[Work-related musculo-skeletal disorders in apiculture: a biomechanical approach to the risk assessment]. / Apicoltura e patologie muscolo-scheletriche: un approccio metodologico alla valutazione del rischio.

The risk assessment in apiculture points out methodological problems due to discontinuities and variability of exposure. This study analyzes a comprehensive set of potential determinants influencing the biomechanical risks in apiarists using recognized technical standards to ensure the technical-scientific accuracy; it offers a simplified methodological toolkit to be used in the risk assessment process and provides a user-friendly computer application. The toolkit asks the beekeeper to specify, for each month, the total number of hours worked, specifying the distribution among different tasks. As a result, the application calculates the average index risk and the peak index risk. The evidence of the study indicates that there are activities in this occupational area with biomechanical risks that remain for some tasks, while reducing the exposure time.

[Unusual work schedule: mathematical and pharmacokinetic models to adjust the occupational exposure limit of the chemical agents]. / Modelli matematici e farmacocinetici per il calcolo del fattore di adattamento del valore limite degli agenti chimici.

Exposure to chemicals in unusual work shifts can require adjustment of the occupational limit values to assure adequate protection of the exposed workers. The study introduces a comparative analysis of the mathematical and pharmacokinetic models to calculate the adjustment factors and provides a computer-assisted toolkit to obtain the reduction factors for exposures to single chemical agent and mixtures in unusual work schedule.

[Silica classification and labelling under REACH and CLP regulation]. / Il problema della classificazione ed etichettatura della silice cristallina alla luce del REACH e del regolamento CLP.

Following literature data the evaluation CLP classification and labelling criteria doesn't support the decision to classify respirable crystalline silica (RCS) as carcinogen and suggests to consider RCS as:--STOT (Specific Target Organ Toxicant) RE (Repeated Exposure) cat.l by inhalation in case of concentration > or = 10%--STOT RE cat. 2 by inhalation in case of concentration 1 divided by 10%--Not classifiable as dangerous for human in case of concentration < 1%.