title: [Exploratory biomonitoring study among workers of livestock farms of the Taranto Province].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  to conduct a survey on blood levels of metals and organochlorine compounds (dioxins and PCBs) among workers of livestock farms, and to identify the factors able to explain the magnitude and variability of the measured concentrations.
  
  
  METHODS
  exploratory human biomonitoring study.
  
  
  METHODS
  a sample of 45 workers from farms (masserie) located in the Province of Taranto was included in the study. The farms, located between 6 and 43 km from the industrial area, are family owned and animals (mainly sheep and goats) are locally reared outdoors. The study subjects have similar eating habits, including food consumption resulting from their production.
  
  
  RESULTS
  manganese concentrations and, to a lesser extent, arsenic, cadmium and lead are in the medium-high range of levels observed in the Italian general population. This study does not identify factors able to explain the variability in the blood levels of metals. The amount of dioxins and PCBs, on the other hand, is strongly associated both with subjects age and the distance of farm from the industrial site.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  the results of this survey are suggestive of research hypotheses that need to be confirmed by biomonitoring studies of adequate design and size, in particular the hypothesis that the blood level of dioxins and PCBs decreases with increasing distance from the industrial site. We recommend ad hoc studies to better characterize the exposure of farmers (also associated with agricultural activities), and of the inhabitants of Taranto, to environmental persistent pollutants, also in terms of food matrices locally produced and consumed.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento ambiente e connessa prevenzione primaria, Istituto superiore di sanità, Roma. ivano.iavarone@iss.it
authors.forename: Ivano
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Iavarone
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: De Felip
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ingelido
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iacovella
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abballe
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Valentini
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Marra
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Violante
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: D'Ilio
authors.forename: Oreste
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Senofonte
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.forename: Costanza
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Majorani
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alimonti
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conversano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D004147:Dioxins / Q000097:blood*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D058751:Livestock; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls