Environmental and Occupational Health Risks Among Agricultural Workers Living in a Rural Community Near Petroleum Refinery and Motorway in Skopje Region

Environmental and Occupational Health Risks Among Agricultural Workers Living in a Rural Community Near Petroleum Refinery and Motorway in Skopje Region To assess health risks in agricultural workers associated with environmental exposure to pollutants released from a petroleum refinery and from traffic, we performed a cross-sectional study that included 119 randomly selected subjects divided in two groups. Group 1 included 60 agricultural workers living in a rural community near the petroleum refinery and a motorway overpass, whereas Group 2 consisted of 59 agricultural workers performing similar activities and living in a rural community with no exposure to industrial and traffic pollutants. Risk assessment included a questionnaire, blood pressure measurement, spirometry, laboratory tests, and toxicological analysis. The groups showed a similar prevalence of health problems, with exception of muscle pain in the extremities, headache, and fatigue, which were significantly more common in Group 1. Diastolic blood pressure was higher in Group 1, but not significantly (p=0.057). The same is true for blood carbon monoxide. Significantly higher in Group 1 were blood haemoglobin (p=0.001) and blood lead (p<0.001). Serum cholinesterase activity was similar in both groups. Our findings indicate the need of regular medical exams, ambient monitoring and environmental impact assessment in agricultural population in order to detect individuals at risk and to institute adequate preventive measures. Okolišni i profesionalni rizici za zdravlje poljoprivrednih radnika koji žive blizu rafinerije nafte i autoceste nedaleko od Skopja Cilj je ovoga presječnog ispitivanja bio ocijeniti zdravstveni rizik u 119 nasumce izabranih poljoprivrednih radnika povezan s izloženosti onečišćivačima čiji su izvori rafinerija nafte odnosno promet. Prva skupina ispitanika obuhvatila je 60 poljoprivrednika s prebivalištem u Miladinovcima, u blizini rafinerije nafte i nadvožnjaka autoceste, dok je druga skupina obuhvatila 59 poljoprivrednika iz Creševa, koji su obavljali slične djelatnosti, ali nisu bili izloženi industrijskim i prometnim onečišćivačima. Ocjena rizika obuhvatila je odgovore na upitnik, krvni tlak, spirometriju te nalaze laboratorijskih i toksikoloških pretraga. Obje su skupine iskazale podjednaku prevalenciju zdravstvenih tegoba, a izuzetak je značajno veća učestalost boli u mišićima, glavobolje i umora u skupini iz Miladinovaca. Dijastolički krvni tlak i ugljikov monoksid u krvi također su bili viši u ovoj skupini, ali se nisu značajno razlikovali od skupine iz Creševa (p=0,057). Značajno više u skupini iz Miladinovaca bile su međutim razine hemoglobina (p=0,001) i olova u krvi (p<0.001). Aktivnost kolinesteraza u serumu bila je podjednaka u obje skupine. Naši rezultati upućuju na štetno djelovanje izloženosti onečišćivačima iz naftne rafinerije i prometa u poljoprivrednika te na potrebu za redovitim liječničkim pregledima radi prepoznavanja ugroženih pojedinaca te za uvođenjem odgovarajućih preventivnih mjera.