Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the exposure to Cobalt (Co) and Tungsten (W) in a group of hard metal tool sharpeners through a combined approach of air and biological monitoring, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a control and improvement intervention carried out in collaboration with the medical officers of the local Health Protection Agency, by biomonitoring.Methods: We enrolled 132 workers from 17 companies of the province of Brescia, northern Italy. The study was performed in two phases: (1) an environmental and biomonitoring survey to assess the workers' exposure to Co and W at their usual working conditions; (2) a further biomonitoring survey 3 months after the enforcement of a control and improvement intervention, to assess its effectiveness.Results: Workers were found to be exposed to low concentration of airborne dust containing Co and W but after the intervention we recorded a significant decrease of the urinary concentrations of both Co and W. The extent of the decrease was correlated to the number of preventive industrial hygiene interventions that were carried out.Conclusions: Biological monitoring of Co and W in the hard metal tools manufacturing industry is a sensitive and effective method to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention practices.

中文翻译：

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职业性低水平暴露于硬金属：钴和钨生物监测作为评估工业卫生干预措施风险管理有效性的有效工具。

目的：该研究的目的是通过空气和生物监测相结合的方法，评估一组硬质金属磨刀器中钴（Co）和钨（W）的暴露，并评估控制和改进措施的有效性方法：我们招募了来自意大利北部布雷西亚省17家公司的132名工人。该研究分两个阶段进行：（1）环境和生物监测调查，以评估工人在正常工作条件下暴露于Co和W的情况；（2）在实施控制和改善干预措施3个月后进行进一步的生物监测调查，以评估其有效性。结果：