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Introduction and Objective: This study aimed to determine the environmental conditions for the occurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a non-industrial area, and patient-reported outcomes after surgical release., Material and Methods: This observational study utilized convenience sampling to screen 100 consecutive patients for carpal tunnel syndrome at the Orthopedic Clinic, using two questionnaires. Data were collected from the Disability of Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) questionnaire, and the PROMIS® (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) Upper Extremity and PROMIS® SF 3a questionnaire (Pain Intensity). The relationship of various repetitive musculoskeletal disorders to CTS was validated by questionnaire scores, PROMIS® T-score, and correlation coefficients., Results: Finally, CTS was confirmed by electromyography in 69 patients (55 females and 14 males; average age: 47.5 years). Aging significantly influenced the occurrence of symptoms associated with pain (neck, thoracic, lower back, shoulder, and CTS (p<0.001)). Those employed for longer more frequently declared performing exercises to prevent overload pain (p<0.001). DASH results significantly correlated with the PROMIS Upper Extremity score (r = -0.64; p<0.05)., Conclusions: Geographical and environmental conditions indicate that even though working with a computer is described as an essential risk factor for CTS, the study group showed a predominance of elements that were unrelated to working at a computer. CTS also occurred among people working physically, and even among unemployed individuals. The existence of a statistically significant, strong, negative correlation (r=-0.64; p < 0.05) between the results obtained in the questionnaires DASH and PROMIS Upper Extremity has been demonstrated.

Due to its adverse impact on health, as well as its global distribution, long atmospheric lifetime and propensity for deposition in the aquatic environment and in living tissue, the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has classified mercury and its compounds as a severe air quality threat. Such widespread presence of mercury in the environment originates from both natural and anthropogenic sources. Global anthropogenic emission of mercury is evaluated at 2000 Mg year -1 . According to the National Centre for Emissions Management (Pol. KOBiZE) report for 2014, Polish annual mercury emissions amount to approximately 10 Mg. Over 90% of mercury emissions in Poland originate from combustion of coal.The purpose of this paper was to understand mercury behaviour during sub-bituminous coal and lignite combustion for flue gas purification in terms of reduction of emissions by active methods. The average mercury content in Polish sub-bituminous coal and lignite was 103.7 and 443.5 μg kg -1 . The concentration of mercury in flue gases emitted into the atmosphere was 5.3 μg m -3 for sub-bituminous coal and 17.5 μg m -3 for lignite. The study analysed six low-cost sorbents with the average achieved efficiency of mercury removal from 30.6 to 92.9% for sub-bituminous coal and 22.8 to 80.3% for lignite combustion. Also, the effect of coke dust grain size was examined for mercury sorptive properties. The fine fraction of coke dust (CD) adsorbed within 243-277 μg Hg kg -1 , while the largest fraction at only 95 μg Hg kg -1 . The CD fraction < 0.063 mm removed almost 92% of mercury during coal combustion, so the concentration of mercury in flue gas decreased from 5.3 to 0.4 μg Hg m -3 . The same fraction of CD had removed 93% of mercury from lignite flue gas by reducing the concentration of mercury in the flow from 17.6 to 1.2 μg Hg m -3 . The publication also presents the impact of photochemical oxidation of mercury on the effectiveness of Hg vapour removal during combustion of lignite. After physical oxidation of Hg in the flue gas, its effectiveness has increased twofold.