Nickel and blood counts in workers exposed to urban stressors.

Nickel (Ni) and Ni compounds are widely present in the urban air. The purpose of this study is to estimate exposure of individuals to Ni and the correlation between this exposure and the values of blood counts in outdoor workers. This study focused on a sample of 101 outdoor workers (55 male and 46 female; 65 nonsmokers and 36 smokers), all employed in the municipal police in a large Italian city. The personal levels of exposure to Ni were assessed through (a) environmental monitoring of Ni present in the urban air obtained from individual samples and (b) biological monitoring of urinary and blood Ni. The blood count parameters were obtained from the hemochromocytometric tests. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were calculated to assess the association between the blood and urinary Ni and the complete blood count. Multiple linear regression models were used to examine the associations between the complete blood count and the independent variables (age, gender, years of work for current tasks, cigarette smoking habit (current and never smoker), values of airborne Ni, and blood and urinary Ni). Multiple linear regression analysis performed on the total group of 101 subjects confirms the association among the red blood cells count, the hematocrit, and the urinary Ni (R(2) = 0.520, p = 0.025 and R(2) = 0.530, p = 0.030). These results should lead to further studies on the effects of Ni in working populations exposed to urban pollutants. The possibility that the associations found in our study may be partially explained by other urban pollutants (such as benzene, toluene, and other heavy metals) not taken into consideration in this study cannot be ruled out.

[Alienation to burn-out. Psyche and the Universe of Technology]. / Dall'Alienazione al Burn-out. la Psiche e l'Universo della Tecnica.

The new D. Lgs. N 81, 2008 Article 28 paragraph 1 sanctions that the risk assessment must involve all the possible risks to safety and health of workers, including the work-related stress factors. Stressors at work may vary as to: quantity of work assigned, whether excessive or inadequate; lack of recognition or reward for good job performance; degree of responsibility; precariousness of work; emotional pressures exerted on workers; violence and harassment of psychological nature, poor balance between work and private life. The need man has to understand the causes of his psycho-physical and social disease are old. Only the words we use when dealing with the topic has changed over the time: once it was Alienation now it is Burn-out. The concept of alienation, which has been very important over the time, has many different aspects and has had countless interpretations (which have followed one another), the psycho-analytical, the sociological analysis and the Marxist one, Burnout is actually a syndrome characterized by three interrelated dimensions: exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. Therefore it is important to prevent, eliminate or reduce problems related to occupational stress. Among preventive measures, the Europe Agreement identified in the management and in the communication the information necessary to define the goals of the company and the role each employee has. Moreover information and formation are considered the necessary elements to increase awareness and understanding of the problem, its potential causes and possible ways of approading it. Our research group, has developed targeted questionnaires, biological indicators and medical instrumental examinations the occupational doctors can make use of to assess these issues.

Formación de dirigentes gremiales médicos de la ciudad de Buenos Aires en condiciones y medio ambiente de trabajo / Training on work and environmental conditions for doctors

Objetivo: presentar la experiencia que la Asociación de Médicos Municipales (A.M.M) de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires desarrolló en materia de formación de delegados gremiales en prevención. Materiales y métodos: La AMM convocó a un grupo técnico especializado que diseñó, desarrolló y evaluó el primer curso de formación de delegados en prevención de riesgos laborales en CyMAT para médicos. Se presenta la programación general de dicho curso, sus contenidos y actividades, y los resultados de su evaluación. Resultados: Se presentan los resultados de las actividades de observación de los coordinadores del curso, los de una encuesta de evaluación a cargo de los alumnos y los emergentes cualitativos generales. Se han identificado: la toma de conciencia por parte de los delegados médicos sobre los riesgos a los que se encuentran expuestos en su ámbito laboral, haber establecido vínculos y adquirido conocimiento de otras realidades, y el reconocimiento de la responsabilidad del empleador. Asimismo, surgieron propuestas de acción colectiva que se comenzaron a desarrollar como parte de las acciones gremiales. Conclusión: Esta experiencia verifica la posibilidad de generar conocimiento traducido en acciones gremiales en el Sector Salud mediante el compromiso de los principales sujetos: los trabajadores médicos

Objectives: to present the experience of the Asociación de Médicos Municipales (AMM) from the city of Buenos Aires developed for teaching and training of union delegates in prevention. Materials and methods: The AMM convened a group of specialists for this goal, who have developed and evaluated this first training course for delegates at preventing occupational hazards in work-related environment and conditions of job for physicians. We present a general planning of the course and its schedule, its contents and activities, and the results of its assessment. Results: The results of the monitoring activities by the coordinators of course, the scores of the survey answered by the delegates and emerging qualitative issues. It have been identified some features: the awareness within delegates doctors about the risks to which they are exposed in their workplace, the links between themselves about their different realities and the acquired knowledge, and the recognition of the responsibility of the employer over the health of their workers. It also emerged that proposals for collective action began to develop as part of union action. Conclusion: This experience demonstrates the ability to optimize the in health knowledge and use it in union action within the workers of the Health Sector