Introduction: Population of the major industrial regions is exposed to multiple airborne pollutants. Actual exposure levels are verified by biomonitoring, which takes into account age and sex characteristics and pollutant metabolism patterns as a basis for establishing exposure-response relationships. Objective: To identify age- and sex-specific patterns and features of contamination of body fluids in the population exposed to airborne chemicals from emissions of diverse local industries. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in five urban agglomerations noted for high ambient air pollution levels caused by the release of emission components from non-ferrous metallurgy, fuel energy, and wood processing facilities, and four populated areas without such emissions. Bodily fluids (blood and urine) sampled from 1,939 children aged 4–7 years, 408 children aged 8–14 years, and 901 adults aged 18–54 years were tested for 14 contaminants. The exposure assessment was based on instrumental monitoring data and emission dispersion calculations for 2016–2024. In this study, we used the Student’s t-test, Fisher’s t-test, Kruskal–Wallis test, and regression analysis. Results: Air quality monitoring data revealed up to 5.8 and 2.8-fold annual limit exceedances for benzo[a]pyrene and gaseous fluorides in the industrial areas, respectively, whereas emission dispersion calculations showed those for chromium trioxide and copper (up to 2.9 and 15.5 times, respectively). Biomonitoring findings confirmed population exposures and helped reveal the following age- and sex-specific patterns in pollutant distribution: accumulation of manganese, copper, nickel, and chromium in blood of children was up to 2.6 times higher than that in adults; urinary excretion of aluminum and fluoride ions in adults was almost twice as high as in children, and blood benzo[a]pyrene levels in girls and women were up to 4.5 times higher than those in men and boys. Conclusions: Biomonitoring specifies the real exposure load. Sex- and age-specific patterns of biological fluid contamination take into account individual characteristics of pollutant accumulation and clearance, which is essential for objective assessment of cause-and-effect relationships within the exposure–response system. Profiles of bodily fluid contamination are specific for individual components of airborne chemical exposure.
Introduction. The most important reasons for the progression of eye diseases in children, in addition to genetic factors, is insufficient artificial lighting in classrooms. Creating a light environment that is safe from a hygienic point of view is an important task of managing the learning process in a preschool institution.The purpose of the study: studying the influence of artificial lighting on the visual analyzer in children and hygienic assessment of the formation of health risks caused by eye diseases during the provision of education and training services in preschool educational institutions.Materials and methods. A retrospective analysis of measurements of artificial lighting in a preschool institution over a long-term period and forms of medical statistical reporting were performed. Measurements of artificial illumination were carried out in group cells of preschool institutions. Observation/control groups were formed and the pathological incidence of eye diseases in children was assessed. Correlation analysis was applied, relative risk (RR) was calculated and health risk was calculated using categorization of risk levels.Results. Exceeding the level of illumination to the hygienic standard (HS) statistically significantly increases the likelihood of developing general pathological diseases of the eye and its adnexal apparatus in children (RR = 3.2; CI = 1.6–6.4); a value below the HS determines a negative trend in the development of these diseases (RR = 1.4; CI = 0.6–3.1). The quantitative value of the health risk corresponds to the alarming level from exposure to LED and fluorescent lighting (7.0 ∙ 10–⁴; 6.0 ∙ 10–⁴, respectively), which is subject to periodic monitoring and requires additional preventive measures.Limitations. The conduction of the study in preschool educational institutions limits the possibility of extrapolating the research results to other types of educational institutions that differ in other conditions for the provision of services for the upbringing and education of children.Conclusion. Artificial illumination, both at the HS level and exceeding it, can cause a risk to the health of the visual analyzer in children. In this regard, it is advisable to establish the HS of artificial illumination in preschool institutions in the form of a range of values.Compliance with ethical standards. An ethical review was not required for this work.Contribution of the authors: Shur P.Z. — concept and design of the study, editing; Redko S.V., Lir D.N., Fokin V.A., Shtina I.E. — collecting and processing material, writing text, compiling a list of references. All co-authors — approval of the final version of the article, responsibility for the integrity of all parts of the article.Funding. The study had no sponsorship.Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Received: November 11, 2025 / Accepted: April 24, 2026 / Published: July 28, 202
Introduction: The presence and spread of antibiotics and antimicrobials in the natural environment is a serious concern worldwide. Objective: To develop and test a method for determining sulfonamides in water using high-performance liquid chromatography with mass-spectrometric detection (HPLC/MS-MS). Materials and Methods: The study involved samples of various types of water (drinking water, surface and groundwater, swimming pool water, treated wastewater, etc.) collected in 2024–2025 in an industrial city. Over 150 samples of various water types were analyzed during the development, establishment of metrological characteristics, and testing of the methodology. Laboratory testing was carried out using high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometric detection. Conditions for the effective extraction of sulfonamides from water were established using solid-phase extraction with Oasis HLB cartridges. Results: We developed a selective and highly sensitive method for determining sulfonamides in water using high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry in the concentration range from 3 to 4,000 ng/dm3 with a determination error of 46–50 %. Conditions for the efficient extraction of sulfonamides from water using solid-phase extraction in Oasis HLB cartridges and a 0.2 % solution of formic acid in acetonitrile as an eluent have been elaborated. The average extraction rate of sulfonamides from various types of water ranged from 75 % to 100 %. As a result of testing the method for determining sulfonamides in various types of water samples, the qualitative presence of six out of seven determined compounds was established in 75 % of the samples, of which sulfanilamide, sulfathiazole, and sulfadimethoxine were detected above the lower limit of detection in the concentration range from 4 to 110 ng/dm3. No exceedances were detected. Conclusion: The study results confirm the feasibility of using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with solid-phase extraction for testing sulfonamides in water at levels representative of their actual concentrations in aqueous matrices.
Introduction. Effects produced by occupational exposures on health of workers employed at the chemical productions have not been given sufficient attention.The aim of this study was to establish and perform hygienic assessment of specific development of occupational and somatic diseases in workers employed at ammonia / carbamide production.Materials and methods. We examined two hundred forty four workers employed at an ammonia/carbamide producing enterprise; the observation group was made of 165 production workers (aged 42.2±1.6 years; work records equaled 11.6±1.5 years) and the reference group included 79 administrative workers (42.9±2.8 years and 10.5±1.6 years accordingly, р=0.32–0.58). The groups were divided by age, work records, and occupations (р=0.13–0.97). Working conditions were assessed using sanitary-hygienic, chemical-analytical, and instrumental methods; workers’ health was assessed relying on the results obtained by medical-social surveys, general clinical, functional, instrumental, and laboratory tests.Results. Adverse working conditions at the analyzed production are determined by exposure to noise level beyond their safe limits; ammonia, nitrogen and carbon oxides, aromatic hydrocarbons, and carbamide dust in workplace air; work intensity. Working conditions at administrative workplaces belong to the hazard category 1–2 (permissible). Diseases of the ear are a priority occupational pathology; priority somatic diseases include those of the endocrine, respiratory, and cardiovascular system. Main production workers face almost tenfold risk of diseases against administrative staff. Morbidity among auxiliary production personnel includes the same occupational and somatic diseases; however, their likelihood is twofold lower. Prevalence of priority pathologies is almost two times higher among main production workers aged younger than 45 years among their peers involved in auxiliary operations; the difference reaches 2.6 times in the older age group.Limitations. The study results can be extrapolated only on workers employed in similar working conditions at ammonia/carbamide productions.Conclusion. Longer work records have an apparent adverse effect on prevalence of occupational and work-related diseases in workers employed at main ammonia/carbamide production since they increase likelihood of such pathologies by up to 20 times when reaching 10 years and by up to 13 times when exceeding 10 years.Compliance with ethical standards. The study was approved by the local ethics committee of Federal Scientific Center for Medical and Preventive Health Risk Management Technologies (the meeting report No.4 dated January 10, 2024) and accomplished in full conformity with the conventional research principles stated in the WMA Declaration of Helsinki (2013 edition). All participants gave informed voluntary written consent to participate in the study.Contributions: Ustinova О.Yu. – study design and writing the text; Kostarev V.G., Nurislamova Т.V. – study design, data collection; Vorobyeva А.А., Nosov А.Е. – writing the text, statistical data analysis; Babina S.V. – statistical data analysis; Ponomarev М.D. – data collection; Ponomarev А.L. – data collection and statistical analysis. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Funding. The study had no sponsorship.Received: September 23, 2025 / Revised: November 7, 2025 / Accepted: December 2, 2025 / Published: January 15, 2026
Introduction: Elevated concentrations of boron in groundwater sources used for drinking water supply registered in a number of Russian regions may pose a potential health hazard and necessitate the assessment of risk from chronic oral exposure to this chemical. Objective: To analyze the cause-and-effect relationship between chronic exposure to boron in drinking water from underground sources and the health status of the population in some municipal districts of the Saratov Region. Materials and Methods: Data on incidence rates in the adult population of municipal districts of the Saratov Region for 2018–2024 were retrieved from the annual reporting form No. 12. Boron concentrations in drinking water were determined in accordance with the requirements of the Russian standard GOST 31949–2012. The causal relationship between waterborne boron levels and disease rates was analyzed using the Spearman’s rank correlation in Microsoft Excel with a significance level set at 0.05. Results: We established that in 2018–2024, boron concentrations in drinking water of several municipal districts of the Saratov Region ranged from 0.88 to 2.19 mg/L (1.8–4.4 MAC). The correlation analysis between waterborne boron levels and the health status of the local population revealed no statistically significant relationship (p > 0.05). Combined with the estimated public health risk (HQ ≤ 0.3) from chronic oral boron intake with drinking water at the established concentrations, this indicates the absence of a causal relationship between chronic boron exposure and disease incidence in the population. Conclusion: Our findings prove the absence of adverse health effects of chronic boron intake with drinking water in the local population of the municipal districts of the Saratov Region.
