Ferrara Occupational diseases increased by 50% in one year, with cases of pleural mesothelioma even exploding. There are disturbing indications that emerge from the Inail data processed by the local health authority on the occasion of the Day of Safety and Health at Work, which is celebrated tomorrow, even if the trend of accidents with these characteristics are following an opposite path, i.e. downward, for a few years now. In any case, on the front of workers exposed to asbestos, important news is on the way.
The report Unlike an accident, which is a harmful and instantaneous event, an occupational disease can occur some time after the start of exposure, even when the danger no longer exists. The processing carried out by the Regional Observatory on accidents at work in the Region, starting from the monthly Inail data extracted as of 30 January, highlights a reduction in complaints presented in the province of Ferrara in 2023, -23% against a regional average of -7%; if we take the previous three years as a reference, the reduction is reduced to -11% (-1.7% in Emilia Romagna).
The official data from the Inail final balance will arrive later, unfortunately there are certainly three fatal accidents during 2023. «Even in these cases, as in many other tragedies which lead to death as a result of the accident, the methods (falling from ‘high; crushing under a tractor due to overturning) appear to be avoidable and predictable” notes Antonia Maria Guglielmin, director of Prevention and safety at work at the ASL. In 2022, 185 occupational diseases were reported and recognized in Ferrara, of which 68 % affecting the osteo-muscular system and connective tissue: we are talking about alteration of the invertebral discs, tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome, which derive from biomechanical overloads.
While awaiting the final data here too, the INAIL interactive database reports an increase of approximately 50% in the number of reported occupational diseases in 2023, with a prevalence of problems with the musculoskeletal system. “Important”, underlines the ASL, is the increase in reports of mesotheliomas, which are 19 compared to 8 last year.
The data is also in line with what is emerging at a regional level, and the sectors most affected are building construction, rolling stock/railway repairs; metalworking industry, sugar factories and other food industries (here the incidence of residents in the Ferrara area is high), production of reinforced concrete products. The asbestos case Malignant pleural mesothelioma, which usually leaves no escape, is in fact a school case, because it derives from exposures dating back up to 40 years ago, and affects people not only of advanced age.
The ban on asbestos, which occurred in Italy only in April 1994, has meant that since the 1980s the deaths caused by the disease have progressively increased: the peak, according to the Asbestos Victims Foundation, is expected precisely in these years. In the province of Ferrara, among other things, asbestos was widely used in the petrochemical industry, sugar factories and railways, among others. «We are not able to say whether the peak has been reached or whether the cases are destined to increase , certainly the awareness-raising activity carried out by us over all these years may have had an influence on the number of complaints, given that people have begun to believe in the possibility of obtaining justice and compensation – says Alberto Alberti, president of the Association exposed asbestos and member of Anmil – Family doctors have never helped this battle of ours: they gave me a certificate of recovery from absestosis (another disease linked to asbestos, ed.), which specialists do not contemplate as a possibility” .
The refreshments Alberti has just returned from meetings in Friuli, where the presence of Fincantieri led to widespread awareness on the issue and, recently, to the establishment of a company fund for victims of asbestos reserved for employees of the shipbuilding giant already in court for related cases , and endowed with 20 million euros per year.
This money comes from the National Asbestos Victims Fund which is thus fundamentally emptied of resources. «The National Fund – underlines Alberti – is dormant, but not abolished. Even taking into account the payments for Fincantieri, it maintains a residue of 40 million: considering that each successful application involves a one-off payment of 15 thousand euros, the scope for obtaining even significant amounts for a family in difficulty remains large”. The Asbestos Victims Association he therefore recommends submitting an application to INAIL “not only for work-related reasons, but also for environmental and family reasons” says Alberti, and moreover there are now numerous cases of wives of exposed people falling ill due to their clothes being washed for years. In June, in any case, «a desk will be opened in Ferrara in collaboration with Anmil, to provide information on these topics».
