Genoa – On the eve of World Asbestos Victims Day (which is celebrated on April 28) the National Asbestos Observatory has drawn up a map of the Italian regions most affected by asbestos-related diseases. In our country in 2023, 7 thousand deaths and 10 thousand new patients were recorded.
In Liguria
The mesotheliomas registered up to 2018 in the VII ReNaM report were 3263, equal to 10.3% of the national total. Liguria, despite having a number of inhabitants equal to 1,508,800, equal to 2.5% (think of Lombardy with 9.9 million, equal to 16.9% of the Italian population), has a number of cases of mesothelioma equal to 150 cases in 2023over 13% with 140 deaths from mesothelioma, approximately 280 deaths from asbestos-related lung cancer, and therefore 420, taking into account all other asbestos-related pathologies, the epidemiological impact is greater than approximately 600 deaths.
In Piedmont
The mesotheliomas registered up to 2017, in the VII ReNaM report, were 5,084, equal to 16.1% of the total. The National Asbestos Observatory recorded approximately 250 mesotheliomas in 2023, with an impact of approximately 230 deaths, and more than 500 diagnoses of asbestos-related lung cancer, excluding cases caused by cigarette smoking. For this latter neoplasm, 440 deaths have been registered and/or estimated. Overall, the two pathologies resulted in the death of approximately 670 people and the number exceeds 1000 deaths if all other asbestos-related pathologies are taken into account, with a high incidence of environmental exposure, particularly in the city of Casale Monferrato and the surrounding areas. , due to asbestos contamination caused by asbestos. In Piedmont, it was decided among other things to monitor all people exposed to asbestos.
In Italy
In Italy, around 1,500 libraries and cultural buildings, including at least 500 hospitals (estimated as an underestimation because the Ona mapping is still in progress), have asbestos components in the structures and/or technical systems, in particular thermal, electrical and thermo-hydraulic. The public aqueducts themselves, including the connections, at least 500 thousand kilometers of pipes in total, are made of asbestos cement, and the impact is also significant due to the effect of erosion, maintenance activities, earthquakes and seismic swarms which cause contamination of drinking water (asbestos is carcinogenic even if ingested), and is also added to the fact that due to anthropic uses in families and companies the water evaporates and contaminates the places of life and work, even with additional inhalation ingestion. Every year there are 10 thousand new diagnoses, mainly men, for reasons of their professional commitment and/or workers in factories or military sites and in particular in the regions at greatest risk which, with an annual average of diagnosed cases of between 1,500 and 1,800 , I am Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria and Lazio which represent over 56% of reported cases. By lighting a candle on April 28, you join the global community in remembering the victims and working towards a future where no workers lose their lives due to working conditions.
