Exposure to low levels of hydrogen sulphide and its impact on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung function in the geothermal area of Mt. Amiata in Italy: The cross-sectional InVETTA study

The geothermal power plants for electricity production currently active in Italy are all located in Mt. Amiata area in the Tuscany region. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the framework of the regional project "InVETTA-Biomonitoring Survey and Epidemiological Evaluations for the Protec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2023-11, Vol.18 (11), p.e0293619-e0293619
Main Authors: Stoppa, Giorgia, Nuvolone, Daniela, Petri, Davide, Centi, Letizia, Nisticò, Francesca, Crocetti, Emanuele, Barbone, Fabio, Voller, Fabio
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arsenic
Biological monitoring
Biology and Life Sciences
Biomonitoring
Care and treatment
Chronic exposure
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Composition
Diagnosis
Electric power generation
Electric power-plants
Electricity
Emissions
Energy
Epidemiology
Expected values
Exposure
Geothermal power
Geothermal power plants
Green technology
Health aspects
Hydrogen
Hydrogen sulfide
Industrial plant emissions
Lung diseases
Lung diseases, Obstructive
Medicine and Health Sciences
Methods
Physical Sciences
Power plants
Production processes
Pulmonary functions
Research and Analysis Methods
Respiratory diseases
Respiratory function
Sample size
Spatial variability
Spirometry
Sulfides
Surveys
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Summary:The geothermal power plants for electricity production currently active in Italy are all located in Mt. Amiata area in the Tuscany region. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in the framework of the regional project "InVETTA-Biomonitoring Survey and Epidemiological Evaluations for the Protection of Health in the Amiata Territories", using objective measures of lung function to investigate the role of hydrogen sulphide (H.sub.2 S) in affecting the respiratory health of the population living in this area. 2018 adults aged 18-70 were enrolled during 2017-2019. Home and workplace addresses of participants were geocoded. Dispersion modelling was used to evaluate the spatial variability of exposure to H.sub.2 S from the geothermal power plants' emissions. We estimated average long-term historical exposure to H.sub.2 S and more recent exposure indicators. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) was defined according to the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD). Multivariable logistic regressions were performed to investigate associations between outcome and exposure. Our findings did not showed any evidence of an association between increasing H.sub.2 S exposure and lung function impairments. Some risk reductions were observed: a -32.8% (p = 0.003) for FEV1
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0293619