[L.D. n. 81/08: the role of National Health Service Occupational Health and Safety Units]. / Il D.Lgs. n. 81/08: ruolo dei Servizi di Prevenzione e Sicurezza negli Ambienti di Lavoro delle ASL.

The new legislative decree n. 81/2008 restates the national health service occupational health and safety units primary role on the workplaces safeguard. Comparing with the previous law, the need of co-operation and co-ordination between these units and the other public agencies with the same institutional aim is now emphasized; moreover, the health promotion in workplaces and the risk communication are required to be enforced as necessary needs complementary to the traditional controls about workplaces' safety rules abidance. These activities must be carried out together with all the interested local institutions and organizations, among which the occupational physicians can play a main role, as the projects realized in different Italian regions have already proved. The start up of the new central institutional system that have to decide the national health and safety policies in the workplaces should provide the technical and political directions for the health promotion, completing the local aims that have--usefully--been driving till now this kind of projects.