Occupational Archives - EMFSA

Occupational Exposure to Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Feasibility Study for a Pooled Analysis of Original Data

Editor — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 16:38:46 +0000

Baaken D, Dechent D, Blettner M, Drießen S, Merzenich H. Occupational Exposure to Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Feasibility Study for a Pooled Analysis of Original Data. Bioelectromagnetics. 2021 Mar 25. doi: 10.1002/bem.22335. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33764559.

Abstract

Previous meta-analyses have suggested an increased risk of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) associated with occupational exposure to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MF). However, results should be interpreted with caution since studies were methodologically heterogeneous. Here, we assessed the feasibility of a pooling study to harmonize and re-analyze available original data. A systematic literature search was conducted. Published epidemiological studies were identified in PubMed and EMF-Portal from literature databases’ inception dates until January 2019. The characteristics of all studies were described, including exposure metrics, exposure categories, and confounders. A survey among the principal investigators (PI) was carried out to assess their willingness to provide their original data. The statistical power of a pooling study was evaluated. We identified 15 articles published between 1997 and 2019. Studies differed in terms of outcome, study population, exposure assessment, and exposure metrics. Most studies assessed ELF-MF as average magnetic flux density per working day; however, exposure categories varied widely. The pattern of adjustment for confounders was heterogeneous between studies, with age, sex, and socioeconomic status being most frequent. Eight PI expressed their willingness to provide original data. A relative risk of ≥1.14 for ALS and occupational exposure to ELF-MF can be detected with a power of more than 80% in a pooled study. The pooling of original data is recommended and could contribute to a better understanding of ELF-MF in the etiology of ALS based on a large database and reduced heterogeneity due to a standardized analysis protocol with harmonized exposure metrics and exposure categories. Bioelectromagnetics. © 2021 Bioelectromagnetics Society.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33764559/

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/bem.22335

The post Occupational Exposure to Extremely Low-Frequency Magnetic Fields and Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Results of a Feasibility Study for a Pooled Analysis of Original Data appeared first on EMFSA.

Environmental and Occupational Risk Factors of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Editor — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 21:49:29 +0000

Filippini, T.; Tesauro, M.; Fiore, M.; Malagoli, C.; Consonni, M.; Violi, F.; Iacuzio, L.; Arcolin, E.; Oliveri Conti, G.; Cristaldi, A.; Zuccarello, P.; Zucchi, E.; Mazzini, L.; Pisano, F.; Gagliardi, I.; Patti, F.; Mandrioli, J.; Ferrante, M.; Vinceti, M. Environmental and Occupational Risk Factors of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Population-Based Case-Control Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 2882.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17082882

Abstract

Objectives: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease with still unknown etiology. We aimed at investigating the association between environmental and occupational factors with ALS risk.

Methods: We performed a population-based case-control study in four Italian provinces (Catania, Modena, Novara, and Reggio Emilia) by administration of tailored questionnaires to ALS cases (n = 95) and randomly selected population referents (n = 135). We estimated ALS risk by calculating the odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (CI) using an unconditional logistic regression model.

Results: We found a positive association with disease risk for history of occupation in the agricultural sector (OR = 2.09, 95% CI 0.79–7.54), especially for longer than 10 years (OR = 2.72, 95% 1.02–7.20). Overall occupational exposure to solvents also suggested a positive association, especially for thinners (OR = 2.27, 95% CI 1.14–4.54) and paint removers (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 0.90–4.48). Both occupational and environmental exposure to electromagnetic fields show a slightly increased risk with OR = 1.69 (95% CI 0.70–4.09) and 2.41 (95% CI 1.13–5.12), respectively. Occupational but not environmental exposure to pesticides (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 0.63–2.37), particularly fungicides, and exposure to metals (OR = 4.20, 95% CI 1.88–9.38), particularly lead, mercury, and selenium, showed an imprecise but positive association. Finally, there was an indication of increased risk for living in proximity to water bodies.

Conclusions: Despite the caution that needs to be used due to some study limitations, such as the low number of exposed subjects and the possibility of recall bias, these results suggest the potential role of some environmental and occupational factors in ALS etiology.

ijerph-17-02882 Download

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The Superior Court of Justice of Aragon, Spain recognizes Electrohypersensitivity as the result of a work accident.

Editor — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 11:08:13 +0000

Last December the Higher Court of Justice of Aragon (TSJA) recognized and confirmed the ruling that links electrohypersensitivity to occupational electromagnetic fields exposure. This is a pioneering sentence (the first recognized case in Aragon) and the third in Spain. This confirms the judgement of the Court of First Instance of Zaragoza. The court ruling adds to recent rulings in Spain by granting work incapacitation to workers affected by electrosensitivity.

The affected person is a native of Samper de Calanda (Teruel), although he lives in Zaragoza and is employed in Endesa offices. He worked as a systems engineer in electrical transformation centers. The ruling states that “it is accredited that he suffers from electrohypersensitivity”, from which he began to present symptoms in 2009 and continued working “subjected to continuous exposure to very powerful electromagnetic fields”.

The ruling granted Joaquín Sanz the recognition that electrosensitivity had been the consequence of an accident at work and recognizes that he contracted electrosensitivity in the workplace.

Asides (The Independent Association for the Defense of Health http://www.asides.es/ ) points out that in 2013 the company’s medical services rated Joaquín Sanz as a person sensitive to electromagnetic fields, and yet he had to continue his work in places close to Wi-Fi and telephony antennas.

Both the Supreme Court of Italy and the High Court of Justice of Madrid had established a direct connection between radiation and serious diseases. In 2011 the Supreme Court of Italy granted Innocente Marcolini that his cranial nerve neuroma was caused by the several hours a day he spent talking on the mobile phone for work reasons. In the same way, in 2017 Roberto Romeo’s brain tumor was considered as an occupational disease by the Court of Justice of Ivrea ( recognised as a result of the use of the mobile phone). Both judgments took into account the scientific information provided by the experts in which it was shown that there is a causal relationship between mobile phone radiation and brain cancer, which caused the WHO in 2011 to classify radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as category 2B Possible Human Carcinogen. In 2016, telecommunications engineer Ricardo de Francisco managed to get the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid to declare that his electrosensitivity was a cause of incapacity for work, in the same way that a female worker of the University of Murcia achieved it in 2017.

Different environmental organizations and groups of affected people are demanding that the current electromagnetic emission limits be reduced, both for the population in general and in the workplace.

It should be noted that the Spanish General Public Health Law of 2011 considers that the impact of electromagnetic emissions on health of must be taken into account. Likewise, it should be noted that the current Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks, in its article 25, urges to protect workers who, due to their particular condition, are especially sensitive to risks arising from work; as well as against elements that may endanger their fertility, an aspect that if applied in a protectionist manner, according to the available scientific information would mean that many jobs, such as those near a WI-Fi hotspot, would be in breach of the regulations. Similarly, it should be mentioned that Resolutions of the European Parliament in 2009 and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2011 call for measures to ensure the protection of people affected by electrosensitivity. The legal recognition of illnesses caused by electromagnetic pollution exposure emphasizes that there is an environmental health problem that is not being properly addressed.

Citizens are being exposed to electromagnetic radiation without proper awareness and without the possibility of protecting themselves. The type of rapid development and emission levels have been set according to the interests of the industries and not according to independent scientific criteria. In the above examples the courts have had to protect workers affected by electromagnetic pollution.

“If urgent measures are not taken,” Asides warns, “according to experts’ forecasts, we will increasingly see an increase in health problems related to electromagnetic exposure, such as: cancer, electrosensitivity, infertility and behavioral disorders”.

References:

http://www.asides.es/nota%20de%20prensa%201.html

https://cadenaser.com/emisora/2019/01/09/radio_zaragoza/1547034143_821186.html

https://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticias/aragon/tsja-vincula-electrosensibilidad-accidentes-laborales_1334792.html

Also see:

Spain’s Supreme Court considers an employee’s retinal detachment while working in front of his computer to be an occupational accident.

Spain – EHS legally recognised

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