[Effectiveness of measures to promote and control on the appropriateness of preventive measures taken on farms--health surveillance, surveys on damages associated with risk]. / Efficacia delle azioni di promozione e controllo sull'appropriatezza delle misure di prevenzione adottate nelle aziende agricole--la sorveglianza sanitaria, le indagini sui danni associati al rischio.

The agricultural activities have several issues in the management of safety and health of workers. The study of two ASL of Central Italy (VT and RMH) intended to check the risk conditions in order to highlight most critical points and define a prevention and surveillance plan. We moved in these directions: verification of workplaces and work practices; examination of machineries and equipment; active search of occupational diseases. We analyzed some peculiar aspects of the health surveillance of 75 workers such as risk from sun exposure, significantly underestimated by employers and competent doctors, despite sun exposure diseases are included in the list for which reporting is mandatory. Our study shows that a targeted campaign of prevention and control can lead to an improvement in safety management, on the other hand shows the necessity to bring occupational health physician to assess and manage also less valuated risks as the sun exposure.

Evaluation of skin and respiratory doses and urinary excretion of alkylphosphates in workers exposed to dimethoate during treatment of olive trees.

This article describes a study of exposure to dimethoate during spraying of olive trees in Viterbo province in central Italy. Airborne concentrations of dimethoate were in the range 1.5 to 56.7 nmol/m(3). Total skin contamination was in the range 228.4 to 3200.7 nmol/d and averaged 96.0% +/- 3.6% of the total potential dose. Cotton garments afforded less skin protection than waterproof ones, which were in turn associated with higher skin contamination than disposable Tyvek overalls. Total potential doses and estimated absorbed doses, including their maxima, were below the acceptable daily intake of dimethoate, which is 43.6 nmol/kg body weight (b.w.). Urinary excretion of alkylphosphates was significantly higher than in the general population, increasing with exposure and usually showing a peak in the urine sample collected after treatment. Metabolite concentrations were influenced by the type of individual protection used: minimum levels were associated with the closed cabin and maximum levels with absence of any respiratory or hand protection. Urinary alkylphosphates showed a good correlation with estimated absorbed doses and are confirmed as sensitive biologic indicators of exposure to phosphoric esters.