Waste is part of the agenda of the European Environment and Health Process and included among the topics of the Sixth Ministerial Conference on Environment and Health. Disposal and management of ...hazardous waste are worldwide challenges. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the evidence of the health impact of hazardous waste exposure, applying transparent and a priori defined methods. The following five steps, based on pre-defined systematic criteria, were applied. 1. Specify the research question, in terms of "Population-Exposure-Comparators-Outcomes" (PECO).
people living near hazardous waste sites; Exposure: exposure to hazardous waste; Comparators: all comparators; Outcomes: all diseases/health disorders. 2. Carry out the literature search, in Medline and EMBASE. 3. Select studies for inclusion: original epidemiological studies, published between 1999 and 2015, on populations residentially exposed to hazardous waste. 4. Assess the quality of selected studies, taking into account study design, exposure and outcome assessment, confounding control. 5. Rate the confidence in the body of evidence for each outcome taking into account the reliability of each study, the strength of the association and concordance of results.Fifty-seven papers of epidemiological investigations on the health status of populations living near hazardous waste sites were selected for the evidence evaluation. The association between 95 health outcomes (diseases and disorders) and residential exposure to hazardous waste sites was evaluated. Health effects of residential hazardous waste exposure, previously partially unrecognized, were highlighted. Sufficient evidence was found of association between exposure to oil industry waste that releases high concentrations of hydrogen sulphide and acute symptoms. The evidence of causal relationship with hazardous waste was defined as limited for: liver, bladder, breast and testis cancers, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, asthma, congenital anomalies overall and anomalies of the neural tube, urogenital, connective and musculoskeletal systems, low birth weight and pre-term birth; evidence was defined as inadequate for the other health outcomes. The results, although not conclusive, provide indications that more effective public health policies on hazardous waste management are urgently needed. International, national and local authorities should oppose and eliminate poor, outdated and illegal practices of waste disposal, including illegal transboundary trade, and increase support regulation and its enforcement.
A short account of the fundamental principles of molecular mechanics modeling of inorganic compounds, based on recent review articles, is followed by a review of methods for the tuning and validation ...of force fields. As a case study we then concentrate on recent developments in the modeling of blue copper proteins. Advantages and limitations of purely quantum mechanical methods, QM/MM approaches and empirical force field calculations, as well as the problem of the validation of the results are discussed in detail.
Objectives: Waste management in the Campania region has been characterised, since the 1980s, by widespread uncontrolled and illegal practices of waste dumping, generating concerns over the health ...implications. The objective of this study was to evaluate possible adverse health effects of such environmental pressure. Methods: The health effects of waste-related environmental exposures in Campania were assessed in a correlation study on nine causes of death (for the years 1994–2001) and 12 types of congenital anomaly (CA) (1996–2002) in 196 municipalities of the provinces of Naples and Caserta. Poisson regression was used to analyse the association between health outcomes and environmental contamination due to waste, as measured through a composite index, adjusting for deprivation. Results: Statistically significant excess relative risks (ERR, %) in high-index compared with low-index (unexposed) municipalities were found for all-cause mortality (9.2 (95% CI 6.5 to 11.9) in men and 12.4 (9.5 to 15.4) in women and liver cancer (19.3 (1.4 to 40.3) in men and 29.1 (7.6 to 54.8) in women). Increased risks were also found for all cancer mortality (both sexes), stomach and lung cancer (in men). Statistically significant ERRs were found for CAs of the internal urogenital system (82.7 (25.6 to 155.7)) and of the central nervous system (83.5 (24.7 to 169.9)). Conclusion: Although the causal nature of the association is uncertain, findings support the hypothesis that waste-related environmental exposures in Campania produce increased risks of mortality and, to a lesser extent, CAs.
•In Italy, 2003–2014, 747 recorded deaths for malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (0.10/100,000).•Mesothelioma annual mortality rates: 0.14/100,000 in men, 0.07 in women.•4% of mesothelioma deaths in ...men and 6.15% in women are peritoneal mesotheliomas.•In 364 municipalities significant excesses of mortality for MPeM.•Five mortality significant clusters (p < 0.10) were detected.
This study is part of a national plan of epidemiological surveillance of malignant mesothelioma (MM) mortality in Italy. The paper shows the results of malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (MPeM) mortality study in Italian Regions and municipalities.
National Bureau of Statistics data for MPeM municipal mortality (ICD-10, Code C45.1) were analyzed in the time-window 2003–2014: mortality standardized rates (reference Italian population, census 2011), temporal trends of the annual national rates, Standardized Mortality Ratios and a municipal clustering analysis were performed.
747 deaths for MPeM were recorded (0.10/100,000): 464 in men (0.14/100,000) and in 283 women (0.07/100,000). No significant MPeM mortality temporal trend was found.
Seventeen municipalities showed excesses of mortality for MPeM in at least one gender and/or overall population.
Four clusters in male population, and one in women were identified.
The study identifies some areas where remediation activities and/or health care actions may be warranted.
Approximative density-functional theory calculations indicate that the tetradentate ligand L (L = 2,4-bis-(2-pyridyl)-3,7-diaza-3.3.1-bicyclononane) enforces an unusual and strong binding of a ...co-ligand (substrate) to a copper(II) center. The co-ligand in Cu(L)(Cl)+ completes a square-pyramidal coordination around copper(II) and binds in the equatorial plane rather than on the apical position. This configuration is a stable geometric isomer for the model complex Cu(NH3)2(imine)2(Cl)+, but it is disfavored by approximately 10 kJ mol-1 and not commonly observed for CuN4 chromophores with a monodentate co-ligand. The equatorial coordination increases the bond energy of the copper(II)−chloride bond by approximately 80 kJ mol-1, and similar results are expected for other copper(II)−L-substrate complexes, some of which show strong catalytic activity or unusual stability. Despite the enforced configuration, L does not impose significant steric strain on the copper(II) center but is well preorganized for the Jahn−Teller labile ion in this unusual geometry. The preorganization extends to the orientation of the pyridine donors (torsion angle around the copper−pyridine bond), and this seems to be of importance in the reactivity of the copper−L complexes and their derivatives.
The aim of the present study is to investigate cancer mortality and residence in the neighbourhood of the petrochemical plant located in Brindisi, South-eastern Italy. Cases were all subjects ...resident in Brindisi and in three neighbouring municipalities who died in the study area in 1996-1997 from lung cancer, pleural neoplasm, bladder cancer and lymphohematopoietic malignancies. Controls were subjects resident in the same area and deceased in 1996-1997 for any cause except those listed for the cases. Next of kin's of all study subjects were visited by an interviewer who collected anamnestic information. The main residence of each subject, defined as the longest held residence with exclusion of the last 10 years, was reported on a digitalized map of the study area (MapInfo). The study included 144 cases and 176 controls; response rate was 98%. Residence within 2 km from the centre of the petrochemical plant was associated with a 3 fold increase of the Odds ratios (OR) for lung cancer, which did not reach statistical significance. Living close to the petrochemical plant was associated with moderate increase of OR for bladder cancer and lymphohematopoietic neoplasms which did not reach statistical significance. In conclusion the present study has shown moderate increases in risk for lung, bladder and lymphohematopoietic neoplasms in the population resident within 2 km from the centre of the petrochemical plant in Brindisi. These figures were confirmed after adjusting for smoking habit, occupation and school level. Random misclassification may have somehow resulted in risk underestimation.
Aims: To investigate the association between occurrence of soft tissue sarcomas (STS) in Mantua and residence near an incinerator of industrial wastes. Methods: Cases were subjects with ...histologically confirmed primary malignant STS diagnosed 1989–98 in the population resident in Mantua and in the three neighbouring municipalities. Controls were randomly extracted from population registries, matched for age and sex. Residential history was reconstructed for all study subjects since 1960. Main residence was geographically positioned according to GPS standards. Results: The study included 37 STS cases (17 men and 20 women) and 171 controls. The incidence of STS in the area of study was estimated as 8.8 per 100 000 in men and 5.6 per 100 000 in women. The odds ratio associated with residence within 2 km, standardised by age and sex, was 31.4 (95% CI 5.6 to 176.1), based on five exposed cases. At greater distances, risk rapidly decreased, showing a fluctuation around the null value of 1. Conclusion: The study shows a significant increase in risk of STS associated with residence within 2 km of an industrial waste incinerator; an aetiological role of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) can be hypothesised.
Multidentate and in particular macrocyclic and rigid ligands may enforce a particular structure on a metal complex. Molecular properties, such as stabilities, reduction potentials, reactivities and ...spectroscopic properties depend on the molecular structures, and molecular properties may, therefore, be tuned by the ligand architectures. Approaches to predict structures and properties will be briefly reviewed and important concepts, including ligand preorganization, complementarity, flexibility, elasticity and energization (entatic states) will be discussed in detail.
Much of the selectivity and efficiency of chemical transformations, which involve metalloproteins is due to a modulation of the properties of the metal ions by the protein to which they are bound. ...Geometric and electronic distortions, enforced by the protein backbone, and specific electrostatic fields and solvation patterns (e.g. hydrophobic pockets) may lead to a destabilization of the catalytically active site (metal center(s) and/or enzyme–substrate complex(es)) and, therefore, to a (selective) activation of certain reaction channels. This is known as the ‘energization theory’ or, for specific cases, the ‘entatic state’ principle. Examples, where specifically enforced coordination geometries lead to stresses and enhanced reactivities range from biological systems (metalloproteins and enzymes) to classical coordination compounds and processes of industrial importance (catalytic systems which involve organometallic and transition metal coordination compounds). Hence, entasis is not refined to metalloproteins; reactions induced by metal-free enzymes or by small coordination compounds may also involve strained, that is entatic states. Based on few selected examples, which include the classical cases of the blue copper proteins and of electron transfer in general, as well as simple coordination compounds and organometallic catalysis, it is shown that a thorough analysis and interpretation of enhanced reactivities may in general not be assigned exclusively to steric strain. However, specific coordination geometries, enforced by the ligand sphere (protein or simple organic compounds) which may or may not be strained are often of importance. One of the main conclusions is that the understanding, design and synthesis of new compounds with specific and enhanced reactivities may involve similar thoughts, tools and difficulties as the design and study of highly preorganized ligands in areas such as metal ion recognition and host–guest interactions in general.
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