Human biomonitoring of metals in workers at the waste-to-energy incinerator of Turin: An Italian longitudinal study.

Evidence of negative health effects of solid waste management is uncertain. Available reviews suggests the use of biomarkers in human biomonitoring (HBM) to detect low exposure levels. In September 2013, a waste-to-energy plant located in the Turin (Italy) went into operation. The SPoTT (acronym for Population health Surveillance in the Turin incinerator's area) monitoring program was set up to assess the potential health impact caused by the plant. The paper illustrates the results of HBM of metals in the workers before the plant went into operation and then at 1 year and 3 years. This study is one of the few focusing on workers with a longitudinal design (the first in Italy).