Reference values of urinary ethylenethiourea in four regions of Italy (multicentric study)

The results of a study in which urinary ethylenethiourea (ETU) was assayed in the general population (167 subjects) of four Regions of Italy (Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont and Trentino Alto Adige) are reported. The results are compared with those in a population of 97 subjects from Rovescala, a hillside wine-producing town a few kilometres from Pavia, where ethylenebisdithiocarbamates are sprayed by helicopter. It was found that an average of 24% of the populations of the four regions, taken together, had urinary ETU levels above detection limits (1.0 mu g l(-1)) as compared to 37% of the population of Rovescala. The ranges of concentration were 0.8-8.3 mu g l(-1) for the four regions and 0.9-61.4 mu g l(-1) for Rovescala. Statistically significant variables for urinary ETU levels were smoking and wine drinking.