SARS-CoV-2 Emergency Management in the ASL 1 Abruzzo Companies, Italy: An Autumn 2022 Cross-Sectional Investigation.

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic still represents a public health emergency that affects workplaces and forces employers to develop technical, organizational and procedural measures safeguarding workers' health, particularly 'fragile' ones. This research aimed to assess employers' adherence to the emergency measures planned by the Italian government to hinder COVID-19 during Autumn 2022. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Autumn 2022, with an 18-item questionnaire derived from the Italian State's governmental indications, sent by email to 51 companies of Marsica and Peligna Valley, L'Aquila, Southern Italy. RESULTS: A total of 20 recruited companies (65% were micro-enterprises, belonging to the food and financial sector) responded to the questionnaire within a mean time of 18 days (±11.64), which was lower for medium- and large-sized companies as well as for banking sector ones (p < 0.05). As regards intervention strategies, sanitization (92.7% of positive answers) and specific training (83.3%) showed almost full compliance in contrast to working organization (47.5%) and social distancing (61.7%). The companies that reported managing fragility (50%) belong almost exclusively to the banking sector, with predominantly office-based tasks. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided insight into critical issues relating to compliance with national legislative directives and the crucial role of occupational physicians as global advisors for all workplaces.

SARS-CoV-2 emergency in the workplace: are companies ready to protect their workers? A cross-sectional survey.

Purpose. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected all aspects of everyday life worldwide, including the entire working sector. This study aims to evaluate the response capacity of some Italian companies to the emergency about workers' health and safety. Methods. Data were cross-sectional, collected by a specially drafted 19-item checklist sent to 60 enterprises located in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. Results. Forty-one companies (68%) responded by filling in the checklist; more than 50% have fewer than 50 employees each and most of the companies belong to the food industry and the financial services. Adherence to the containment measures for the COVID-19 emergency was analysed, especially relating to job organization, social distancing, sanitization and specific training. Large enterprises and the banking sector showed ductile work reorganization according to the containment measures compared to small companies and the food sector. Conclusions. Italian companies have shown a good response to the regulatory restrictions resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 emergency. This is a worthy premise for the imminent management of Phase 2, with the progressive reopening of Italian companies.

Exposure assessment to inhalable and respirable dust in the post - earthquake construction sites in the city of l'Aquila.

OBJECTIVES: Following an earthquake that occurred in middle Italy in 2009, the involved territory hosted in 10 years thousands of construction sites. The aim of this study is to assess inhalable, respirable, and respirable crystalline silica exposure of the construction workers involved in the rebuilding activities. METHODS: Six construction companies joined the study and hosted the air sampling activities. We identified four work tasks: bricklayer and similar; scaffolder and carpenter; manual demolition; other tasks. We reported 8-h time-weighted concentrations. RESULTS: The "All tasks" geometric mean concentration of inhalable dust was 4.73 mg/m3 and the higher, TLV exceeding exposure was observed for "Manual demolition workers" (13.92 mg/m3 , GM). The "All tasks" geometric mean concentration of respirable dust was 0.25 mg/m3 and no TLV-exceeding exposure (geometric mean values) was observed among the work-related groups. About the respirable crystalline silica dust exposure, the "All tasks" average concentration was 0.004 mg/m3 . No TLV-exceeding exposure was observed among the whole data sample. CONCLUSIONS: The comparison of the results shows that manual demolition workers are exposed to high levels of inhalable dust, exceeding the TLV-TWA (Threshold Limit Values-Time Weighted Average) limit of 10 mg/m3 . About the respirable dust concentration, none of the analyzed work task dust concentrations exceeded the TLV-TWA limit of 3 mg/m3 (geometric mean values). Measurements of respirable crystalline silica dust have shown levels below the threshold limit value of 0.025 mg/m3 . Our findings overall match with the available scientific data.