ii) home, (iii) outdoor, and (iv) occupational environments. The devices were evaluated for a total of 20 monitoring days (approximately 168 h) under a wide range of PM2.5 concentrations. The performances of the prototypes (based on the light-scattering working principle) were tested through different statistical methods. After the data acquisition and data cleaning processes, a linear regression analysis was performed to assess the precision (by comparing all possible pairs of devices) and the accuracy (by comparing the prototypes against the reference instrumentation) of the P.ALP. Moreover, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) criteria were applied to assess the possible usage of this instrumentation, and to evaluate the eventual error trends of the P.ALP in the data storage process, Bland-Altman plots were also adopted. The outcomes of this study underlined that the P.ALP performed differently depending on the microenvironment in which it was tested and, consequently, on the PM2.5 concentrations. The device can monitor PM2.5 variations with acceptable results, but the performance cannot be considered satisfactory at extremely low and remarkably high PM2.5 concentrations. Thanks to modular components and open-source software, the tested device has the potential to be customized and adapted to better fit specific study design needs, but it must be implemented with ad hoc calibration factors depending on the application before being used in field.

Dynamic Olfactometry and Oil Refinery Odour Samples: Application of a New Method for Occupational Risk Assessment.

Refineries are characterized by relevant odour impacts, and the control and monitoring of this pollutant have become increasingly important. Dynamic olfactometry, a sensorial analysis that involves human examiners, is currently the most common technique to obtain odour quantification. However, due to the potential presence of hazardous pollutants, the conduction of occupational risk assessment is necessary to guarantee examiners' safety. Nevertheless, the occupational risk for olfactometric examiners, specifically correlated with oil refineries emissions, has not been investigated yet. Therefore, this paper applies a new methodology of risk assessment for workers involved in dynamic olfactometry, focusing on odorous refineries emissions. The chemical characterization of refinery emissions was obtained by TD-GC-MS, analysing odorous samples collected at different refinery odour sources. A database of chemical pollutants emitted from a refinery plant was built up, and the minimum dilution values to be adopted during the analysis of refinery odorous samples was calculated. In particular, this evaluation highlighted that, in this scenario, a non-negligible carcinogenic risk may exist for panellists exposed to refineries' samples, and the carcinogenic risk is sometimes higher than what is acceptable. Therefore, a minimum dilution value between 1.01 and 5, according to the specific sample, must be set to guarantee the examiners' safety.

Occupational Exposure to Halogenated Anaesthetic Gases in Hospitals: A Systematic Review of Methods and Techniques to Assess Air Concentration Levels.

Objective During the induction of gaseous anaesthesia, waste anaesthetic gases (WAGs) can be released into workplace air. Occupational exposure to high levels of halogenated WAGs may lead to adverse health effects; hence, it is important to measure WAGs concentration levels to perform risk assessment and for health protection purposes. Methods A systematic review of the scientific literature was conducted on two different scientific databases (Scopus and PubMed). A total of 101 studies, focused on sevoflurane, desflurane and isoflurane exposures in hospitals, were included in this review. Key information was extracted to provide (1) a description of the study designs (e.g., monitoring methods, investigated occupational settings, anaesthetic gases in use); (2) an evaluation of time trends in the measured concentrations of considered WAGs; (3) a critical evaluation of the sampling strategies, monitoring methods and instruments used. Results Environmental monitoring was prevalent (68%) and mainly used for occupational exposure assessment during adult anaesthesia (84% of cases). Real-time techniques such as photoacoustic spectroscopy and infrared spectrophotometry were used in 58% of the studies, while off-line approaches such as active or passive sampling followed by GC-MS analysis were used less frequently (39%). Conclusions The combination of different instrumental techniques allowing the collection of data with different time resolutions was quite scarce (3%) despite the fact that this would give the opportunity to obtain reliable data for testing the compliance with 8 h occupational exposure limit values and at the same time to evaluate short-term exposures.