Biomonitoring of Hydroxylated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Metabolites in Workers at a Waste-to-Energy Incinerator, Turin, Italy

Elena Farina (), Anna Laura Iamiceli, Manuela Orengia, Martina Gandini, Laura Crosetto, Vittorio Abate, Stefania Paola De Filippis, Silvia De Luca, Nicola Iacovella, Elena De Felip and Antonella Bena
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Elena Farina: Department of Epidemiology, ASL TO3, Via Martiri XXX Aprile 30, 10093 Collegno (Turin), Italy
Anna Laura Iamiceli: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Manuela Orengia: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Via Pio VII 9, 10135 Turin, Italy
Martina Gandini: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Via Pio VII 9, 10135 Turin, Italy
Laura Crosetto: Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, Regional Environmental Protection Agency, Via Pio VII 9, 10135 Turin, Italy
Vittorio Abate: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Stefania Paola De Filippis: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Silvia De Luca: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Nicola Iacovella: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Elena De Felip: Department of Environment and Health, Italian National Institute for Health, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Antonella Bena: Department of Epidemiology, ASL TO3, Via Martiri XXX Aprile 30, 10093 Collegno (Turin), Italy

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: This paper presents the results of the human biomonitoring of ten urinary OH-PAHs (hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon) in a cohort of workers at an incinerator in Turin, Italy. Long-term exposure was assessed through repeated measurements at three time points: before the startup (T0), after 1 year (T1), and after 3 years (T2). Paired data were available for 26 subjects, seven administrative workers (AWs) and 19 plant workers (PWs). Short-term exposure was assessed by comparing start-end shift measurements. Due to the non-normal distribution of the data, the nonparametric Cuzick’s test for trend and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired samples were used. Neither the trend nor the T0-T2 comparison tests resulted in statistically significant outputs in the two groups (q-value > 0.05), even when controlling for smoking habits. In relation to PWs, some of the metabolites were higher at T2 with respect to T0, but no linear increase was found. Conversely, 1-OH-PYR (ng/g creatinine) showed lower median values at T1 (61.5) and T2 (67) compared to the baseline (151.3). Similarly, short-term comparisons yielded no significant results, with rather overlapping distributions of values. Overall, no significant increases in metabolite levels were detected as a result of occupational exposure in the incinerator workers considered. These findings align with previous results for metals and ambient air measurements.

Keywords: waste-to-energy plant; exposure biomarkers; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; occupational exposure; longitudinal study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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