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Asbestos related diseases in Italy: an integrated approach to identify unexpected professional or environmental exposure risks at municipal level

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Abstract

Purpose

Past intensive use of asbestos has implied severe public health consequences. Spatial distribution of deaths from malignant mesothelioma and of compensated cases for asbestos related diseases in Italy were compared to identify unexpected sources of asbestos exposure.

Methods

Mortality for malignant mesothelioma at municipal level and geographical clusters of compensated cases for asbestos related diseases, as proxy of industrial asbestos exposure, were identified in the period 1988–2001.

Results

Municipalities with at least four mesothelioma deaths and a statistically significant mortality excess were 148; and 53 out of them had no compensated case for asbestos-related diseases. Finally 22 of these lay outside of any aforementioned cluster, thus suggestive of a possible unrecognized exposure.

Conclusions

Availability long-term national figures and the different etiology of asbestos related diseases are the key features of this exercise that was applied to Italy, but can be replicated wherever registration systems of diseases related to long term exposure to asbestos are available.

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Abbreviations

MM:

Malignant mesothelioma

ASB:

Asbestosis

ARC:

Asbestos-related cancers

ARD:

Asbestos-related diseases

MNP:

Malignant neoplasm of pleura

ICD:

International classification of diseases

SMRs:

Standardized mortality ratios

CI:

Confidence interval

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology Unit, Department of Occupational Medicine, Italian National Institute for Occupational Safety and Prevention, Via Alessandria 220/E, 00198, Rome, Italy

    Alessandro Marinaccio, Alberto Scarselli & Alessandra Binazzi

  2. Unit of Toxicology and Biomedical Sciences, National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment, Via Anguillarese 301, 00060, S.Maria di Galeria, Rome, Italy

    Pierluigi Altavista, Marina Mastrantonio & Raffaella Uccelli

  3. Department of Environment and Primary Prevention, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Stefano Belli, Roberto Pasetto & Pietro Comba

Authors
  1. Alessandro Marinaccio
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  2. Alberto Scarselli
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  3. Alessandra Binazzi
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  4. Pierluigi Altavista
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  5. Stefano Belli
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  6. Marina Mastrantonio
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  7. Roberto Pasetto
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  8. Raffaella Uccelli
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  9. Pietro Comba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alessandro Marinaccio.

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Marinaccio, A., Scarselli, A., Binazzi, A. et al. Asbestos related diseases in Italy: an integrated approach to identify unexpected professional or environmental exposure risks at municipal level. Int Arch Occup Environ Health 81, 993–1001 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0293-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0293-x

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