Sara FABBI - personale UniMoRe

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Sara FABBI

Personale tecnico amministrativo
Dipartimento di Ingegneria "Enzo Ferrari"

Pubblicazioni

2024 - Residential exposure to magnetic fields from transformer stations and risk of childhood leukemia [Articolo su rivista]
Malavolti, M.; Malagoli, C.; Wise, L. A.; Poli, M.; Notari, B.; Taddei, I.; Fabbi, S.; Teggi, S.; Balboni, E.; Pancaldi, A.; Palazzi, G.; Vinceti, M.; Filippini, T.
abstract

Background: Several studies have documented an increased risk of leukemia among children exposed to magnetic fields from high-voltage power lines, with some evidence of dose-response relation. However, findings in some studies have been inconsistent, and data on the effects of different sources of exposure are lacking. In this study, we evaluated the relation of childhood leukemia risk to exposure to magnetic fields from transformer stations. Methods: We conducted a population-based case-control study in a pediatric population of two Northern Italian provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. We included 182 registry-identified childhood leukemia cases diagnosed during 1998-2019 and 726 population controls matched on sex, year of birth, and province of residence. We assessed exposure by calculating distance from childhood residence to the nearest transformer station within a geographical information system, computing disease odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. We evaluated exposure using two buffers (15 m and 25 m radius) and assessed two case groups: leukemia (all subtypes) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Results: Residing within 15 m of a transformer station (vs. ≥15 m) was not appreciably associated with risk of leukemia (all subtypes) or ALL. We found similar results using a less stringent exposure buffer (25 m). Among children aged ≥5 years, the adjusted ORs were 1.3 (95% CI 0.1-12.8) for leukemia and 1.3 (95% CI 0.1-12.4) for ALL using the 15 m buffer, while they were 1.7 (95% CI 0.4-7.0) for leukemia and 0.6 (95% CI 0.1-4.8) for ALL using the 25 m buffer. Conclusions: While we found no overall association between residential proximity to transformer stations and childhood leukemia, there was some evidence for elevated risk of childhood leukemia among children aged ≥5 years. Precision was limited by the low numbers of exposed children.

2023 - Residential exposure to magnetic fields from high-voltage power lines and risk of childhood leukemia [Articolo su rivista]
Malagoli, C.; Malavolti, M.; Wise, L. A.; Balboni, E.; Fabbi, S.; Teggi, S.; Palazzi, G.; Cellini, M.; Poli, M.; Zanichelli, P.; Notari, B.; Cherubini, A.; Vinceti, M.; Filippini, T.
abstract

Background: Several studies have suggested an excess risk of leukemia among children living close to high-voltage power lines and exposed to magnetic fields. However, not all studies have yielded consistent results, and many studies may have been susceptible to confounding and exposure misclassification. Methods: We conducted a case-control study to investigate the risk of leukemia associated with magnetic field exposure from high-voltage power lines. Eligible participants were children aged 0–15 years residing in the Northern Italian provinces of Modena and Reggio Emilia. We included all 182 registry-identified childhood leukemia cases diagnosed in 1998–2019, and 726 age-, sex- and province-matched population controls. We assessed exposure by calculating distance from house to nearest power line and magnetic field intensity modelling at the subjects’ residence. We used conditional logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), with adjustment for potential confounders (distance from nearest petrol station and fuel supply within the 1000 m-buffer, traffic-related particulate and benzene concentrations, presence of indoor transformers, percentage of urban area and arable crops). Results: In multivariable analyses, the OR comparing children living <100 m from high-voltage power-lines with children living ≥400 m from power-lines was 2.0 (95% CI 0.8–5.0). Results did not differ substantially by age at disease diagnosis, disease subtype, or when exposure was based on modeled magnetic field intensity, though estimates were imprecise. Spline regression analysis showed an excess risk for both overall leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia among children with residential distances <100 m from power lines, with a monotonic inverse association below this cutpoint. Conclusions: In this Italian population, close proximity to high-voltage power lines was associated with an excess risk of childhood leukemia.

2022 - Air quality (PM10) scenarios resulting from the expansion of hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle in Emilia-Romagna (Northern Italy) [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fabbi, Sara; Veratti, Giorgio; Bigi, Alessandro; Ghermandi, Grazia
abstract

2022 - Exposure to overhead high-voltage power lines and childhood leukemia risk: an Italian population-based case-control study [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Malavolti, Marcella; Fabbi, Sara; Zanichelli, Paolo; Notari, Barbara; Poli, Maurizio; Palazzi, Giovanni; Cellini, Monica; Filippini, Tommaso; Teggi, Sergio; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Background Previous epidemiologic findings suggest a positive association between magnetic field exposure induced by high voltage power lines and childhood leukemia (CL). Contrasting results are still reported, possibly biased by exposure misclassification, relying on different assessment methods across studies, and by unmeasured confounders. Methods/Approach We further studied this relation in the Modena and Reggio Emilia provinces (Northern Italy), and through a modelling exposure assessment we identified the corridors along high voltage power lines with magnetic field intensity in the 0.1-0.4 µT ranges. Then we identified 182 cases of newly-diagnosed CL within these provinces from 1998 to 2019. We sampled four age-, sex-, province of residence- and calendar year- matched controls for each case. We computed the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI) of CL in a conditional logistic regression analysis according to distance between home address at the time of diagnosis of the case and the nearest high voltage power line and also to residential magnetic field modeled intensity. Results OR of CL was 0.9 (95% CI 0.5-1.6), 0.9 (95% CI 0.4-2.0), 1.5 (95% CI 0.5-4.7) and 4.0 (95% CI 1.0-16.0) for children living respectively 200-400 m, 100-200 m, 50-100 m, and less than 50 m from the nearest high voltage power line compared to those residing further than 400 m. OR of CL associated with residence in the area with exposure >0.1 µT was 8.0 (95% CI 0.7-88.2). Conclusions Though the number of exposed children in this study was too low to allow firm conclusions, yielding in such cases high but very imprecise estimates, our results seem more suggestive of an excess risk of leukemia among children living close to electric power lines or exposed to higher magnetic fields intensity.

2022 - IMPATTO DELLA DIFFUSIONE DI VEICOLI ELETTRICI E A IDROGENO SULLE CONCENTRAZIONI DI PM10 IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA [Articolo su rivista]
Fabbi, Sara; Veratti, Giorgio; Bigi, Alessandro; Ghermandi, Grazia
abstract

PM10 is a critical pollutant for the air quality in Emilia Romagna, a Northern Italy region that includes a large part of the Po Valley. The atmospheric levels of PM10 are strongly affected by vehicular traffic emissions, due to fuel exhaust and also to tires, brake and road surface wear, and to road dust resuspension (non-exhaust emissions). This study presents atmospheric PM10 scenarios deriving from vehicular traffic emissions in Emilia Romagna as resulting in 2030 from the growth of the Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) fleet in the region. Both exhaust and non-exhaust vehicular emissions are considered, evaluated according to the most up-to-date regional bottom-up emission inventory, which attributes about 60% of total primary PM10 traffic emissions to wear processes. PM10 concentration maps for actual (2019) and 2030 scenarios are obtained by a Lagrangian dispersion model (PMSS). Preliminary results highlight the future impact on atmospheric PM10 from tires, brake and road surface wear produced by battery electric vehicles, due to their larger mass compared to FCEVs, which have smaller batteries and mass. These emissions will partially offset the lack of PM10 exhaust emissions for electric vehicles. Finally, the daily primary PM10 levels by traffic emissions simulated by PMSS and CHIMERE models were compared at specific sites relevant for the studied domain, i.e. the regulatory air quality monitoring stations, only for actual (2019) scenario.

2022 - Identification of SUHI in Urban Areas by Remote Sensing Data and Mitigation Hypothesis through Solar Reflective Materials [Articolo su rivista]
Costanzini, S.; Despini, F.; Beltrami, L.; Fabbi, S.; Muscio, A.; Teggi, S.
abstract

The urban heat island (UHI) is an increasingly widespread phenomenon of concern to the wellbeing and the health of populations living in urban environments. The SUHI (Surface UHI) is directly related to UHI and influences its extension and intensity. Satellite images in the thermal infrared spectral region can be used to identify and study the SUHI. In this work, Landsat 8 TIR images were acquired to study the SUHI of a medium-sized municipality of the Po valley in the northern part of Italy. An additional Worldview 3 satellite image was used to classify the study area and retrieve the surface albedo of building roofs. Using the Local Climate Zone approach, existing roof materials were virtually replaced by solar reflective materials, and the mitigation potential of the SUHI and the UHI was quantified. This virtual scenario shows a decrease in the overheating of building roofs with respect to the ambient temperature of up to 33% compared to the current situation in the industrial areas. Focusing on UHI intensity, the air temperature decrease could be up to 0.5◦C.

2021 - PMSS and gral inter-comparison: Strengths and weaknesses of the two models in reproducing Urban NOx levels in a real case application [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Veratti, G.; Bigi, A.; Fabbi, S.; Ghermandi, G.
abstract

Air dispersion models are useful tools for quantifying pollutant concentrations in urban environment however many issues related to the dispersion estimation within urban canopy still persist. Most of them concern the emissions estimation, the flow field reconstruction between obstacles (buildings, bridges, tunnels, etc.) and the pollutant dispersion driven by the estimated flow field. This study presents results of a model inter-comparison conducted in a real case study, focusing on a 6 km x 6 km square domain covering the city of Modena (Italy), between two Lagrangian dispersion models set-up with the aim of estimating the NOx concentrations produced by traffic flow within the urban area of the city. Comparisons are made between the Graz Lagrangian Model (a.k.a. GRAL) and the Parallel Micro SWIFT and SPRAY (a.k.a. PMSS) modelling suite, in terms of dispersion concentrations and computing cost. The horizontal resolution for both the models is set to 4 meters and the traffic emissions estimation is based on a bottom-up approach: the PTV VISUM traffic model is used to estimate traffic flows on the Modena urban road network and the EMEP/EEA cold and hot emission factors are employed to estimate related emissions. All the other urban emission sources were considered to contribute to the regional background concentrations and estimated with the WRF-Chem model, which estimates also initial and boundary meteorological conditions (multi-scale approach). The general objective of the inter-comparison is to use equivalent input data for both the models keeping the emissions and the meteorological initial and boundary/condition consistent so that any discrepancies in output would be the results of differences in the micro-scale dispersion models. Since different turbulence parametrisation and dispersion scheme are implemented in the two models, the goal of this study is to identify the strengths and the weaknesses of both the models in reproducing urban NOx concentrations, in a real case application, at urban traffic and urban background sites.

2020 - Estimate of Secondary NO2 Levels at Two Urban Traffic Sites Using Observations and Modelling [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Veratti, Giorgio; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

2020 - The development of a building-resolved air quality forecast system by a multi-scale model approach and its application to Modena Urban area, Italy [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Veratti, G.; Bigi, A.; Fabbi, S.; Lupascu, A.; Tinarelli, G.; Teggi, S.; Brusasca, G.; Butler, T. M.; Ghermandi, G.
abstract

One of the main critical air pollutants in terms of health effects is nitrogen dioxide (NO2), whose levels in the last years exceeded national and WHO (World Health Organization) standards in many urban areas across the Po Valley (Northern Italy), exposing urban population to the risk of pollution-related diseases and health conditions. The main goal of this study was to develop a multi-scale modelling system able to forecast hourly NO2 and NOx concentration fields at a building-resolving scale in the urban area of Modena, a city in the middle of the Po Valley, in order to support environmental policies and to take timely protective actions given a forecast of impeding poor air quality. The modelling system relied on two different tools: the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), which is able to compute concentration fields over regional domain by considering specific emission scenarios and the Parallel Micro SWIFT and SPRAY (PMSS) modelling suite accounting for dispersion phenomena within the urban area. PMSS was used to simulate at building-scale resolution the dispersion of NO and primary NO2 produced by urban sources. Conversely, the WRF-Chem model was selected to reproduce the meteorological input for PMSS and to estimate the formation of secondary NO2. Modelled NO2 and NOx concentrations were compared with measurements at two urban stations, one at traffic site and at background location. Notwithstanding a slight underestimation, mainly evident at urban traffic stations for NOx, simulated concentrations present a large agreement with related observations. The NO2 Model Quality Objective, as defined by Fairmode guidelines, was met for both the urban stations and the other statistical indexes considered in the evaluation fulfilled the acceptance criteria for dispersion modelling in urban environment, for both NO2 and NOx concentrations. In the second section of the study, the population exposure to forecasted NO2 concentrations has been evaluated adopting a generic model of dynamic population activity. Indoor house micro-environments contributed up to 67 % of the total exposure, whilts other outdoor spaces contributed with 24%, divided between traffic environments (8 %) and other outdoor spaces (16 %). Work related buildings contributed for the ramaining share (9 %).

2020 - Towards the coupling of a chemical transport model with a micro-scale Lagrangian modelling system for evaluation of urban NOx levels in a European hotspot [Articolo su rivista]
Veratti, Giorgio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Lupascu, Aurelia; Tinarelli, Gianni; Teggi, Sergio; Brusasca, Giuseppe; Butler, Tim M.; Ghermandi, Grazia
abstract

2019 - A multiscale modelling approach for evaluation of urban air quality in Modena (Italy) [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Veratti, G.; Fabbi, S.; Bigi, A.; Lupascu, A.; Tinarelli, G.; Teggi, S.; Brusasca, G.; Butler, T. M.; Ghermandi, G.
abstract

A multi-scale modelling system was developed to provide hourly NOx concentrations field at building resolving scale in the urban area of Modena. The WRF-Chem model was employed with aim of reproducing local background concentrations taking into account meteorological and chemical transformation at regional scale, conversely the PMSS modelling system was applied to simulate 3D air pollutant dispersion with a very high-resolution (4 m) on a 6 km x 6 km domain. Modelled NOx concentrations reproduced by this modelling system show a good agreement with observation at both traffic and background urban stations.

2019 - Estimate of secondary NO2 levels at an urban traffic site by microscale simulation of traffic emissions [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, G.; Fabbi, S.; Veratti, G.; Asaro, S.; Bigi, A.; Teggi, S.
abstract

2019 - Forecast of the impact by local emissions at an urban micro scale by the combination of Lagrangian modelling and low cost sensing technology: The TRAFAIR project [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Bigi, A.; Veratti, G.; Fabbi, S.; Po, L.; Ghermandi, G.
abstract

2019 - Impact assessment of vehicular exhaust emissions by microscale simulation using automatic traffic flow measurements [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Veratti, Giorgio; Despini, Francesca; Teggi, Sergio; Barbieri, Carla; Torreggiani, Luca
abstract

In order to assess the impact of traffic on local air quality a microscale simulation of pollutant concentration fields was produced for two busy intersections, in Reggio Emilia and in Modena, Italy. The simulation was performed by the model suite Micro-Swift-Spray, a Lagrangian particle dispersion model accounting for buildings. Direct measurements of traffic flow were continuously collected in Reggio Emilia over the period January 13–24, 2014 by a two channel radar traffic counter and in Modena from October 28 to November 8, 2016 by four single channel radar traffic counters and used for the hourly modulation of vehicular emissions. Combining radar counts with vehicular fleet composition for each municipality, specific emission factors were obtained. For both cities, simulated concentration fields were compared to local air quality measurements at the nearest urban traffic and urban background sites. The simulated NOx showed large correlation with the observations, notwithstanding some underestimation. The results proved the reliability of the procedure and provided a fair estimate of the NO2 mass fraction of total NOx (primary NO2) due to vehicular emissions in the investigated traffic sites.

2019 - Impact of vehicular emissions in an urban area of the Po valley by microscale simulation with the GRAL dispersion model [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Fabbi, S.; Asaro, S.; Bigi, A.; Teggi, S.; Ghermandi, G.
abstract

This work sets out the test of the GRAL model (Graz Lagrangian Model, vs.18.1) in the urban area of Modena (Po valley, Northern Italy). The simulation domain sizes 2 000 x 3 000 m2 and it features 'microscale' cells of 4 x 4 m2. The simulation focuses on an intersection featured by large traffic flows next to a school and a regulatory air quality monitoring station classified as an urban traffic site. The model is a lagrangian particle dispersion model and it takes into account the presence of buildings as obstacles and generating microscale wind fields accordingly, making this class of model suitable for investigating spatial pattern of atmospheric pollution in urban areas where local accumulation might occur. The simulation investigates traffic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) over the period October 29 to November 10, 2016, when direct measurements of traffic flow were collected by four one-channel doppler radar traffic counters. These counters provided continuous estimate of vehicle length, speed and number. These latter data were combined with available traffic flows at rush hour by PTV VISUM mobility software and the fleet composition of the municipality to estimate the total NOx emissions by vehicular traffic over the roads included in the simulation domain. NOx simulated concentrations showed a moderate correlation with the NOx observations at the nearby monitoring site. To have a better insight on the potential and the limitations of the GRAL model, its results will be compared with the output of the lagrangian particle dispersion model PMSS over the same area.

2018 - Adverse pregnancy outcomes in women with changing patterns of exposure to the emissions of a municipal waste incinerator [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Werler, Martha M.; Filippini, Tommaso; De Girolamo, Gianfranco; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Astolfi, Gianni; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

Municipal solid waste incinerators emissions contain pollutants that, despite their low concentration, might adversely affect reproductive health. In the present study, we examined rates of miscarriage and birth defects among women who resided or were employed in the vicinity of a municipal solid waste incinerator plant from 2003-2013. In 2009, a progressive shutdown of the old incineration lines and operation of a new line caused considerably higher atmospheric release of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, particularly of dioxins, due to these irregular operating conditions, technological renovation, and increased capacity. We used dioxin emission levels, based on a dispersion model, as a marker of air pollution due to waste incineration. In women who resided in areas characterized by higher emission exposures compared with a referent area, the relative risk (RR) of miscarriage was 1.04 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-1.32) based on 62 cases overall, with little evidence of a dose-response relation. RRs were similarly null for both 2003-2008 and 2010-2013 periods (RR 1.12 (95% CI 0.80-1.53) and 0.98 (95% CI 0.63-1.48), respectively). Concerning birth defects in the offspring of women residing in the exposed area, no evidence of increased risk emerged, since the prevalence ratio at birth was 0.64 (95% CI 0.29-1.26), with comparable results in the 2003-2008 and 2010-2013 period. Corresponding analyses carried out in municipal residents who worked in the exposed area confirmed these findings. We also did not detect abnormally high rates of miscarriage and birth defects in the exposed cohorts in the single year 2009. Overall, these results do not suggest an effect of exposure to the emissions of the municipal solid waste incinerator we investigated on two indicators of reproductive health. However, the limited statistical stability of the estimates and the absence of individual-based information on some potential confounders suggest caution in the interpretation of study findings.

2018 - Exposure to electromagnetic fields and risk of childhood leukemia: a population-based case-control study in two Italian provinces. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Malagoli, C; Filippini, T; Storani, S; Violi, F; Fabbi, S; Teggi, S; Ballotti, E; Zanichelli, P; Poli, M; Bruni, M; Sesti, D; Notari, B; Palazzi, G; Vinceti, M.
abstract

2018 - Exposure to high voltage power lines and risk of childhood leukaemia: an Italian population-based case-control study. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Violi, F; Malagoli, C; Filippini, T; Fabbi, S; Teggi, S; Ballotti, E; Zanichelli, P; Poli, M; Bruni, M; Sesti, D; Notari, B; Vinceti, M.
abstract

2018 - Investigating the environmental risk factors for childhood leukaemia: the research activity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vinceti, M; Malagoli, C; Filippini, T; Violi, F; Cilloni, S; Malavolti, M; Borsari, L; Storani, S; Arcolin, E; Palazzi, G; Teggi, S; Fabbi, S; Costanzini, Sofia; Ghermandi, G; Bagni, Enrico
abstract

2018 - Residence near electrical transformer rooms and risk of childhood leukaemia: an Italian population-based case-control study. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Filippini, T; Storani, S; Malagoli, C; Fabbi, S; Teggi, S; Sesti, D; Notari, B; Zanichelli, P; Poli, M; Palazzi, G; Vinceti, M.
abstract

2017 - Impact Assessment of Pollutant Emissions in the Atmosphere from a Power Plant over a Complex Terrain and under Unsteady Winds [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Arvani, Barbara; Veratti, Giorgio; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

The development of a natural gas-fired tri-generation power plant (520 MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbines + 58 MW Tri-generation) in the Republic of San Marino, a small independent country in Northern Italy, is under assessment. This work investigates the impact of atmospheric emissions of NO x by the plant, under the Italian and European regulatory framework. The impact assessment was performed by the means of the Aria Industry package, including the 3D Lagrangian stochastic particle dispersion model SPRAY, the diagnostic meteorological model SWIFT, and the turbulence model SURFPRO (Aria Technologies, France, and Arianet, Italy). The Republic of San Marino is almost completely mountainous, 10 km west of the Adriatic Sea and affected by land-sea breeze circulation. SPRAY is suitable for simulations under non-homogenous and non-stationary conditions, over a complex topography. The emission scenario included both a worst-case meteorological condition and three 10-day periods representative of typical atmospheric conditions for 2014. The simulated NO x concentrations were compared with the regulatory air quality limits. Notwithstanding the high emission rate, the simulation showed a spatially confined environmental impact, with only a single NO x peak at ground where the plume hits the hillside of the Mount Titano (749 m a.s.l.), 5 km west of the future power plant.

2017 - Impact assessment of pollutant emissions in the atmosphere from a power plant over a complex terrain [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, G.; Fabbi, S.; Arvani, B.; Veratti, G.; Bigi, A.; Teggi, S.
abstract

2017 - Magnetic fields exposure from high-voltage power lines and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in two Italian populations [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Kheifets, Leeka; Violi, Federica; Poli, Maurizio; Caldara, Salvatore; Sesti, Daniela; Violanti, Silvia; Zanichelli, Paolo; Notari, Barbara; Fava, Roberto; Arena, Alessia; Calzolari, Roberta; Filippini, Tommaso; Iacuzio, Laura; Arcolin, Elisa; Mandrioli, Jessica; Fini, Nicola; Odone, Anna; Signorelli, Carlo; Patti, Francesco; Zappia, Mario; Pietrini, Vladimiro; Oleari, Paola; Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Dimartino, Angela; Ledda, Caterina; Mauceri, Cristina; Sciacca, Salvatore; Fiore, Maria; Ferrante, Margherita
abstract

The aetiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare and extremely severe neurodegenerative disease, has been associated with magnetic fields exposure. However, evidence for such a relation in the general population is weak, although the previous null results might also be due to exposure misclassification, or a relationship might exist only for selected subgroups. To test such a hypothesis we carried out a population-based case-control study in two Northern and Southern Italy regions, including 703 ALS cases newly diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 and 2737 controls randomly selected from the residents in the study provinces. Overall, we found that a residence near high-voltage power lines, within the corridors yielding a magnetic fields of 0.1 lT, was not associated with an excess disease risk, nor did we identify a dose-response relationship after splitting the exposed corridor according to the 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 lT cut-points of exposure. These results were confirmed taking into account age at onset, period of diagnosis, sex, geographical area, and length of exposure. Overall, despite the residual possibility of unmeasured confounding or small susceptible subgroups not identified in our study, these results appear to confirm that the exposure to magnetic fields from power lines occurring in the general population is not associated with increased ALS risk.

2017 - Vehicular exhaust impact simulated at microscale from traffic flow automatic surveys and emission factor evaluation [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Baranzoni, Giulia; Veratti, Giorgio; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio; Barbieri, Carla; Torreggiani, Luca
abstract

Vehicular emissions are a large NOx and CO source in Italian urban areas. In order to assess the impact of heavy traffic roads on local air quality a micro-scale simulation of pollutant concentration fields was produced. The investigated areas are in downtown of Reggio Emilia and Modena, two cities in central Po valley, Italy, and focused on high traffic intersections. An urban traffic station of the regional air quality monitoring network is present in both investigated areas, where traffic is expected to be the main local source of atmospheric pollutants. The simulation has been performed by the micro-scale model suite Micro-Swift-Spray (Aria Technologies, France and ARIANET, Italy) a Lagrangian particle dispersion model directly derived from the SPRAY code, able to account for buildings and obstacles. Simulated pollutants are NOx and CO, as main tracers of combustion emissions. Direct measurements of traffic flow have been continuously collected for 12 day survey periods (in Reggio Emilia from January 13 to 24, 2014 by a two channel doppler radar traffic counter and in Modena from October 28 to November 8, 2016 by four one channel doppler radar traffic counters) and used for the hourly modulation of vehicular emissions. Specific emission factors were obtained by the combination of radar counts with vehicular fleet composition for each municipality: these depend on vehicle type, fuel type, speed and EURO category and were calculated according to the EMEP/EEA guidelines for air pollutant emission inventory. Simulated concentration fields were evaluated over the period with direct traffic counts for the two studied areas: for both areas the results were compared to local air quality measurements collected at the traffic urban monitoring stations and also at the respective urban background stations. The simulated NOx hourly concentrations show a very large agreement with the observations, even if they result underestimated compared to the observed atmospheric concentrations at the traffic site. Simulated and observed concentrations show a fair agreement for CO. The results outline the representativeness of air quality stations in characterizing the sites for pollution level and for dominant pollutant sources.

2017 - µ-MO assessing the contribution of NOXtraffic emission to atmospheric pollution in modena by microscale dispersion modelling [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Veratti, Giorgio; Fabbi, Sara; Tinarelli, Gianni; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio; Brusasca, Giuseppe; Ghermandi, Grazia
abstract

Based on the air pollutant emission inventory data (INEMAR – Arpa Emilia-Romagna 2010) road traffic in Modena, a city in the central Po valley (Northern Italy), contributes up to the 60% of the total emission in terms of NOx, followed by Domestic Heating (15%) and Industrial Combustion (14%). Goal of the -MO project is to assess the road traffic impact on air quality in the urban area of Modena by a combined experimental and modelling approach. Dispersion of vehicular NOxwas simulated by Parallel Micro Swift Spray (PMSS, Arianet srl, Italy and Aria Technologies, France) over a domain of 6 km x 6 km, including most of the urban areas of Modena, with a horizontal resolution of 4 m. The atmospheric emission sources were estimated by merging local fleet composition data, traffic flux at rush hours simulated by PTV VISUM mobility software and direct measurements collected by radar traffic counters, provided by the Municipality of Modena. The modelling system, implemented on a 16 cores cluster (64 GB of total memory), includes PSWIFT, a parallelized mass-consistent diagnostic wind field model, and PSPRAY, a three-dimensional parallel lagrangian particle dispersion model, both able to take into account obstacles (buildings). A run of the system on an entire day has been performed and is presented. In the next step of the work, NOxatmospheric concentration measurements will be provided by the two urban air quality monitoring sites and by a set of 10 monitoring boxes distributed over the domain and featured by small sensors for NO, NO2and particulates. Among the final goals of the -MO project there is the tentative source-apportionment of urban atmospheric NOxbetween traffic emissions, domestic heating and regional background, to support epidemiological studies and finally future urban development strategies.

2016 - Dispersione atmosferica a microscala di emissioni veicolari da flussi di traffico rilevati automaticamente e confronto con misure di qualità dell’aria [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio; Torreggiani, Luca
abstract

La stima del contributo del traffico veicolare all’inquinamento atmosferico urbano è una informazione fondamentale per la popolazione e le amministrazioni. A questo scopo è stata condotta una simulazione microscala della dispersione delle emissioni da traffico veicolare presso un incrocio trafficato lungo la circolare interna a Reggio Emilia, una città di medie dimensioni nella parte centrale della pianura Padana (Italia settentrionale). L’area studiata include una stazione della rete regionale di monitoraggio della qualità dell’aria: la stazione è classificata come sito urbano di traffico, ovvero ci si attende che la stazione sia principalmente influenzata dalle emissioni da traffico veicolare. I modelli di simulazione a microscala sono maggiormente adatti alla modellizzazione della dispersione in aree urbane, dove la concentrazione in gran parte dipende anche dalla stagnazione di aria dovuta ad edifici ed ostacoli. Micro-Swift-Spray (Aria Technologies, Francia), un modello di dispersione lagrangiano a particelle derivato direttamente dal modello Spray a scala locale, è stato utilizzato per simulare al dispersione delle emissioni da traffico veicolare (in particolare NOx e CO), tenendo conto anche della volumetria degli edifici e degli ostacoli. Un radar conta traffico installato localmente ha fornito velocità e lunghezza dei veicoli in continuo per un periodo di 12 giorni (13 – 24 gennaio 2014). Questi dati, assieme ai dettagli della composizione della flotta, sono stati usati per calcolare fattori di emissioni su misura in base alla tipologia, alimentazione, velocità e classe EURO di emissione. Sono stati prodotti dei campi 3D di concentrazione e i risultati sono stati confrontati con le misure locali di qualità dell’aria: la correlazione tra le concentrazioni orarie di NO x simulate ed osservate è risultata estremamente soddisfacente (r = 0.86). Il confronto con le misure di qualità dell’aria in condizioni di fondo urbano ha permesso di stimare meglio la performance del modello e la quantità di NO x primario e secondario al sito di studio.

2016 - Esposizione passiva a pesticidi e rischio di leucemia infantile. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Malavolti, Marcella; Costanzini, Sofia; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Arcolin, Elisa; De Girolamo, G; Oleari, P; Palazzi, G; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Esposizione passiva a pesticidi e rischio di leucemia infantile.

2016 - Microscale simulation of road traffic emissions from vehicular flow automatic surveys and comparison with measured concentration data [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, G.; Fabbi, S.; Bigi, A.; Teggi, S.; Torreggiani, L.
abstract

2015 - Increased incidence of childhood leukemia in urban areas: a population-based case-control study [Articolo su rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Malavolti, Marcella; Costanzini, Sofia; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Palazzi, Giovanni; Arcolin, Elisa; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Objective. We carried out a population-based case-control study to assess the possibility of an excess risk of childhood leukemia in urban areas, independently from road traffic pollution. Methods. Study subjects were the 111 cases of childhood leukemia diagnosed from 1998 to 2011 among residents of two provinces of the northern Italian Emilia-Romagna region, and 444 controls matched by age and sex. Through mapping of the region carried out by remote sensing, we examined the percentage of urban or rural area in the 100-meter circular buffer around each child's house. We also modeled annual average exposure to benzene and PM10 from vehicular traffic at each residence. Results. In a multivariate model adjusting for benzene and PM10, the odds ratio of leukemia associated with residence in a highly urbanized area and residential area (≥95% land use of this type near the child's home) was 1.4 (95% confidence intervals 0.8-2.4) and 1.3 (0.8-2.2), respectively. An increased risk was also found in association with the proximity to "dumps, scrap yards, and building sites". No association emerged with residence in rural areas or near industrial plants. Conclusions. These results indicate that children living in urban areas experience an excess leukemia risk, independently from exposure to pollutants from vehicles.

2015 - Micro–scale simulation of atmospheric emissions from power–plant stacks in the Po Valley [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Zaccanti, MARCO MICHELE; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

The atmospheric dispersion of the NOX plume that will be emitted from a new power–plant, at present under installation, was simulated at micro–scale with Micro–Swift–Spray (MSS) Model. The plant will be constructed in a residential urban area in the town of Modena (Po Valley, Northern Italy), where low wind speeds and thermal inversions are quite frequent. Simulation results point out a different behavior of urban canopy in influencing the 3D dispersion patterns among urban obstacles, according to atmospheric mixing conditions: in case of moderate wind events, urban canyon phenomena may occur with a consequent increasing of NOX concentration gradients among buildings, while with low winds the near–field influence of the buildings emphasizes pollutant accumulation. The MSS simulated NOX concentrations result always much lower than the regulatory limits for air quality. The comparison of simulation results with measured concentration data for NOX shows the importance of micro–scale dispersion modeling to perform an accurate and reliable assessment of meteorological condition effects on pollutant distribution, and the ability of MSS in providing reliable simulations of atmospheric dispersion.

2015 - Risk of ALS and passive long-term residential exposure to pesticides: a population based study. [Abstract in Rivista]
Violi, Federica; Filippini, Tommaso; Malagoli, Carlotta; Mandrioli, Jessica; Carlo, Signorelli; Aanna, Odone; Margherita, Ferrante; Maria, Fiore; Ledda, C; Cristina, Mauceri; Patti, F; Costanzini, Sofia; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Risk of ALS and passive long-term residential exposure to pesticides: a population based study.

2015 - Risk of ALS and passive residential exposure to pesticides: a population based study. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Violi, Federica; Filippini, Tommaso; Malagoli, Carlotta; Mandrioli, Jessica; Signorelli, C; Odone, A; Ferrante, M; Fiore, M; Ledda, C; Mauceri, C; Patti, F; Costanzini, Sofia; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

. Risk of ALS and passive residential exposure to pesticides: a population based study.

2015 - The GIS methodology and its application in exposure assessment – Experience of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia [Abstract in Rivista]
Filippini, Tommaso; Iacuzio, Laura; Arcolin, Elisa; Violi, Federica; Storani, Simone; Costanzini, Sofia; Fabbi, Sara; Malagoli, Carlotta; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

2014 - Atmospheric impact of power plant stack emissions using air pollutant dispersion model at micro-scale [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Zaccanti, MARCO MICHELE; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

This study deals with a case of local air quality impact arising from a power plant (tri-generator and conventional boilers) designed to meet the energy demand of the General Hospital of Modena, central Po Valley, Northern Italy. Stack emissions are expected to fall over the densely populated urban area nearby the General Hospital, where main impacting sources currently are vehicular traffic and household heating system. Pollutant accumulation phenomena often occur in Modena, especially during winter season, even because calm wind events and strong atmospheric stability are very frequent and tend to prevent pollution removal. Hence high concentration levels for atmospheric pollutants, such as NO x , CO and PM10, are recurrently expected. The atmospheric impact of the power plant can be assessed using dispersion modeling, in order to simulate pollutant distribution, i.e. concentration fields, in the surrounding of the source. Since the plant is placed within the urban area the dispersion phenomena are not only driven by meteorology, but depend also on airflow perturbations by turbulence due to the urban canopy. In such complex conditions, the simulation of pollutant dispersion has been performed by a micro-scale dispersion model, which is able to take into account building shape and arrangement, as well as non-homogeneous and non-stationary conditions. Micro-scale simulations were carried out for power plant NO x emissions according to different daily meteorological scenarios; all simulations span over a period of 24 hours, and a hourly modulation of emission pattern and meteorological data is considered. Simulation results are presented through concentration maps and compared with hourly concentration data measured at the air quality monitoring sites by the Local Environmental Agency in Modena. Aim of the study is to compare the contribution of power plant emissions on air quality with the other NO x emission sources impacting on the receptors. Future analyses will focus on more detailed investigation of source contribution apportionment, by the simulation of both power plant and vehicular traffic emissions. All simulations were performed using ARIA INDUSTRY software package, developed by Arianet s.r.l.

2014 - Modeling of population exposure to airborne pesticides [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Costanzini, Sofia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta
abstract

Air pollution due to pesticides emitted by farming practices is an environmental topical issue nowadays and little it’s known about its effects on human health. Pesticides can contaminate the atmosphere through various pathways, especially by volatilization and by adsorption on particulate matter. Although the use of certain substances (i.e. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, DDT) has been banned over the years, there are still few groups of substances (i.e. phosphorganic insecticides, triazole and phenylenediamine fungicides applied on fruit orchards and vineyards) whose characteristics of toxicity, carcinogenicity, and persistence can lead to severe effects on human health. This paper shows a methodology for the modeling of the population exposure to airborne pesticides based on the AERMOD Gaussian air dispersion model and on geoprocessing and spatial analysis techniques implemented in a GIS (Geographic Information System) environment using the Python programming language. This analysis relies on several spatial data (i.e. hazard sources localization), appropriate processing and on management techniques achievable in a GIS environment. The methodology has been applied to a test site, located in Centre Po Valley near the city of Modena, Italy. In this territory several epidemiological studies have been carried out so far. These activities are framed in the context of a partnership between the DIEF and the CREAGEN of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. The main steps followed for the methodology can be summarized in: definition of the computational domain, realization of a GIS input geodatabase (hazard source localization, wind field, demography), realization of a Python procedure to allow the interaction between the GIS input dataset and AERMOD, data processing and visualization in a GIS environment. Fruit orchards and vineyards extracted from the Corine Land Cover have been modeled in AERMOD as areal hazard sources. The designed methodology allows to assess the spatial distribution in the test site of a relative concentration value associated to the use of phosphorganic insecticides, triazole and phenylenediamine fungicides in farming practices. In the future the parameterization of the hazard sources emission (currently only related to the area of the source) will be improved, in order to employ the methodology in epidemiological studies related to the occurrence of potential pathologies.

2014 - Pesticidi e rischio di sclerosi laterale amiotrofica: il contributo della metodologia gis in uno studio in Emilia-Romagna e in Sicilia. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Filippini, Tommaso; Fiore, M; Mandrioli, Jessica; Odone, A; Malagoli, Carlotta; Iacuzio, Laura; Arcolin, Elisa; Violi, Federica; Mazzini, F; Rossi, R; Nannini, R; Guermandi, M; Staffilani, F; Marchi, N; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Costanzini, Sofia; Ghermandi, Grazia; Pietrini, V; Fini, N; Ledda, C; Mauceri, C; Di Martino, A; Patti, F; Sentina, E; Signorelli, C; Ferrante, M; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

2014 - Residence near electrical transformer rooms and risk of childhood leukemia: an Italian population-based case-control study. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Storani, Simone; Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Zanichelli, P; Notari, B; Poli, M; Sesti, D; Teggi, Sergio; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

2014 - Tri-generation power plant and conventional boilers: pollutant flow rate and atmospheric impact of stack emissions [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Zaccanti, MARCO MICHELE
abstract

The atmospheric impact of stack emissions from a power plant (tri-generator and boilers) that will be installed in an urban area in the central Po valley (Northern Italy), characterized by calm wind events, are studied and compared to the impact of the existing plant (conventional boilers). Both the plants are supplied by methane gas. The atmospheric dispersion of NOx emitted is simulated, both in the current and future scenario, by the software package ARIA INDUSTRY. The NOx emission rates are set equal to the regulatory emission limits for existing and future boilers, while the tri-generation system emission rates are set equal to the emission limits certified by the system manufacturer. The simulation periods focus over the 2010 winter season. The simulation estimates the impact of NOx emissions on air quality (vertical concentration profiles and concentration maps at the ground) in the urban area close to the plant. The future power plant impact on air quality results lower than the impact of the existing plant, even if the yearly total mass of pollutants emitted in atmosphere from the new power plant is higher than from the existing plant. The emissions of conventional boilers result the main responsible of the air pollution at the ground in the future scenario.

2014 - Urban micro-scale investigation of nox and co emissions from vehicular traffic and comParison with air quality data [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, G.; Fabbi, S.; Zaccanti, M.; Bigi, A.; Teggi, S.
abstract

2013 - Epidemiologia e fattori ambientali di rischio della sclerosi laterale amiotrofica sporadica: metodologia di uno studio realizzato in ambiente gis. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Vinceti, Marco; Fiore, M; Odone, A; Signorelli, C; Mandrioli, Jessica; Fini, N; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Costanzini, Sofia; Ghermandi, Grazia; Iacuzio, Laura; Malagoli, Carlotta; Arcolin, Elisa; Ferrante, M.
abstract

2013 - H15-123: From local-scale to micro-scale assessment of the atmospheric impact of the pollutant plume emitted from a power-plant stack [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, G.; Teggi, S.; Fabbi, S.; Bigi, A.; Zaccanti, M. M.
abstract

2013 - Inquinamento da traffi co e rischio di malformazioni congenite: considerazioni metodologiche sull’uso di differenti modellistiche espositive [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; R., Rodolfi; A., Cherubini; G., Maffeis; S., Greco; Fabbi, Sara; C., Signorelli; Storani, Simone; Iacuzio, Laura; A., Fraulini; Teggi, Sergio; Bergomi, Margherita; G., Astolfi; E., Calzolari; F., Nicolini
abstract

The relation between air pollution from road traffi c and teratogenic risk is an issue of considerable interest in epidemiological research. We examined the risk of birth defects associated with exposure to benzene and particulate matter (PM10) emitted by motorized traffi c in an Italian community, using a validated dispersion model (CALINE4) of these contaminants and two different methodological approaches for exposure assessment within a Geographical Information System. The study population included 228 cases of congenital malformation diagnosed at birth and the same number of matched controls. The results showed that estimates of individual exposure to benzene and PM10 and associated relative risks were substantially affected by the different approaches for exposure assessment.

2012 - GIS methods for health and environmental monitoring and assessment [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta
abstract

Very often, health and environmental studies are based on the identification of correlations between population exposure to environmental agents and their effects on population health. Time and space are among the principal variables for this kind of analysis. The latter generates a significant increase in complexity of the study. Spatial analysis requires very different methods and skills, such as those on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and on geostatistics. In this work we describe the models of geographic data (GIS data models) implemented in the framework of several health studies done recently. As an example, we describe the GIS data model generated for the city of Modena. We highlight the potentiality of GIS for health and environmental monitoring and assessment, by describing the GIS data models contents, the elaboration levels and the principal studies for which it has been used so far.

2012 - Leukemia risk in children exposed to benzene and PM10 from vehicular traffic: a case-control study in an Italian population. [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; K. J., Rothman; C. M., Crespi; A., Sterni; A., Cherubini; L., Guerra; G., Maffeis; Ferretti, Enrica; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; D., Consonni; G., De Girolamo; A., Meggiato; G., Palazzi; Paolucci, Paolo; Malagoli, Carlotta
abstract

Benzene, a recognized occupational leukemogen in adults, has been implicated by sparse and conflicting epidemiologic evidence in the etiology of childhood leukemia. We carried out a population-based case-control study in a northern Italy population involving 83 cases with childhood leukemia diagnosed in the years 1998-2009 and 332 matched controls. We assessed residential exposure to benzene and to particulate matter ≤10 µm (PM10) from motorized traffic using geocoded residences and detailed emission and dispersion modeling. Exposure to benzene, and to a lesser extent to PM10, appeared to be independently associated with an excess leukemia risk. When we stratified the study population by age, the relative risk associated with benzene exposure was higher among children aged less than five years. Overall, these findings suggest that low levels of benzene exposure released from motorized traffic may increase the risk of childhood leukemia, and do not rule out an independent effect of PM10.

2012 - Maternal exposure to magnetic fields from high-voltage power lines and the risk of birth defects [Articolo su rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; C. M., Crespi; R., Rodolfi; C., Signorelli; M., Poli; P., Zanichelli; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; L., Garavelli; G., Astolfi; E., Calzolari; C., Lucenti; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

The issue of adverse human health effects due to exposure to electromagnetic fields is still unclear, and congenital anomalies are among the outcomes that have been inconsistently associated with such exposure. We conducted a population-based, case–control study to examine the risk of congenital anomalies associated with maternal exposure to magnetic fields (MF) from high-voltage power lines during pregnancy in a community in northern Italy. We identified 228 cases of congenital malformations diagnosed in live births, stillbirths, and induced abortions among women living in the municipality of Reggio Emilia during the period 1998–2006, and a reference group of healthy newborns was matched for year of birth, maternal age, and hospital of birth. We identified maternal residence during early pregnancy and used Geographic Information System to determine whether the residences were within geocoded corridors with MF ≥0.1 µT near high-voltage power lines, then calculated the relative risk (RR) of congenital anomalies associated with maternal exposure. One case and 5 control mothers were classified as exposed, and the RR associated with MF ≥0.1 µT was 0.2 (95% CI: 0.0–2.0) after adjusting for maternal education. While small or moderate effects may have gone undetected due to low statistical power, the results of this study overall do not provide support for major effects of a teratogenic risk due to exposure to MF during early pregnancy.

2012 - Model comparison in simulating the atmospheric dispersion of a pollutant plume in low wind conditions [Articolo su rivista]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Cecchi, Rodolfo
abstract

Simulations of emitted plume dispersion in atmosphere performed by means of different models are compared: the study evaluates the capabilities of gaussian and lagrangian models in simulating pollutant plume dispersion in low wind conditions.

2012 - Tri-generation power plant and conventional boilers: pollutant flow rate and atmospheric impact of stack emissions [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Zaccanti, MARCO MICHELE
abstract

The atmospheric impact of stack emissions from a power plant (tri-generator and boilers) that will be installed in an urban area in the central Po valley, characterized by calm wind events, are studied and compared to the impact of the existing plant (conventional boilers). Both the plants are supplied by methane gas. The atmospheric dispersion of NOx emitted is simulated, both in the current and future scenario, by the software package ARIA INDUSTRY. The emission rates are set equal to the regulatory emission limits for existing and future boilers, while the tri-generation system emission rates are set equal to the emission limits certified by the system manufacturer. Local datasets have been used. The simulation periods span over the 2010 winter season. The simulation estimates the impact of emissions on air quality (vertical concentration profiles and concentration maps at the ground) in the urban area close to the plant. The future power plant impact on air quality (i.e. respect to the regulatory pollutant concentration limits) results lower than the impact of the existing plant, even if the yearly total mass of pollutants emitted in atmosphere from the new power plant is higher than from the existing plant.

2011 - Atmospheric impact of power plant stack emissions [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; M. M., Zaccanti
abstract

The atmospheric impact of stack emissions from a tri-generation power plant that will be installed in a urban area in the central Po valley are studied and compared to the impact of the existing plant (conventional boilers). Both the plants are supplied by methane gas. The atmospheric dispersion of the emissions is simulated both in the current and the future scenario, i.e. before and after tri-generation plant activation respectively. The plant is assumed as a continuous emission point source. The emission rates are set equal to the regulatory emission limits for the existing plant and to the emission limits certified by the tri-generation system maker company for the future plant. The local meteorological, topographical and surface land cover datasets have been used. The simulation periods span over each one of the four seasons, using 2010 meteorological data, to test conditions both favourable and unfavourable to pollutant accumulation in the atmosphere; simulation period spanning over the whole 2010 year are also performed (long-term) . The dispersion of different air pollutants (NOx mainly) is presented; the concentration fields obtained for the same period in the two different scenarios are compared. The aim of the simulation is to estimate the impact of emissions on air quality in the urban area close to the plant, in different weather conditions, in a region characterized by calm wind events. The tri-generation power plant impact on air quality (i.e. respect to the regulatory concentration limits for pollutants in atmosphere) results lower than the impact of the existing plant, even if the yearly total mass of pollutants emitted in atmosphere from the tri-generation power plant is higher than from the existing plant. The simulation is performed by the software package ARIA INDUSTRY, that is made up of the 3D lagrangian stochastic particle dispersion model SPRAY, the diagnostic meteorological model MINERVE and the turbulence model SURFPRO.

2011 - Esposizione a benzene da traffico e leucemia infantile: influenza delle modellistiche di dispersione atmosferica sulla valutazione del rischio. [Abstract in Rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Sterni, A; Guerra, L; Cherubini, A; Maffeis, G; Ferretti, Enrica; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; De Girolamo, G; Palazzi, G; Paolucci, Paolo
abstract

INTRODUZIONE E OBIETTIVI: Nell’ambito di uno studio di tipo casocontrollo,volto a studiare la relazione tra esposizione al benzene datraffico veicolare nella provincia di Modena e leucemia infantile, abbiamoapplicato in modo indipendente due differenti modelli di dispersione inatmosfera delle emissioni veicolari di tale inquinante, al fine di valutareeventuali differenze indotte dall’uso di queste due metodologie nellavalutazione del rischio di ordine sanitario preso in esame.METODI: Abbiamo identificato e georeferenziato tutti i casi di leucemiainfantile occorsi nel periodo 1998-2009 nella popolazione della provinciadi Modena (n=47) ed un gruppo di controllo costituito da quattro residentiper ciascun paziente aventi medesimo sesso ed età. Abbiamo inoltredefinito una mappa di concentrazione del benzene emesso dal trafficoautoveicolare nel territorio provinciale di Modena utilizzando due modelligaussiani di dispersione in atmosfera, CALINE4 (California Departmentof Transportation line source model) e ADMS (Advanced DispersionModelling System) Urban, associati alla rilevazione dei flussi di trafficonel 2006 e ai relativi fattori di emissione di benzene, utilizzando lo stessoinput meteorologico. Mediante metodologia GIS su cartografia vettoriale,abbiamo attribuito a ciascun bambino il proprio status espositivo a benzenenell’ambito di ciascun modello, calcolando con regressione logisticacondizionata il rischio relativo di leucemia associato alle concentrazioniatmosferiche di benzene.RISULTATI: Il rischio relativo di leucemia nei residenti nelle aree convalori di benzene > 0.5 μg/m3 è risultato essere pari a 1.5 (IC95% 0.8-2.8;P=0.269; P trend=0.670) e 1.2 (IC95% 0.6-2.4; P=0.660; P trend=0.498),utilizzando i dati espositivi rispettivamente generati da CALINE4 ed ADMSUrban.I rischi ottenuti nei residenti nell’area caratterizzata da valori dibenzene superiori alla concentrazione mediana sono stati pari a 1.0 (IC95%0.5-1.8; P=0.895) e 0.9 (IC95% 0.4-1.6; P=0.645), utilizzandorispettivamente il modello CALINE4 e ADMS-Urban.CONCLUSIONI: La nostra indagine suggerisce come aspetti metodologiciassociati alla modellizzazione delle concentrazioni ambientali del benzeneemesso dal traffico veicolare possano influenzare la valutazione deirischi sanitari associati a tale esposizione.

2011 - Mapping traffic atmospheric emissions for epidemiological studies using atmospheric dispersion models and geostatistical methods: a case study [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Malagoli, Carlotta; Vinceti, Marco; L., Guerra; A., Sterni; G., Maffeis
abstract

In some cases, epidemiological studies require the air pollutant concentrations at the exposure points. In these cases air dispersion models represent a very important tool. When additional points of exposure are inserted or when some exposure points must be relocated, spatial interpolators can be used in place of new runs of the air dispersion model. In this work the uncertainties and the problematic related to spatial interpolation methods are inspected. The case studied is based on an epidemiological study aimed to study the risk of childhood leukemia associated with benzene exposure due to traffic emissions. The concentration values of benzene computed by the atmospheric dispersion model ADMS are taken as reference and compared with the concentration values computed using several interpolation methods and additional data sets of concentrations computed by ADMS in the same area. The comparison is done following two approaches: the summary statistics of the differences and the correctness of the assignment of the exposure points to the concentration categories used in the epidemiological study. These comparisons show that the values computed by the interpolators are very problematic: important differences and categories assignment and categories uncertainties were found. The main conclusion of this work is that the use of interpolators must be done with extreme caution. Moreover, it is highlighted the importance and the potential pitfalls of exposure modelling methodologies when assessing the health effects of environmental pollutants

2011 - Risk of congenital anomalies around a municipal solid waste incinerator [Capitolo/Saggio]
Vinceti, M.; Malagoli, C.; Fabbi, S.; Teggi, S.; Rodolfi, R.; Garavelli, L.; Astolfi, G.; Rivieri, F.
abstract

Waste incineration releases into the environment toxic substances having a teratogenic potential, but little epidemiologic evidence is available on this topic. We aimed at examining the relation between exposure to the emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator (MSWI) and risk of birth defects in a northern Italy community, using geographical information system (GIS) data to estimate exposure and a population-based case-control study design. By modeling the incinerator emissions, we defined in the GIS three areas of increasing exposure according to predicted dioxins concentrations. We mapped the 228 births and induced abortions with diagnosis of congenital anomalies observed during the 1998-2006 period, together with a corresponding series of control births matched for year and hospital of birth/abortion as well as maternal age, using maternal address in the first 3 months of pregnancy to geocode cases and controls.

2011 - Stima della esposizione a benzene da traffico veicolare nelle Province di Modena e Reggio Emilia [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Cherubini, A; Maffeis, G; Sterni, A; Guerra, L; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Ferretti, Enrica; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

controllo,volto a studiare la relazione tra leucemia infantile ed esposizioneal benzene da traffico veicolare nelle province di Modena e Reggio Emilia,abbiamo applicato un modello di simulazione deterministico e la metodologiaGIS (Geographical Information System) per studiare la dispersione delleemissioni veicolari di tale inquinante e costruire una mappa espositiva, alfine di valutarne l’eventuale associazione col rischio di leucemia infantile.METODI: Abbiamo individuato e georeferenziato i casi di leucemia infantile(n=83) diagnosticati nei bambini residenti nella province di Modena e ReggioEmilia dal 1998 ad oggi ed una popolazione di controllo costituita da quattrosoggetti per ciascun paziente, appaiati per sesso, età e provincia di residenza.Abbiamo quindi definito una mappa della dispersione delle emissioniautoveicolari di benzene con l’utilizzazione dei dati relativi ai flussi di trafficonel periodo 2005-06 sulle principali vie di circolazione sui due territoriprovinciali, alle emissioni ad essi associabili ed alla dispersione in atmosfera,utilizzando per quest’ultima stima il modello gaussiano CALINE4 (CaliforniaDepartment of Transportation line source model). Infine, abbiamo attribuitoin ambito GIS a ciascun bambino il proprio status espositivo.RISULTATI: I soggetti inclusi nello studio sono risultati caratterizzati,presso le loro residenze, da concentrazioni annuali di benzene legatealle sole emissioni da traffico comprese aventi una media di 0.41 μg/m3 e una mediana di 0.26 μg/m3, con concentrazioni massime su baseoraria comprese tra 0.79 e 15.16 μg/m3. Restringendo le analisi allasola popolazione di controllo, 241 soggetti sono risultati residenti in unaarea caratterizzata da una concentrazione media annuale di benzeneinferiore a 0.5 μg/m3; 62 soggetti sono risultati residenti in una zonacaratterizzata da concentrazioni comprese tra e”0.5 e <1.0 μg/m3 e 29soggetti sono risultati abitare in aree con concentrazioni e”1.0 μg/m3.Le stime fornite dalla modellistica in riferimento ai punti di localizzazionedelle centraline di rilevazione del benzene sono apparse complessamentesoddisfacenti, suggerendo la sostanziale validità dell’approcciometodologico utilizzato.CONCLUSIONI: L’applicazione di questa modellistica si è dimostrataefficace nello stimarelo status espositivo a benzene nella popolazione presa in esame ed hasuggerito livelli di concentrazioni ambientali relativamente contenuti,sensibilmente inferiori a quelli documentati dalle rilevazioni strumentalie dai dati di letteratura disponibili per gli anni ‘90.

2010 - Atmospheric dispersion modelling for the assessment of population exposure to contaminants emitted by municipal waste incinerators [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta
abstract

In this work two examples of the use of pollutants atmospheric dispersion modelling for the study of the risk of spontaneous abortion and birth of congenital anomalies due to the emissions from municipal waste incineration plants are shown. The main purposes of the work are to show the importance of atmospheric dispersion modelling for epidemiological studies and to discuss advantages and disadvantages of the different models used. For this study the emissions of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, dibenzofurans and biphenyls (PCDD/F) from the municipal waste incinerators of Modena (Italy, Case A) and of Reggio Emilia (Italy, Case B) have been considered. Ground-level (0 – 10 m) concentrations of PCDD/F over the city of Modena were computed using the ARIA Industry dispersion model for the period from 1 October, 2005 to 1 October, 2006. Ground-level concentrations of PCDD/F over the city of Reggio Emilia were computed using the WinDimula 3.0 model for the years 1999, 2000 and 2001, and for the period from 1 July, 2005 to 30 June, 2006. The ground level concentration grids computed by the models were exported in a GIS along with rates of spontaneous abortion and prevalence at birth of congenital anomalies in women residing or working near the incinerators. Successively, the maps of exposure to PCDD/F and of risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes have been computed in the GIS environment. In both the cases the study results provide little evidence of an excess risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to emissions from a modern municipal solid waste incinerator.

2010 - Esposizione a benzene e rischio di leucemia infantile: studio caso-controllo realizzato con metodologia GIS. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Ferretti, Enrica; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Sterni, A; Guerra, L; Palazzi, G; Paolucci, Paolo; Bergomi, Margherita; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

2010 - Esposizione a benzene e rischio di neoplasie ematologiche infantili: un protocollo di studio. [Abstract in Rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Guerra, L; Sterni, A; Maffeis, G; Ferretti, Enrica; Palazzi, G; Paolucci, Paolo; Bergomi, Margherita
abstract

OBIETTIVILe neoplasie ematologiche sono patologie a probabile eziologia multifattoriale: oltre a fattori di tipo genetico infatti, possono essere indotte o favorite da fattori ambientali quali contaminanti chimici e radiazioni ionizzanti. In particolare, esistono in letteratura alcune indicazioni che suggeriscono un’associazione tra esposizione a benzene e rischio di leucemia sia nell’età adulta che in quella pediatrica, anche se il numero degli studi è ancora molto limitato e i relativi risultati non sono concordi. Abbiamo messo a punto un protocollo finalizzato alla realizzazione di uno studio caso-controllo nei bambini residenti in aree urbane di due province del nord Italia con l’obiettivo di identificare un possibile aumento del rischio di leucemia e più in generale di neoplasie del sistema linfoematopoietico (codici ICD-9 200-208) in relazione a diversi livelli espositivi a benzene da traffico veicolare.MATERIALIIntendiamo individuare tutti i casi di tali patologie diagnosticati in età compresa tra 0 e 13 anni tra i residenti nelle province di Modena e Reggio Emilia a partire dal 1986, utilizzando il Registro nazionale AIEOP. A questi pazienti affiancheremo una popolazione di controllo, costituita da quattro bambini non ammalati per ciascun caso caratterizzati da medesimo sesso, anno di nascita e provincia di residenza; tali controlli saranno estratti casualmente dalla popolazione residente. La valutazione espositiva di ciascun soggetto incluso nello studio verrà effettuata in ambiente GIS (Geographical Information System). Nel progetto GIS verranno inserite una simulazione modellistica della dispersione delle emissioni autoveicolari di benzene sull’intero territorio delle due province e le localizzazioni delle residenze dei bambini al momento della diagnosi. Intendiamo così individuare per ogni bambino la residenza al momento della diagnosi mediante consultazione dei registri anagrafici comunali informatizzati e cartacei, intervista ai medici di famiglia e ricerche dirette. Ad ogni indirizzo attribuiremo quindi le coordinate cartografiche del baricentro dell’edificio presenti nelle cartografie tecniche o rilevate direttamente sul posto tramite un sistema di posizionamento satellitare GPS. Per ogni soggetto raccoglieremo inoltre informazioni relative a titolo di studio, professione e reddito di entrambi i genitori. Calcoleremo infine il rischio di leucemia e di neoplasie linfoematopoietiche associato ai diversi livelli espositivi a benzene utilizzando modelli multivariati di regressione logistica condizionata e di ‘natural spline regression’, tenendo conto dei possibili fattori confondenti e cercando di identificare eventuali modificatori di effetto.

2010 - Modello di dati GIS per studi di qualità dell’aria basati su simulazioni modellistiche della dispersione di inquinanti [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
M. P., Bogliolo; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara
abstract

A geographic data model has been set up, to support display and analysis of air dispersion simulations. The goal was to create a global environment where to manage input data to the model and model results, to perform spatial analyses and to evaluate the risk coming from the modelled pollution field, for people (exposure) and environment. The GIS model was also set up to include epidemiological data to be correlated with exposure estimates. The geographical database has been tested by populating it with data for a case study located on the industrial area of Terni, where air dispersion simulations were performed. The data model will be the basis for the GIS aimed to manage information coming from the LIFE+2009 Project "Population Exposure to PAH" (EXPAH), recently approved.

2010 - Performance of Different Models to Evaluate Atmospheric Dispersion in Calm Wind Conditions [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Bigi, Alessandro; Cecchi, Rodolfo
abstract

The study investigates the performance of different air pollution dispersion models in wind calm conditions. The models have been applied to two case studies: the cities of Modena and Reggio Emilia, both placed in the Po river valley (Northern Italy), an area characterized by prevailing weak winds conditions. The emission sources are the municipal waste incinerator of Modena and the Turbo Gas plant of Reggio Emilia. Total suspended particulate (TSP) concentration levels are estimated by three models: the gaussian Industrial Source Complex (ISC3) and WinDimula 3.0 models, and the langrangian particle model SPRAY. The performances of the models have been compared: ISC3 provides less reliable results, while SPRAY and WinDimula 3.0 have shown a good capability to describe a domain characterized by wind calm conditions and SPRAY simulation performs significantly better in the vicinity of the source.

2010 - Residence near power lines and risk of birth defects. [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Rodolfi, R; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Garavelli, L; Astolfi, G; Rivieri, F; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Background and ObjectiveThe adverse effects on human health of electromagnetic fields are still unclear and congenital anomalies are among the outcomes which have been associated to such exposure. We conducted a case-control study to examine the risk of birth defects associated with maternal exposure to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines during pregnancy in a northern Italy community. Methods We identified all cases of congenital malformations diagnosed during the period 1998-2006 in live- and stillbirths and induced abortions to women living in Reggio Emilia. As a control group, we selected at random a healthy newborn for each case, matched for year of birth, maternal age and hospital of birth. We geocoded each mother’s resident address during the first trimester of pregnancy in a GIS (Geographical Information System) project. We also calculated the cutpoints of magnetic field density of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 microtesla (μT) around high-voltage power lines (>132kV) crossing the municipal territory, inputting the corresponding polylines into the GIS to define exposure corridors. We eventually calculated the risk of prevalence of birth defects associated with maternal exposure to magnetic fields from power lines using a conditional logistic regression model and adjusting for some confounding factors.ResultsWe identified 228 cases of birth defects and a corresponding number of control births. Two case and five control mothers had been residing during the first trimester of pregnancy in corridors with magnetic field intensity >0.1 μT. The risk of congenital malformations associated with the maternal residence during the first trimester of pregnancy in the corridors with exposure >0.1 μT was 0.4 (95% CI 0.1-2.3, P = 0.338) after adjustment for maternal age and education. Conclusions These observations do not suggest that exposure to electromagnetic fields during early pregnancy is associated with excess teratogenic risk.

2010 - Residenza in prossimità delle linee elettriche ad alta tensione e rischio di malformazioni congenite: uno studio caso-controllo [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; R., Rodolfi; N., Borciani; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; M., Riccò; L., Garavelli; G., Astolfi; F., Rivieri; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Gli effetti sulla salute riproduttiva dei campi elettromagnetici da radiazioni a frequenza estremamente bassa non sono ancora del tutto chiari. Abbiamo così realizzato uno studio caso-controllo tra le donne residenti nel comune di Reggio Emilia per studiare la relazione tra residenza materna durante il primo trimestre di gravidanza in prossimità delle linee elettriche ad alta tensione (>132kV) e il riscontro di malformazioni congenite nella progenie.Abbiamo identificato tutti i casi di malformazioni congenite verificatisi nel periodo 1998-2006. Per ciascuno abbiamo estratto un controllo appaiato per anno di nascita, struttura ospedaliera ed età materna. Di ogni madre è stata ricercata la residenza. Tramite modellistica abbiamo calcolato il campo magnetico lungo le linee elettriche. Abbiamo calcolato quindi il rischio di malformazioni congenite nella progenie associato alla residenza della madre in aree esposte a un campo magnetico >0.1 μT.Abbiamo identificato 228 casi di malformazioni congenite. Solo le madri di 2 casi e di 5 controlli sono risultate residenti durante i primi tre mesi di gravidanza in aree con campo magnetico di intensità >0.1 μT. Il rischio di malformazioni nella progenie di donne esposte è risultato essere uguale a 0.4, con intervalli di confidenza al 95% pari a 0.1-2.3.Il nostro studio non ha evidenziato un aumento del rischio di anomalie congenite nella progenie di donne che hanno risieduto durante la prima parte della gravidanza in aree caratterizzate da campi magnetici >0.1 μT.

2010 - Risk of hematological malignancies associated with magnetic fields exposure from power lines: a case-control study in two municipalities of northern Italy [Articolo su rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; M., Calzari; M., Poli; E., Ballotti; B., Notari; M., Bruni; G., Palazzi; Paolucci, Paolo; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

BackgroundSome epidemiologic studies have suggested an association between electromagnetic field exposure induced by high voltage power lines and childhood leukemia, but null results have also been yielded and the possibility of bias due to unmeasured confounders has been suggested.MethodsWe studied this relation in the Modena and Reggio Emilia municipalities of northern Italy, identifying the corridors along high voltage power lines with calculated magnetic field intensity in the 0.1-<0.2, 0.2-<0.4, and ≥ 0.4 microTesla ranges. We identified 64 cases of newly-diagnosed hematological malignancies in children aged <14 within these municipalities from 1986 to 2007, and we sampled four matched controls for each case, collecting information on historical residence and parental socioeconomic status of these subjects.ResultsRelative risk of leukemia associated with antecedent residence in the area with exposure ≥ 0.1 microTesla was 3.2 (6.7 adjusting for socioeconomic status), but this estimate was statistically very unstable, its 95% confidence interval being 0.4-23.4, and no indication of a dose-response relation emerged. Relative risk for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was 5.3 (95% confidence interval 0.7-43.5), while there was no increased risk for the other hematological malignancies.ConclusionsThough the number of exposed children in this study was too low to allow firm conclusions, results were more suggestive of an excess risk of leukemia among exposed children than of a null relation.

2010 - Seasonal and weekly pattern of atmospheric particles in a urban background site in the Po valley, Italy [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Bigi, Alessandro; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Cecchi, Rodolfo
abstract

Combined measurements of number and weight particle concentration have been performed in an urban background site in the Po valley, Italy. Particle count measurements have been performed by Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer: number concentration for particles with diameter ranging between 10 to 700 nm are acquired each 120 seconds in the grounds of the University campus. PM2.5 is measured by TEOM-FDMS: the instrument estimates hourly particle weight concentration performing a correction for losses of semi-volatile particles collected on the sampling filter, whose temperature is kept at 30°C. The data analyzed in this study have been collected from February to August 2008. Daily and weekly pattern of total particle count, particle number size distribution and weight concentration have been investigated, along with meteorological data. Number concentration peaks resulted mostly related to morning and evening rush-hour traffic, particularly in winter; weight concentration resulted influenced both by anthropic activities and atmospheric dispersion conditions and shows a different diurnal pattern. Coagulation of finer particles occurs after evening rush-hour, mostly during wintertime. An analysis of the most and less polluted days of the investigated period has been performed, and the daily patterns of pollutants have been compared for both seasons.

2010 - Stima della esposizione a benzene da traffico veicolare in provincia di Modena. [Abstract in Atti di Convegno]
Ferretti, Enrica; Malagoli, Carlotta; Sterni, A; Guerra, L; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Palazzi, G; Paolucci, Paolo; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

2009 - Dati di copertura nuvolosa SEVIRI-MSG per i modelli di dispersione atmosferica degli inquinanti [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; M., Ferrandes; M. P., Bogliolo
abstract

The fraction of cloud cover is very important for the atmospheric turbulence parameterization schemes adopted by many models of atmospheric dispersion of pollutants. This information is required when there are no direct measurements of net flow of radiation at the surface. In these cases, the net radiation is estimated from measures of cloud cover and incident solar radiation flux, or it is calculated directly using semi empirical and astronomical relationships which, in turn, require cloud cover. This work evaluated the usability of the cloud cover Cloud Analysis Images (CLAI) extracted from the images obtained by the sensor SEVIRI - MSG as input data to software for simulation of the dispersion of pollutants in the atmosphere Air Industry. The primary assessment of this experiment is the comparison between the values of net radiation measured at the ground with those calculated using the cloud cover extracted from CLAI. As a further experiment, is shown an application of the dispersion model, set to use the cloud cover CLAI; the concentration maps obtained were compared with those obtained using similar measures of solar radiation. This study highlights that data from MSG-SEVIRI cloud cover can effectively compensate for the lack of measures of solar radiation on the ground, although by that parameter's importance in modeling the dispersion of pollutants has not yet been well investigated and is still under study.

2009 - Residence near power lines and risk of childhood leukemia in two northern Italy municipalities [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Vinceti, Marco; M., Calzari; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; G., Palazzi; Paolucci, Paolo; M., Poli; E., Ballotti; B., Notari; M., Bruni
abstract

Background and ObjectiveSome epidemiologic studies suggested an association between electromagnetic fields exposure, such as that induced by residence near high-voltage power lines, and childhood leukemia, but null results have also been yielded and the possibility of bias induced by unmeasured confounders has been suggested.Methods We identified the corridors along the high-voltage power lines in the municipalities of Modena and Reggio Emilia, northern Italy, with estimated magnetic fields exposure cutoffs of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4 µT. We identified all cases of leukemia diagnosed in children (age 0-13) residing in these two municipalities during the 1986-2006 period through a nation-wide hospital-based registry. As a control group, we randomly selected four residents for each case, matched for year of birth, sex and municipality of residence. We collected information about historical residence and about parental educational attainment of all study subjects. We included this information in a GIS database and we calculated the risk of childhood leukemia associated with residence for at least 6 months in the exposed area.Results Among the 47 cases and 188 controls included in the study, only 1 case and 2 controls had an historical residence in the exposed areas. The risk of leukemia associated with antecedent residence in the area with exposure exceeding 0.1 µT was 2.0 (4.16 in the analysis adjusted for parental education), but this estimate was statistically very unstable, its 95% confidence interval being 0.2-22.1.ConclusionThe number of exposed children in this study was too low to allow firm conclusions, suggesting the need to substantially increase the study population. Though on the basis of these results an excess risk of leukemia among children exposed to electromagnetic fields from high-voltage power lines cannot be ruled out, the possibility of no association must also be considered.

2009 - Residential exposure to electromagnetic fields and risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Reggio Emilia, Italy. [Abstract in Rivista]
Bonvicini, Francesca; Vinceti, Marco; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; M., Poli; P., Zanichelli
abstract

Background and Objective: The etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is still unknown. Some epidemiologic studies suggest a relation between occupational exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) and increased ASL risk, while very little data is available about the possible role of EMF residential exposure. We investigated this issue in an Italian communitythrough a population-based case-control study.Methods: We calculated the area around the high-voltage power lines in the Reggio Emilia municipality, northern Italy, with estimated magnetic field exposure above 0.1 μT, adding 20 mto the distance from the power lines predicted by the model to account for geocoding inaccuracy. We retrieved new cases of ALS diagnosed among residents in Reggio Emilia municipality between 1995 and 2006, using several data sources such as death certificates, clinical records, hospital discharge registers and drug prescriptions. We randomly selected four controls for each case, matched for year of birth and sex, and we collected information about their residence in the 35 years prior to ALS diagnosis. All this information was included in a Geographical Information System to calculate disease risk associated with EMF exposure.Results: The final study population included 42 cases and 168 controls. ALS risk associated with antecedent residence in the exposed area was 1.8, 1.9, 1.8 and 1.6 at 35, 20, 10 and 0years before diagnosis, respectively. However, all estimates were statistically very unstable due to the low number of exposed subjects (6 controls and 3 cases 20 years before disease onset).Conclusion: Though these results might indicate an excess risk of ALS among residents exposed to EMF from high-voltage power lines, limitations of the study, particularly the small number of exposed subjects, suggest the need to further investigate this issue in larger populations.

2009 - Rischio di leucemia linfoide acuta nei bambini esposti ai campi elettromagnetici generati dagli elettrodotti in due comuni del Nord Italia [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Palazzi, G; Paolucci, Paolo; Calzari, Mg; Poli, M; Ballotti, E; Zanichelli, P; Sesti, D; Notari, B; Bruni, M; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

1.ObiettiviL’eziologia delle leucemie è stata attribuita a fattori di tipo ambientale quali radiazioni ionizzanti e non ionizzanti, benzene, pesticidi e sostanze alchilanti, nonché ad alterazioni genetiche. Esistono numerose indicazioni, anche se non del tutto concordanti, a favore di un’associazione tra elevate esposizioni a campi elettromagnetici a bassa frequenza e rischio di leucemia linfoide acuta (LLA) in età pediatrica. Abbiamo condotto uno studio caso-controllo per identificare un possibile aumento del rischio di LLA nei bambini residenti in prossimità delle linee elettriche ad alta tensione in due comuni del nord Italia. 2.Metodi Abbiamo individuato tutti i casi di LLA infantile (0-13 anni) diagnosticati nel periodo 1986-2006 tra i residenti nei comuni di Modena e Reggio Emilia ed appaiato a ciascuno di essi quattro controlli dello stesso sesso, anno di nascita e comune di residenza, estratti casualmente dagli archivi anagrafici. Di ogni soggetto è stata poi scrupolosamente ricostruita la storia residenziale. Il calcolo della induzione magnetica (stimata tramite modellistica) nelle aree limitrofe alle linee elettriche ad alta tensione che attraversano i due comuni, ha permesso di individuare delle fasce territoriali caratterizzate da livelli di campo elettromagnetico con cut offs di 0,1, 0,2 e 0,4 microtesla (µT). L’identificazione dello status espositivo dei soggetti è stato effettuato mediante posizionamento geografico territoriale su cartografia vettoriale con metodologia GIS (Geographical Information System) e attribuzione della fascia di appartenenza.Abbiamo quindi calcolato il rischio relativo di LLA associato alla residenza in prossimità delle linee elettriche ad alta tensione mediante regressione logistica condizionata per dati appaiati e aggiustata per alcuni fattori confondenti.3.Risultati Abbiamo identificato 36 casi di LLA ed appaiato ad essi 144 controlli. Il rischio di leucemia associato alla residenza per almeno sei mesi in un’area con esposizione maggiore di 0,1 µT è risultato pari a 1,4 (IC 95% 0,2-8,0; P=0.707) nell’analisi grezza ed a 2,7 (IC 95% 0,3-20,6; P=0,347) dopo aggiustamento per titolo di studio paterno.4.ConclusioniIl rischio stimato con le nostre analisi risulta particolarmente instabile sotto il profilo statistico. Tuttavia i risultati sembrano suggerire un eccesso di rischio di LLA nella popolazione infantile esposta ai campi elettromagnetici generate dai conduttori di alta tensione, di entità pari a quello riscontrato in altre recenti indagini epidemiologiche.

2009 - Risk of congenital anomalies around a municipal solid waste incinerator: a GIS-based case-control study. [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Rodolfi, R.; Garavelli, L.; Astolfi, G.; Rivieri, F.
abstract

BACKGROUND: Waste incineration releases into the environment toxic substances having a teratogenic potential, but little epidemiologic evidence is available on this topic. We aimed at examining the relation between exposure to the emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator and risk of birth defects in a northern Italy community, using Geographical Information System (GIS) data to estimate exposure and a population-based case-control study design. By modelling the incinerator emissions, we defined in the GIS three areas of increasing exposure according to predicted dioxins concentrations. We mapped the 228 births and induced abortions with diagnosis of congenital anomalies observed during the 1998-2006 period, together with a corresponding series of control births matched for year and hospital of birth/abortion as well as maternal age, using maternal address in the first three months of pregnancy to geocode cases and controls. RESULTS: Among women residing in the areas with medium and high exposure, prevalence of anomalies in the offspring was substantially comparable to that observed in the control population, nor dose-response relations for any of the major categories of birth defects emerged. Furthermore, odds ratio for congenital anomalies did not decrease during a prolonged shut-down period of the plant. CONCLUSION: Overall, these findings do not lend support to the hypothesis that the environmental contamination occurring around an incineration plant such as that examined in this study may induce major teratogenic effects.

2008 - Adverse pregnancy outcomes in a population exposed to the emissions of a municipal waste incinerator [Articolo su rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Goldoni, C.; De Girolamo, G.; Ferrari, Paola; Astolfi, G.; Rivieri, F.; Bergomi, Margherita
abstract

Some contaminants emitted by municipal waste incinerators are believed to adversely affect reproductive health in the exposed populations; yet only limited and conflicting epidemiologic evidence on this issue has been provided so far. In this study we analyzed rates of spontaneous abortion and prevalence at birth of congenital anomalies in women residing or working near the municipal solid waste incinerator of Modena, northern Italy, during the 2003--2006 period and who experienced higher levels of exposure to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans, compared to the remaining municipal population. In women residing in two areas close to the incinerator plant with increasing exposure to dioxins, we did not detect an excess risk of miscarriage (relative risk [RR] 1.00, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.65-1.48) and of birth defects (RR 0.64, 95% CI 0.20-1.55), nor did any indication of dose-response relation emerge. Among female workers employed in the factories located in the exposed areas, we did not observe a higher risk of spontaneous abortion (RR 1.04, 95% CI 0.38-2.30); however, an increase in prevalence of birth defects was noted (RR 2.26), although this risk estimate was statistically very unstable (95% CI 0.57-6.14). Overall, the study results provide little evidence of an excess risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to emissions from a modern municipal solid waste incinerator.

2008 - Esposizione alle emissioni di un inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani e rischio di malformazioni congenite. [Abstract in Rivista]
Malagoli, Carlotta; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Rodolfi, R; Rivieri, F; Astolfi, G; Garavelli, L; Vinceti, Marco
abstract

Abbiamo preso in esame nella città di Reggio Emilia la possibile relazione tra rischio di malformazioni congenite ed emissioni dell’inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani, dotato di sistemi avanzati di abbattimento delle emissioni ed in funzione nel 1968 (ad eccezione di un periodo di interruzione da aprile 2002 a giugno 2005). Abbiamo individuato tutti i casi di malformazioni congenite diagnosticati nei nati e negli aborti di donne residenti nel Comune di Reggio Emilia nel periodo 1998-2006, associando a ciascuno di essi un nato sano ‘di controllo’ utilizzando come variabili di appaiamento l’anno ed il centro di nascita unitamente all’età materna. Il territorio municipale è stato suddiviso in tre aree in base alle concentrazioni ambientali di diossine/furani e metalli pesanti emessi dall’inceneritore, assegnando lo status espositivo in base alla residenza materna nel primo trimestre di gravidanza con l’ausilio di metodiche GIS. Abbiamo quindi calcolato i rischi relativi nei diversi gruppi espositivi, anche in relazione al periodo di funzionamento, utilizzando procedure di regressione logistica condizionale ed aggiustando per titolo di studio materno.I risultati, riferiti ad un numero complessivo di 228 casi e 228 controlli, non hanno evidenziato modificazioni significative del rischio nei diversi gruppi espositivi nell’intero periodo considerato, né sono stati in grado di mostrare variazioni nel tempo dei rischi associate al regime di funzionamento dell’impianto di incenerimento. In particolare, il rischio relativo di malformazione congenita nelle residenti nell’area a maggiore esposizione e in quelle con esposizione intermedia, nei confronti della rimanente popolazione municipale, è risultato rispettivamente pari a 0,67 (I.C. al 95% 0,25-1,77) e 1,55 (0,67-3,58) con un P-trend pari a 0,883, senza indicazioni di un decremento del rischio nel periodo di inattività dell’impianto. Queste osservazioni non sembrano nel complesso indicare il verificarsi di effetti teratogeni a seguito dell’esposizione alle emissioni di un inceneritore per rifiuti solidi urbani tecnologicamente avanzato.

2008 - PM2.5 monitoring in urban site (Modena, Italy) by TEOM [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Bigi, Alessandro; Cecchi, Rodolfo; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara
abstract

A Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM, Rupprecht & Patashnick Co.) has been installed at the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio-Emilia. The instrument allows automated and continuous measurement of weight concentration of airborne particulate matter; the inlet is provided with an EPA-standard PM10 head impactor and a PM2.5 sharp cut cyclone. The weighting microbalance is kept at 50°C in order to measure particulate matter in conditions of constant and low humidity and to avoid sampling artefacts from particle-bound water. Underestimation of PM concentration from TEOM measurements have been documented in the literature, due to particulate volatilisation caused by sensor heating. The instrumental equipment has been set up at a height of 9 m above the ground in the Faculty of Engineering building, with the inlet stretched 1 m outside the window and connected to the sensor unit by a 5 cm long conductive Tygon tube. From June 2007 continuous monitoring of PM2.5 has been ran, and since December 2007 the TEOM has been enhanced with a FDMS (Filter Dynamic Measurement System) device to correct PM underestimation of conventional TEOM. The University site can be considered representative of air quality of the residential background for the municipality of Modena: summer and autumn PM2.5 average hourly concentration resulted in 15.0 μg/m3 and 20.7 μg/m3 respectively. From recent FDMS measurements, underestimation of autumn PM can be roughly assessed in 33%.

2008 - Prevalence of birth defects in a population living nearby a municipal solid waste incinerator with intermittent operativity. [Abstract in Rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara; Rodolfi, R; Garavelli, L; Astolfi, G; Calzolari, E.
abstract

Municipal waste incineration induces environmental contamination with toxic substances such as dioxins,furans and heavy metals, which have a teratogenic potential, but little epidemiologic evidence is available onthis topic. We examined the risk of congenital anomalies associated with maternal exposure to emissions of amodern municipal solid waste incinerator in a northern Italy community (Reggio Emilia, population about150,000) during the period 1998-2006 , through a population-based case-control study. In the analysis weincluded the livebirths and stillbirths as well as the induced abortions with diagnosis of congenital anomalies,and a corresponding series of control births, using maternal age as an additional matching variable and limitingthe analysis to women residing in the municipality. Sources of data were the Hospital Discharge Registry andthe population-based Registry of Birth Defects ‘IMER’ of the Emilia-Romagna Region, yielding an overallnumber of 352 congenital anomalies diagnoses and 352 control births during the study period. We calculatedthe risk of prevalence of birth defects in the offspring associated with maternal residence near the incinerator byusing a conditional logistic regression model. In the two periods (1998-2002 and 2006) of normal operation ofthe incinerator, among women residing <1 km and 1-2 km from the plant the prevalence of birth defects in theoffspring was not higher than that observed in the remaining municipal population. Furthermore, there was noreduction in the risk of congenital anomalies in the offspring of women residing up to 2 km from the incineratorin the shut-down period, from 2003 to 2005. Further adjustment for educational attainment level did notappreciably change these results. Findings of the study do not appear to support the hypothesis that theenvironmental contamination occurring around an incineration plant as examined in this study inducesteratogenic effects in the exposed population.

2008 - Risk of Birth Defects in a Population Living Near a Municipal Solid Waste Incinerator During Different Operating Periods [Abstract in Rivista]
Vinceti, Marco; Malagoli, Carlotta; Rodolfi, R.; Fabbi, Sara; Teggi, Sergio; Garavelli, L; Astolfi, G; Calzolari, E.
abstract

abstract

2008 - Size distribution of sub micron atmospheric particles by DMA [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Bigi, Alessandro; Cecchi, Rodolfo; Teggi, Sergio; Fabbi, Sara
abstract

A Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA) has been installed at the Department of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at the University of Modena and Reggio-Emilia. The instrument allows automated and continuous measurement of number concentration of air suspended particulate matter within an electrical mobility diameter range of 10 to 800 nm. The DMA has been assembled at the Université Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The instrument is capable of operating in a scanning mode as a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and in stepwise mode as a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS). In the SMPS mode measurements are completed in 2 minutes, whereas in DMPS mode, it takes about 10-12 minutes to complete a measurement over the complete diameter range. For this first testing period (March to May 2007) the DMA have been set up at a height of ~9m above the ground in the Faculty of Engineering building; the inlet have been equipped with a PM1 cyclone, stretched 1 m outside the window and shared with a TEOM instrument. Total particle number concentration and number size distribution spectra observed from March 19th to March 21st 2007 and from April 22nd to April 23rd 2007 are analysed in detail. Hourly variation of total particle concentration for the complete sampling period has been studied. Generally, concentration peaks resulted associated with rush hour during morning and with local meteorological conditions during evenings.

2008 - Surface parameters evaluated from satellite remote sensing images for pollutant atmospheric dispersion modelling [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Bogliolo, M. P.; Ghermandi, Grazia; Fabbi, Sara; Funaro, M.; Gariazzo, C.
abstract

This contribute deals with the use of surface parameters extracted from satellite remote sensing images (SRSI) for the setup of the input dataset required by pollutants atmospheric dispersion models (PATM). Accurate PATM need 2D distributions (grids) of many surface parameters to model turbulence parameters, as roughness length, albedo, leaf area index and Bowen’s ratio. Very often these parameters are set using predefined tables defined as a function of land cover (LC). Usually, this last information is extracted from public dataset, such as, for European countries, the Corine Land Cover (CLC). Several of these parameters can be computed directly from SRSI. Moreover, land cover classification evaluated from SRSI can be used to update existing LC datasets.In the first part of this work it is shown how ASTER remote sensing images have been used to calculate several surface parameters maps, as albedo, vegetation indexes (NDVI, LAI) and net radiation flux on a study area at Porto Marghera (Venice, Italy). This area is located near the coastline of a very complex areas surrounded by Venice lagoon, Adriatic Sea, cultivated, industrialized and habited zones. Moreover, the area is characterised by particular meteorological situation, with heavy sea-breeze phenomena. In the second part, the ASTER image is used to evaluate, using a supervised classification method, the LC of the area. Then, this LC is used to update the CLC. In the last part of the work the importance of these information extracted from the ASTER image is evaluated using the SPRAY lagrangian PATM. SPRAY has been used to simulated the dispersion of an inert generic pollutant emitted from a virtual source located in central part of the area, near the coast, from 29 August to 10 September 2006. For this time period a real (measured) meteorological data set have been used.

2008 - Uso di immagini telerilevate in supporto alla caratterizzazione e alla modellazione dei siti contaminati [Capitolo/Saggio]
Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Cecchi, Rodolfo; Fabbi, Sara; Bogliolo, M. P.
abstract

La Parte IV del Decreto Legislativo 152 del 3 dicembre 2006 e le successive Direttive Tecniche redatte dall’ l’Agenzia per la Protezione dell’Ambiente e per i servizi Tecnici (APAT) fissano i criteri generali per la caratterizzazione dei siti contaminati. Varie parti di questi documenti riguardano settori per i quali i dati telerilevati da satellite o da aereo possono essere di grande utilità. Fra di essi si possono citare la descrizione delle componenti ambientali esterne al sito, la ricostruzione di storica del sito, la mappatura dei contaminanti e la modellazione usata nell’analisi di rischio. In questo studio l’uso di immagini telerilevate per gli scopi sopra citati è presentato e discusso. Ognuna di queste parti è corredata di applicazioni a scenari reali. Inoltre, nella parte iniziale viene fornita una panoramica sintetica dei principali sensori satellitari utilizzabili per questi scopi.

2006 - ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION OF SUSPENDED PARTICLES EMITTED BY STABILIZED WASTES USING A LAGRANGIAN MODEL AND REMOTE SENSING DATA [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Teggi, Sergio; Ghermandi, Grazia; Cecchi, Rodolfo; Fabbi, Sara
abstract

In this work the importance of the land cover-usage data retrieved by remote sensing images in support of air dispersion models is shown. Models for the simulation of the dispersion of pollutants emitted in atmosphere are considered very useful tools for studying, monitoring and managing the environment. One of the most important input for these models is the land cover-usage, that must be furnished for each cell of the computational grid. In general, this information is retrieved from shared data set that are not sufficiently upgraded and not enough spatially detailed in order to obtain an accurate simulation of atmospheric dispersion. In this frame, land usage-cover retrieved from remote sensing image could represent a very useful support. The AIR INDUSTRY dispersion package is used to model the atmospheric dispersion of the suspended particulate matter emitted from a disposal area located in the main landfill site of the city of Modena (Italy), using two different land cover-usage data set: that extracted from the European Corine Land Cover data base, and that obtained by the integration of the previous with information retrieved from a satellite image acquired by the ETM+ sensor. The comparison of the pollutant concentration fields obtained for the two cases shows important differences, both in the area interested by pollution and in concentration levels. Nevertheless, this work highlight also the necessity of making more tests, for different case studies, before drawing final conclusion.

2006 - ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION SIMULATION OF THE EMISSION FROM A TURBOGAS POWER PLANT USING LAGRANGIAN AND GAUSSIAN MODELS [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio; Cecchi, Rodolfo; Fabbi, Sara
abstract

In this work the comparison between two models for the simulation of the dispersion of pollutants emitted in atmosphere is performed. The case studied is the plume continuously emitted from a point source, the stack of a turbogas power plant sited in the Po Valley (Pianura Padana) in Italy : the spatial domain of the simulation is part of the Reggio Emilia district. In the investigated site very light winds (<2 m/s) frequently persist for long period, and this condition is not easily simulated by the most of dispersion models. In this work the performances of the ISC3 gaussian model and the SPRAY (AIR INDUSTRY dispersion package) lagrangian model are tested. The pollutant dispersion is simulated with both the models in different seasons, corresponding to typical atmospheric conditions (stable or unstable) and to winds speed higher or lower than 2 m/s. The used meteorological data set is obtained by the CALMET model at the ARPA-Emilia Romagna.

2006 - Impiego di immagini telerilevate per modelli di dispersione di inquinanti in atmosfera [Relazione in Atti di Convegno]
M. P., Bogliolo; Fabbi, Sara; Ghermandi, Grazia; Teggi, Sergio
abstract

In many cases, atmospheric dispersion models require in input maps of surface parameters, as landcover, usually extracted from the CLC2000 dataset, and albedo. But, CORINE data do not describeseasonal changes and, some times, require upgrades. In this work a procedure, based on remote sensingdata, for the improvement of CORINE data and for albedo assessment is shown. The procedure was setfor the ARIA INDUSTRY dispersion model, and in the final part of the paper, a case study is shown.

Università degli studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia

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