Leucemie e raffinazione del petrolio

Diversi internauti ci chiedono, a titolo esclusivamente informativo, se le attività produttive legate alla raffinazione del petrolio sono pericolose per la salute. Indichiamo sul nostro sito alcuni articoli scientifici tratti dalla letteratura internazionale.

Dai dati da noi acquisiti, sembrerebbe che l'esposizione a prodotti e solventi contenenti benzene si associ a tossicità midollare. Studi epidemiologici condotti sia su modelli animali che su lavoratori esposti a benzene documentano un incremento statisticamente significativo di leucemie, in particolare leucemia acuta mieloide e leucemia linfocitica cronica. Rispetto al rapporto tra esposizione al benzene e leucemia mieloide cronica i dati non sono univoci.

Tra le fonti di inquinamento citiamo: processi industriali, combustione di carbone e petrolio, gas di scarico di autoveicoli ed esposizione a fumo di sigaretta. Il benzene presente nell'aria può ovviamente venire a contatto con l'acqua ed il suolo a seguito di pioggie e nevicate contaminate, con ripercussioni importanti sulla salute umana ed animale.

Nell'ambito della medicina del lavoro, i controlli sui lavoratori del petrolchimico sono effettuati annualmente e consistono nella spirometria ed in analisi di laboratorio quali emocromo con formula leucocitaria, transaminasi, gamma GT, creatininemia, esame delle urine con ricerca dell'acido transmuconico a fine turno lavorativo.

Sperando di essere stati sintetici ed esaustivi vi auguriamo una buona lettura.

Laboratorio e Poliambulatorio Polo Biomedico Adriatico

Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2006 Sep;1076:110-9.

Dangerous and cancer-causing properties of products and chemicals in the oil refining and petrochemical industries.

Part XXX: Causal relationship between chronic myelogenous leukemia and benzene-containing solvents.

Mehlman MA.

Source

Abstract

Benzene and benzene-containing products and solvents have long been associated with bone marrow toxicity. Both animal studies and human epidemiological studies have shown statistically significant increases of leukemia and other lymphohematopoietic cancers in workers exposed to benzene. The most common leukemia that has been associated with benzene exposure, also called benzene poisoning, is acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). A review of the epidemiological literature on workers exposed to benzene or benzene-containing solvents and products shows, without question, that this exposure is significantly related to other types of leukemia and lymphoma. In this article, we review the literature on the relationship between benzene exposure and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and find that benzene and benzene-containing products are significantly related to morbidity and mortality from CML.

Environ Health. 2010 Jun 28;9:31.

Exposure to benzene at work and the risk of leukemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Khalade A, Jaakkola MS, Pukkala E, Jaakkola JJ.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

A substantial number of epidemiologic studies have provided estimates of the relation between exposure to benzene at work and the risk of leukemia, but the results have been heterogeneous. To bridge this gap in knowledge, we synthesized the existing epidemiologic evidence on the relation between occupational exposure to benzene and the risk of leukemia, including all types combined and the four main subgroups acute myeloid leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

METHODS:

A systematic literature review was carried out using two databases 'Medline' and 'Embase' from 1950 through to July 2009. We selected articles which provided information that can be used to estimate the relation between benzene exposure and cancer risk (effect size).

RESULTS:

In total 15 studies were identified in the search, providing 16 effect estimates for the main analysis. The summary effect size for any leukemia from the fixed-effects model was 1.40 (95% CI, 1.23-1.57), but the study-specific estimates were strongly heterogeneous (I2 = 56.5%, Q stat = 34.47, p = 0.003). The random-effects model yielded a summary- effect size estimate of 1.72 (95% CI, 1.37-2.17). Effect estimates from 9 studies were based on cumulative exposures. In these studies the risk of leukemia increased with a dose-response pattern with a summary-effect estimate of 1.64 (95% CI, 1.13-2.39) for low ( 100 ppm-years). In a meta-regression, the trend was statistically significant (P = 0.015). Use of cumulative exposure eliminated heterogeneity. The risk of AML also increased from low (1.94, 95% CI, 0.95-3.95), medium (2.32, 95% CI, 0.91-5.94) to high exposure category (3.20, 95% CI, 1.09-9.45), but the trend was not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our study provides consistent evidence that exposure to benzene at work increases the risk of leukemia with a dose-response pattern. There was some evidence of an increased risk of AML and CLL. The meta-analysis indicated a lack of association between benzene exposure and the risk of CML.