Abstract
BackgroundRelease of ambient metals during ferroalloy production may be an important source of environmental exposure for nearby communities and exposure to these metals has been linked to adverse respiratory outcomes. We sought to characterize the association between personal air levels of metals and respiratory health in Italian adolescents living in communities with historic and current ferroalloy activity.MethodsAs part of a study in the industrial province of Brescia, Italy, 410 adolescents aged 11–14 years were recruited. Participants were enrolled from three different communities with varying manganese (Mn) levels: Bagnolo Mella which has current ferroalloy activity, Valcamonica, which has historic ferroalloy activity and Garda Lake which has no history of ferroalloy activity. Particulate matter <10 μm in diameter (PM10) was collected for 24 h in filters using personal sampling. Mn, nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr) and iron (Fe) were measured in filters using x-ray fluorescence. Data on respiratory health was collected through questionnaire. Data for 280 adolescents were analyzed using a modified Poisson regression, and risk ratios were calculated for an interquartile (IQR) range increase in each pollutant.ResultsIn adjusted models including PM10 as a co-pollutant, we found significant associations between concentrations of Mn (RR: 1.09, 95 % CI [1.00, 1.18] per 42 ng/m3 increase), Ni (RR: 1.11, 95 % CI [1.03, 1.21] per 4 ng/m3 increase) and Cr (RR: 1.08, 95 % CI [1.06, 1.11] per 9 ng/m3 increase) and parental report of asthma. We also found significant associations between increased Mn and Ni and increased risk of asthma medication use in the past 12 months (RR: 1.13, 95 % CI [1.04, 1.29] and (RR: 1.13, 95 % CI [1.01, 1.27] respectively).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that exposure to ambient Mn, Ni and Cr may be associated with adverse respiratory outcomes.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-016-0173-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
Release of ambient metals during ferroalloy production may be an important source of environmental exposure for nearby communities and exposure to these metals has been linked to adverse respiratory outcomes
Characteristics of cohort and pollutant concentrations A total of 410 participants were enrolled during the second phase of recruitment. 373/410 (91 %) returned the respiratory questionnaire and 280/373 (75 %) had corresponding personal environmental monitoring data and complete covariate data
There were no significant differences across study sites except that a slightly higher percentage of children lived in an urban area in Bagnolo Mella and Valcamonica when compared to Garda Lake
Summary
Release of ambient metals during ferroalloy production may be an important source of environmental exposure for nearby communities and exposure to these metals has been linked to adverse respiratory outcomes. Recent evidence implicates environmental exposure to several individual airborne metals and adverse respiratory outcomes. In New York City, central site ambient measures of Ni were associated with increased probability of wheeze in children aged 24 months [11]. Central site levels of ambient Zn were associated with increases in emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations for asthma in a pediatric population in Baltimore [12]. In California, increased ambient levels of Fe and Zn were associated with respiratory hospital admissions among children [13]. A review of the literature on the respiratory effects of metals in ambient PM reported that most studies showed an increased risk of respiratory morbidity with increasing concentrations of these metals [14]
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