Occupational exposure in the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials in Italy

Our plain-English summary of Occupational exposure in the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials in Italy, by A. Scarselli, M. Corfiati, D. Di Marzio (International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 2016).

The study

• Authors: A. Scarselli, M. Corfiati, D. Di Marzio
• Journal: International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
• Published: 2016;89(5):857-65
• Cited by: 13 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Purpose: A great variety of asbestos-containing materials are present in both residential and work settings because of the widespread use made in the past, and many occupational activities still entail the risk of asbestos exposure in Italy, more than 2 decades after the total national ban, mainly those involved in the removal and disposal of asbestos. The aim of the study was to evaluate the level and extent of asbestos exposure in Italy between the years 1996-2013 in the sector of asbestos abatement.

Methods: Data were collected from firm registries of asbestos-exposed workers and descriptive statistics were calculated for exposure-related variables.

Results: Overall, 15,860 measurements of asbestos exposure were selected from the national database of registries, mostly referring to the construction sector (N = 11,353). Despite the mean exposure levels are low, the air concentration of asbestos fibers measured during these activities may overcome the action level established by the Italian legislation and, in a limited number of cases, can exceed even the occupational limit value. Among occupations at higher risk, there are also garbage collectors and insulation workers.

Conclusions: Starting from the analysis of the Italian database of occupational exposure registries, this study outlines the current levels of asbestos exposure in abatement-related sectors, discussing their possible implications for public health policies and surveillance programs.

In plain English

This study described airborne asbestos fiber measurements recorded in Italy between 1996 and 2013 during the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials. The authors analyzed 15,860 measurements, covering 2,470 workers in 241 firms. The data came from SIREP, the database in which the Italian Workers' Compensation Authority (INAIL) collects the registries of exposed workers that firms must keep by law. The average (arithmetic mean) concentration was 0.025 fibers per cubic centimeter (f/cc). Of all measurements, 37.3% were at or above the Italian action level of 0.01 f/cc and 4.3% were at or above the occupational exposure limit of 0.1 f/cc. Construction had a higher mean (0.029 f/cc) than sewage and refuse disposal (0.016 f/cc). Building finishers (12.12%) and insulation workers (4.75%) had the highest shares of measurements above the limit. The authors concluded that asbestos still in place contributes to current exposures and that air levels should be monitored in at-risk sectors and occupations. They noted uneven reporting across regions, under-reporting by very small firms, and little information on sampling methods.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Descriptive analysis of asbestos air-measurement data reported by firms to a national exposure registry database (SIREP)
• Who was studied: 15,860 measurements of asbestos fibers, representing 6359 exposures of 2470 workers in 241 firms in Italy, 1996 to 2013, mainly in the construction sector (11,353 measurements) and the sewage and refuse disposal sector (4507 measurements)
• Exposure: Airborne asbestos fibers (actinolite, amosite, anthophyllite, chrysotile, crocidolite or tremolite) measured over 8-hour shifts during the removal and disposal of asbestos-containing materials, such as removal of Eternit (asbestos cement) and asbestos insulation
• Main results:
  • Across all 15,860 measurements, the arithmetic mean was 0.025 f/cc and the geometric mean was 0.006 f/cc
  • 37.3% of all measurements were equal to or above the action level of 0.01 f/cc, and 4.3% were equal to or above the occupational exposure limit (OEL)
  • In about 8% of firms, the concentration was above the OEL (more than 0.1 f/cc), and 5% of all exposed workers had an exposure level above this limit
  • By mineral type, geometric mean concentrations were highest for anthophyllite (446 measurements, 0.0093 f/cc) and actinolite (420 measurements, 0.0088 f/cc), and lowest for chrysotile (8403 measurements, 0.0040 f/cc)
  • The construction sector (11,353 measurements) had a higher arithmetic mean (0.029 f/cc) than the sewage and refuse disposal sector (4507 measurements, 0.016 f/cc). The share of measurements over the OEL was 2.86% in construction and 1.13% in sewage and refuse disposal
  • The occupational groups with the highest fraction of measurements above the OEL were insulation workers (4.75%) and building finishers (12.12%). Insulation workers also had the largest number of exposed workers (769 male workers)
  • The authors identified sheet-metal workers, garbage collectors, civil engineering technicians, and cement and other mineral products machine operators as the occupations at higher risk. Garbage collectors had an arithmetic mean of 0.047 f/cc (370 measurements), and 65.1% of them worked mainly in construction-sector firms
  • Among job tasks in men, Eternit removal operators had 9642 measurements (arithmetic mean 0.030 f/cc), insulation removal operators 3329 (0.015 f/cc), and asbestos-containing materials disposal workers 1031 (0.031 f/cc)
  • High exposures (more than 0.1 f/cc) were concentrated in the sector of other construction work (NACE 45.25), among insulation workers, and in the 1999 to 2004 period. The authors said the time trend should be interpreted with caution and that otherwise no clear change was detectable
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the findings support a major contribution of in-place asbestos materials to current occupational exposures, and the need to monitor air concentration levels in sectors and occupations at risk
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The SIREP database has inhomogeneous territorial coverage, because notification is mandatory only above 0.01 f/cc, which makes comparisons between regions difficult
  • Micro firms (fewer than 10 employees) are generally underreported, and firms that neither keep nor transmit exposure data may have higher exposure levels, which may have affected the estimates
  • About 40% of reporting firms did not fully detail the fiber counting method, and in most cases it was not specified whether personal or area sampling was used
  • Few measurements were made by SEM, and none were measured with more than one method, so differences between the counting methods could not be correctly interpreted
  • No specific laboratory standards and certification procedures existed yet in Italy, likely adding uncertainty to the estimates
  • Replacing measurements below the limit of detection with half that limit may have introduced bias
  • Industrial sector or job/occupation may have been misclassified

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Construction.

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Exposure, Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM), Asbestos Exposure, Abatement, Insulator.

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