[Alcohol and work: the role of the company physician in the occupational health and safety management systems]. / Alcol e lavoro: ruolo del medico competente nel sistema aziendale di gestione della prevenzione.

The organization of safety in the working places and the increasing attention to behaviours and life styles of workers that may lead to increasing occupational risks are the pick innovative aspects of the recent changes in our country's legislation about occupational safety. In this organization, the role of the company physician is becoming more and more important and his work of evaluation beginning with the knowledge both of the working places and of the workers's lifestyles, is irreplaceable. His role in organizing the managing standards of occupational safety and health cannot be limited to health supervision but must be an essential element in risk assessment in the prevision of workplaces and of safe working conditions, in workers training and information, in organizing the control system of each business. The present paper examines--referring to the current regulation--the duties and functions of a company physician when facing the problems concerning the working risks tied to alcohol assumption.

[Malignant mesothelioma (MM) in women: findings of the Mesothelioma Register of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region]. / Mesotelioma maligno (MM) nel sesso femminile: dati del Registro Mesoteliomi della Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia.

During the period 2000-2003, the Mesothelioma Register of the Friuli Venezia Giulia identified 248 cases of MM, 44 of which (18%) were female. In 36 cases the diagnosis was "certain" and in 8 "probable" or "possible". Mean age at diagnosis was 72.8 years (SD = 12.7), and the site of the disease was the pleura in 93% of cases. Information about previous exposure to asbestos was collected in accordance with the guidelines of the National Mesothelioma Register Occupational exposure to asbestos was documented in only 8 cases and family exposure in 6 others. In the remaining cases the source of exposure was "unknown" because of insufficient data, or there were no data at all. The study highlights the role played by extra-occupational exposure to asbestos among women and the need for careful investigation into previous asbestos exposure in all females with MM. In order to improve our knowledge of the part played by factors other than occupational exposure to asbestos in triggering the disease, it is crucial to reduce he number of cases with no information or "unknown" exposure to this dangerous substance.

Two cases of paraoccupational asthma due to toluene diisocyanate (TDI).

Two cases of paraoccupational asthma caused by toluene diisocyanate (TDI) are reported. The first patient was a metal worker in a machine shop situated near a factory producing polyurethane foam. Symptoms at work were not explainable by any specific exposure to irritants or allergens in the work site. As the patient recalled previous occasional work in the adjacent polyurethane factory with accompanying worsening of respiratory symptoms, a specific inhalation (SIC) test was performed with TDI, which confirmed the diagnosis of TDI asthma. The second case was a woman working part time as a secretary in the offices of her son's factory for varnishing wooden chairs. TDI was present in the products used in the varnishing shed. The SIC test confirmed the diagnosis of TDI asthma, despite the fact that the patient's job did not present risk of exposure to the substance. In both patients, symptoms disappeared when further exposure was avoided. These two cases confirm that paraoccupational exposure to TDI must be considered when evaluating patients with asthma not mediated by immunoglobulin E. They also suggest the need for more prospective studies evaluating the health risk for the general population living near polyurethane factories or other firms that use TDI.

[Follow-up of allergic symptoms in a group of health workers sensitized to latex]. / Follow-up dei sintomi allergici in un gruppo di operatori sanitari sensibilizzati al lattice.

We studied 28 health care workers sensitised to latex and complaining of respiratory symptoms at work. All were females, aged 32 y (median), and had worked in the hospital for 12 y, in departments with high exposures (22 cases), moderate exposure (4 cases) or low exposure (2 cases) to rubber gloves. Twenty also complained of latex skin symptoms. Twenty-five (89%) were atopical (by prick test), and 16 (57%) had a personal history of allergic disease. Nine (32%) also had symptoms from exposure to latex outside work and 3 (10%) from food cross-reacting with latex. The specific inhalation test with latex gloves confirmed the diagnosis of asthma in 4 cases (14%) and of rhinitis in 13 cases (46%). We reinvestigated the workers 14 months (median) after the first examination to update exposure to latex, any allergic symptoms and adverse effects of relocation. At the follow-up, 3 workers (11%) had retired, all the others had stopped wearing powdered latex gloves, and 12 had changed their duties or the work-place. Ten (40%) of the 25 subjects still at work were without symptoms, 14 (56%) occasionally complained of mild symptoms and one of frequent rhinitis. Overall, we observed improvement of skin symptoms in 74% (14/19) of the cases and of respiratory symptoms in 56% (14/25) of the cases. Symptoms from exposure to latex outside work were still present in 6 subjects. The persistence of symptoms at work was significantly higher among workers who continued to work in departments with high/moderate latex glove exposure. The results of the study show that skin and respiratory symptoms among health care workers are related to the use of powdered latex gloves and confirm the importance of primary prevention.

The quality of analytical determinations of copper and zinc in serum. A collaborative study in a sample of Italian laboratories.

An external quality assurance scheme for Cu and Zn analysis in serum was carried out in Italy between 1989 and 1990. It included: preparation of control materials by the organizing centre; distribution of control samples to the participants according to a random selection; elaboration of results and evaluation of laboratory performance. Inter-laboratory variability was 16.9% and 16.4%, at concentrations of 0.94 and 1.08 mg/l, for Cu and Zn, respectively. Laboratory performance in terms of percentage of results within the limits of acceptability, improved for Cu, but not for Zn analysis.