Mutagenicity test of extracts of airborne dust from the municipal incinerator of trieste

Abstract

The composition of the effluents from incineration plants has been studied by several authors, and some chemical compounds have been identified as hazardous to the health of the people living in the environs of such plants. On the other hand, very little is known about the chemical risks for the people working inside the incineration plants. In the present paper, an evaluation of these risks has been attempted by testing for the mutagenic activity of the extracts of airborne particulates collected inside the working area of the Municipal Incinerator of Trieste. Most samples of dust were proved to be mutagenic by the Ames test, indicating that the environment is heavily polluted with incompletely burnt materials. In fact, when a sample of settled dust was heated at high temperatures, its mutagenic activity disappeared. In addition, samples of solid residues collected at the end of the combustion process showed only weak, if any, mutagenic response.

Prevalence of Impaired Lung Function in Rubber Manufacturing Factory Workers Exposed to Benzo(d)pyrene and Respirable Particulate Matter

“…Such a particle size distribution is consistent with the results from the pulmonary function tests, because the smaller the size of the particle, the deeper it is likely to penetrate into the lung [5], This study showed that the lowest measures of lung function were found in the work ers from the compounding section, which was the most polluted environment. Furthermore, the longer the work ers had spent in the factory, the lower was their lung func tion, regardless with which stage of the production pro cess they were involved.…”

“…Rubber factory workers Pulmonary function Forced expiratory volume Suspended particulate matter Benzo(a)pyrene Radiological abnormalities known to be capable of causing acute or chronic respira tory effects [4][5][6][7], there is a need for detailed information on the effect of the size of suspended particles, or work place benzo(a)pyrene concentration, on lung function in rubber manufacturing workers. For this reason, the present study was carried out to examine two measures of lung function, namely the forced vital capacity (FVC; the volume of air expelled by a maximum voluntary expira tion after a maximum voluntary inspiration) and the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEVi ; that part of the FVC expired in the 1st second of expiration) in workers in a rubber manufacturing factory.…”

Cytotoxicity of Airborne Particulates Sampled Roadside in Rodent and Human Lung Fibroblasts.

“…Pollutants released from industry, 1) diesel and gasoline engines, 2,3) incineration, 4) home heating 5) and other activities, consist of complex chemical components, among them, potential and proven mutagens and carcinogens. 6,7) These complex chemical components might interact.…”

Bacterial mutagenicity of pyrolysis tars produced from chloro-organic fuels.

“…Several classes of PACs, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, have been found in the emissions ofrefuse incinerators burning chlorinated wastes (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14). Increased resistance to biodegradation has been associated with increased chlorine substitution, as evidenced by the environmental persistence and accumulation of polychlorinated aromatics (15).…”