[Participatory risk evaluation. The role of the surveillance]. / Valutazione partecipativa del rischio. Il contributo della vigilanza.

Workplace assessment is a critical issue in small firms, and even in bigger ones if workers are scattered in large working areas. The traditional "top-down" approach, based on centralized risk assessment and hardly understandable documents, may have limited impact on workers' safety behaviour. The Local Sanitary Unit RMF tried to improve workers' participation to risk assessment, through auditing techniques. Waste workers signalled occupational condition of biological and chemical risk, which had not been taken into account in the Corporate Risk Assessment Document. The participatory approach to workplace risk assessment proved to be an easy and not expensive method to increase workers' awareness of risk and compliance to hygienic measures.

[The participatory approach to injury prevention appeared to be an useful tool of safety education and ergonomic improvement]. / Ergonomia partecipativa come strumento per la vigilanza sugli infortuni.

Participatory techniques have been adopted in vigilance of Civitavecchia's port activities, in order to control and remove injury causes. Injuries were studied by small participatory groups of port workers. As an example, seafastening operations were analyzed. The project team encouraged the workers to design ergonomic measures, or to modify work organization. Workers made suggestions and presented their points of view, that were reported to management for implementation.

[Vigilance on health surveillance in wood sector]. / Vigilanza sulla sorveglianza sanitaria nel settore legno.

OBJECTIVES: A program to promote occupational health among wood dust workers in the district of Civitavecchia. METHODS: In recent years, occupational health physicians charged of medical surveillance of wood workers (Competent Physicians, CPs) had been invited to perform a peer-review of their methods and activities. In the present phase, CPs have been invited to show the result of their medical surveillance. RESULTS: One hundred forty seven wood workers were submitted to rhinoscopic examination. The prevalence of woodwork-related rhinitis and other pathologic signs, including nasal adenocarcinoma (one case), was 32.7%. The prevalence of rhinitis in woodworkers increased with years of working as a woodworker. CONCLUSION: Wood dust and chemical exposures in wood workers represent a serious risk of disease for the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses.

Respiratory cancer mortality among workers employed in thermoelectric power plants.

A historical cohort study of 406 workers was undertaken to evaluate the possible health hazards of employment in traditional electric power plants with particular regard to cancer mortality. The total mortality was below that expected [observed 40, standardized mortality ratio (SMR) 87] on the basis of national rates. Cancer mortality was slightly increased (SMR 112), mainly because of an excess of respiratory cancer (observed 9, SMR 171, 90% CI 89-299). Lung cancer deaths were higher than expected among those less than 60 years of age and among those with a duration of exposure and a latency period since first employment of over 10 years (observed 7, SMR 184). Furthermore, the increase was more pronounced among maintenance workers and workers in general services. Previous data indicated that there had been past exposure to some known respiratory carcinogens (ie, asbestos, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). This study suggests that a possible lung cancer risk from traditional electricity generating plants should be considered and further studied.

[Exposure to low-frequency vibrations and spinal diseases in dock workers]. / Esposizione a vibrazioni a bassa frequenza ed affezioni del rachide nei lavoratori portuali.

The authors studied the prevalence of disorders of the spine in a group of dockers working on lifting gear. They stress the great sensitivity of clinical examination performed according to a standardized protocol for the evaluation of spine pathology.

[Increase of nonspecific bronchial reactivity after occupational exposure to vanadium]. / Aumento della reattività bronchiale aspecifica dopo esposizione professionale a vanadio.

A study was conducted to evaluate the level of bronchial responsiveness among workers recently exposed to vanadium pentoxide during periodical removal of ashes and clinker from the boilers of an oil-fired power station. A total of 11 male workers were examined 40-60 hours after the last exposure; male subjects, comparable as to age and smoking habits and not exposed to vanadium, were randomly chosen among the employees of the same power station as a control group. None of the subjects in the two groups had symptoms of bronchial inflammation or significant airways obstruction. However, bronchial responsiveness, investigated using a methacholine challenge test, was significantly higher in the exposed group. It is suggested that exposure to vanadium increases bronchial responsiveness even without clinical appearance of bronchial symptoms. The role of such increased level of airways responsiveness as a risk factor for chronic obstructive lung disease is speculated.

Malignant mesothelioma in thermoelectric power plant workers in Italy.

Asbestos has been widely used in Italian thermoelectric power plants and instances of exposure to workers have been documented in a variety of jobs. Preventive measures were put into effect only in the late 1970s. We report here on four mesothelioma cases among workers of three Italian power plants where cohort studies were carried out, and on three additional cases recorded by a systematic survey carried out on this neoplasm in Tuscany. When the data of the cohorts sources are merged, a significant excess of lung cancer is also evident. Even without a quantitative assessment of exposure, this report shows the importance of asbestos risk in thermal power plants. The risk appears not to be restricted to any particular category of workers.