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Lockdown measures were initiated in Italy on March 9th after the start of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic to flatten the epidemic curve. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of restrictive measures in the Apulia Region, southern Italy, on air quality from March to April 2020. We applied a dual-track approach. We assessed citizen mobility and vehicle traffic with mobility network data and information obtained from satellite tracking, and we evaluated and compared pollutant concentration data as measured by monitoring stations maintained by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection and Prevention of Apulia (ARPA). The results showed a decrease in the weekly mean NO 2 concentration recorded by urban traffic stations during the lockdown period. In particular, in the city of Bari, the average NO 2 concentration decreased from 62.2 μg/m 3 in March 2019 to 48.2 μg/m 3 in March 2020. Regarding PM10 levels, the average concentrations at the individual traffic stations showed no particular variation compared to those in the same months of the previous year, except for Bari-Caldarola Station in March 2019/2020 ( p -value < 0.001) and in April 2019/2020 ( p -value = 0.04). In particular the average in March 2019 was ~26.9 μg/m 3 , while that in March 2020 was ~22.9 μg/m 3 . For April, the average concentration of PM10 in 2019 was 27.9 μg/m 3 , while in 2020, the average was ~22.4 μg/m 3 . This can be explained by the fact that PM10 levels are influenced by multiple variables such as weather and climate conditions and desert dust advections., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 De Maria, Caputi, Tafuri, Cannone, Sponselli, Delfino, Pipoli, Bruno, Angiuli, Mucci, Ledda and Vimercati.)

Asbestos is an environmental carcinogen, and asbestos-related diseases are a global-scale public health issue. We report three cases (one male and two females) of pleural malignant mesothelioma (PMM) caused by environmental asbestos exposure reported by the Apulia Regional Operating Centre (COR) to the National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM). The patients revealed no history of asbestos exposure even after detailed assessment. The environmental (neighborhood) asbestos exposure for each of the three cases was due to both the residential history of the subjects and their workplace, close to a military barracks, at a distance of between 45 and 100 m. Moreover, in addition to this new source of pollution, an asbestos cement factory was located in the urban area of Bari municipality, in the Apulia region, southern Italy. Environmental-residential/neighborhood asbestos exposure in the city of Bari, a contaminated area classified as a site of national concern for land reclamation, is discussed also with reference to the military barracks.