Environmental Micropollutants in Livestock Products from Susa Valley in Piedmont R
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Recent Advances in Environmental Science and Geoscience Environmental micropollutants in livestock products from Susa Valley in Piedmont R. Desiato, E. Baioni, V. Filipello, G. Cuttica, B. Sparagna, P. Berruto, M. C. Abete, S. Bertolini, C. Maurella, M. Caramelli, L. Chiavacci, G. Ru. Abstract—Objective: The aim was to describe the contamination I. INTRODUCTION due to dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs of cattle dairy and meat products The term “dioxin” refers to a group of polycyclic aromatic in cattle herds from Susa Valley in Piedmont since the first half of 2000 years. Design: Descriptive study based on a biomonitoring compounds which belong to a family of 210 molecules campaign on bovine bulk milk and muscle. Setting and participants: (congeners) with similar chemical, physical and toxicological The official samplings have been carried out between 2004 ad 2010: properties non intentionally produced by humans. There are 75 the dataset refers to respectively 99 dairy and 24 muscle samples congeners of polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs) or from 51 cattle herds based in 23 municipalities of the valley. Main dioxins and 135 Polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) or outcome measures: Counts and frequencies of samples exceeding furans, but only 10 PCDDs congeners and 7 PCDFs congeners either the maximum levels or the action levels set by the European are toxicologically significant. legislation. Results: dl-PCBs showed median concentration values The most toxic is the 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin double when compared with dioxins values. More than 60% of both (TCDD) classifies Group I, which means “carcinogenic to the milk samples and herds exceeded the action levels with the involvement of 10 municipalities most of which nearby a local steel humans”, by the International Agency for Research on Cancer smelter. The dl-PCB values in milk were associated with the distance (IARC) in 1997 (http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/ of each herd from the steel plant. However the temporal trend Monographs/vol69/volume69.pdf). highlights a clear decrease of the contamination over the 2004-2010 Lately the 2,3,4,7,8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran (PeCDF) too has period, when the plant was renewed and the production levels where been included in the same group, while the other dioxins and negatively impacted by the global economical crisis. Conclusion: The furans congeners have been included in Group 3 or “not findings of the monitoring activity allowed the understanding of the classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans” origin and the spatio-temporal evolution of the contamination: this (http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol100F/mono10 knowledge may be helpful in orienting future controls and the risk 0F-27.pdf). mitigation strategies. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic products allowed for industrial use until 1990s. They are 209 aromatic Keywords—dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs, environmental contamination, cattle, biomonitoring. compounds, 12 of them have the same toxicological significance as dioxins and furans (dioxin-like PCBs or DL- PCBs). In the same IARC update the 126 PCB too has been R. Desiato is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e included in Group 1, while in the main other DL-PCBs have Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (corresponding author: +39-011-2686372; been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” (Group fax: +39-011-2686371; e-mail: [email protected]). 2A). E. Baioni is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle The environmental damage in a Susa Valley area, in Torino d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) province, became clear after some investigations performed by V. Filipello was with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy. She is now with the Department of the Regional Agency for Environment Protection (ARPA) of Veterinary Sciences, University of Turin, Grugliasco, 10095 Italy (e-mail: Piedmont and by the Local Health Service (ASL) in charge. [email protected]) Those surveys begun in 2004 following calls from citizens and G. Cuttica is with the Department of Vercelli Province of Regional Agency majors of 2 municipalities (Bruzolo and San Didero) which for Environment Protection (ARPA) of Piedmont, Vercelli, 13100 Italy (e- mail: [email protected]) were worried by the copious emissions of a steel plant B. Sparagna is with the Local Health Service (ASL TO3), of Collegno and operating locally since 1960s. The productive system analysis Pinerolo, Turin, 10093, Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) done by ARPA Micropollutants Unit confirmed the existence P. Berruto is with the Local Health Service (ASL TO3), of Collegno and of emissions not adequately captured, while analysis on Pinerolo, Turin, 10093, Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) M.C. Abete is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e environmental samples proved the presence of considerable Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) amounts of heavy metals and micropollutants (PCBs, dioxins S. Bertolini is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e and furans) [1]. Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) The area, which has a strong local agriculture and animal C. Maurella is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) husbandry sector, it’s shaped in a narrow but long alpine M. Caramelli is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e valley which extend from the plain near the city of Torino on Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) the East, to the Alps on the West. On its territory there are lots L. Chiavacci is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e of breeding farms (pig, poultry and cattle): in local cattle farms Valle d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) G. Ru is with the Istituto Zooprofilatttico del Piemonte, Liguria e Valle the diet is almost exclusively based on locally produced d'Aosta, Torino, 10154 Italy (e-mail: [email protected]) fodders. In the area there were 333 cattle farms, nearly half of ISBN: 978-1-61804-224-8 33 Recent Advances in Environmental Science and Geoscience them were both milk and meat oriented, while the remaining II. MATERIALS AND METHODS were mostly specialized on meat production rather than dairy. As located in a mountain area, most farm were small to The data used refer to bulk milk, which means obtained from medium size, with less than 30 head of cattle in 60% of cases. the whole barn (not from a single head) and individual Following the emerging environmental data, the veterinary muscular tissue samples (meat). service of the in charge ASL undertook between December In 23 municipalities, along the Valley axis, by the end of 2004 2004 and February 2005 the first investigations on animal and until 2010, were subjected to sampling on the whole 51 origin food collecting samples of milk and meat from 30 farms cattle farms with a total of 123 samples (99 milk samples and located along the entire length of the valley. The monitoring 24 meat samples). campaign was planned on the basis of available knowledge: The monitoring covered initially the entire length of Susa the primary way of entering of dioxins and furans in the Valley, then were focused gradually over an area considered at terrestrial food chain is the atmospheric deposition on higher risk and coincident with the eastern part of the valley. vegetables and soil surfaces, subsequently followed by The analytical investigations were carried out partly by the ingestion of fodder and soil slivers by livestock at pasture [2]. laboratories of the Institutes for Zooprophylaxis and Research Animals stock these compounds in their body fat making them (IIZZSS) of Lazio e Toscana in Rome and of Abruzzo e available to human consumption through products like milk Molise in Teramo, and partly by the laboratory of the and meat [3]. Micropollutants Unit of ARPA Piemonte in Grugliasco Part of the samples turned out to be contaminated with dioxins (Turin). The analytes were identified, confirmed and and furans above the allowed threshold. Therefore restrictive quantified using gas chromatography with high resolution mass measures were applied in order to prevent the spectrometry (GC- HRMS) as required by EU Regulation commercialization of milk and meat yielded by some farms for 1883/2006 and following EPA methods 1613 and 1668 [5], variable length time spans. [6]. From 2005 to 2007, due to the releasing procedure for The Regulation calls for the typing of the toxicologically Integrated Environmental Authorization (AIA) issued by relevant 17 congeners of dioxins and furans and 12 dl-PCBs. Torino province, were carried out in the steel plant some The evolution of legislation meant that the samples have been interventions in order to enhance smoke capture and the classified differently along the time according to the limits in abatement of organic micropollutants in the emissions [1]. force at the time of sampling. For the purposes of this study, The following sampling campaigns conducted between 2007 were used as reference the values defined by the law in force and 2010 were focused partly on monitoring farms proved to in the whole 2011 (Regulation 199/2006/CE and Community be contaminated but with contamination levels in the Recommendations).