Health Risk Associated with Exposure to PM10 and Benzene in Three Italian Towns.

Antonella De Donno,Milena Villarini,Adele Idolo,Silvia Bonetta,Umberto Gelatti,Marco Verani,Annalaura Carducci,Cristina Pignata,Tiziana Grassi,Elisabetta Ceretti,Donatella Feretti,Francesco Bagordo,Silvia Bonizzoni,Massimo Moretti,Alberto Bonetti,Mattia De Giorgi,Francesca Serio

doi:10.3390/ijerph15081672

Abstract

Air pollution in urban areas is a major concern as it negatively affects the health of a large number of people. The purpose of this study was to assess the inhalation health risk for exposure to PM10 and benzene of the populations living in three Italian cities. Data regarding PM10 and benzene daily measured by “traffic” stations and “background” stations in Torino, Perugia, and Lecce during 2014 and 2015 were compared to the limits indicated in the Directive 2008/50/EC. In addition, an inhalation risk analysis for exposure to benzene was performed for adults and children by applying the standard United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) methodology. The levels of PM10 detected in Torino exceeded the legal limits in both years with an increased mean concentration >10 µg/m3 comparing with background station. Benzene concentrations never exceeded the legislative target value. The increased cancer risk (ICR) for children exposed to benzene was greater than 1 × 10−6 only in the city of Torino, while for adults, the ICR was higher than 1 × 10−6 in all the cities. The results suggest the need for emission reduction policies to preserve human health from continuous and long exposure to air pollutants. A revision of legal limits would also be recommended.

Highlights

Outdoor air pollution is one of the most important environmental problem in both industrialized and developing countries, and in 2013, it was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) [1]
The aim of this research was to assess the level of exposure to particularly components less than 10 μm (PM10) and benzene of people living in urban areas affected by vehicular traffic of three Italian cities (Torino, Perugia, and Lecce) and their inhalation health risk
In this study the data concerning the airborne concentration of PM10 and benzene in Torino, Perugia and Lecce, detected by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency’s monitoring stations located in each city, were acquired; the level of atmospheric pollution attributable to these contaminants was assessed comparing the data with the limits indicated in the Italian legislation; and the analysis of inhalation risk associated to benzene exposure was performed according to standard

Summary

Introduction

Outdoor air pollution is one of the most important environmental problem in both industrialized and developing countries, and in 2013, it was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1) [1]. It impacts over 600 million people living in urban areas who are exposed to dangerous levels of pollutants generated mainly by vehicular traffic, industrial activity, and, during the winter, by domestic heating systems. NO2 , NO, NOx , PM10 , O3 , Heavy metal 1 , PAH 2 Parco Cortonese

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