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The observed results support the hypothesis of an association between maternal work in greenhouses and spontaneous abortion. The main limitations of the study are lack of information on the specific chemicals used and the small number of pregnancies heavily exposed to pesticides.

52 workers of a plant transforming Hg mineral were subjected to psychological investigation in order to detect behavioral alterations which might be related to Hg exposure. A group of 29 subjects living in the same area was used as the control. The test battery included reaction times, mental efficiency measures, and personality indexes for a total of 33 variables. Results were analyzed through statistical elaboration using parametric tests. Efficiency and memory measures could discriminate exposed individuals from controls; for the personality profiles, an interpretation explaining the differences observed is proposed in terms of a dynamic profile having different characteristics in the different groups studied. Reference to existing literature is made to verify any possible correlation with other authors' findings.