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. 2021 Dec 26;19(1):235.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19010235.

Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma in Construction Workers-Epidemiological Remarks by the Italian National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM)

Alessandra Binazzi  1 , Davide Di Marzio  1 , Marina Verardo  2 , Enrica Migliore  3 , Lucia Benfatto  4 , Davide Malacarne  4 , Carolina Mensi  5 , Dario Consonni  5 , Silvia Eccher  6 , Guido Mazzoleni  7 , Vera Comiati  8 , Corrado Negro  9 , Antonio Romanelli  10 , Elisabetta Chellini  11 , Alessia Angelini  11 , Iolanda Grappasonni  12 , Gabriella Madeo  13 , Elisa Romeo  14 , Annamaria Di Giammarco  15 , Francesco Carrozza  16 , Italo F Angelillo  17 , Domenica Cavone  18 , Luigi Vimercati  18 , Michele Labianca  19 , Federico Tallarigo  20 , Rosario Tumino  21 , Massimo Melis  22 , Michela Bonafede  1 , Alberto Scarselli  1 , Alessandro Marinaccio  1 , On Behalf Of The ReNaM Working Group
Affiliations

Asbestos Exposure and Malignant Mesothelioma in Construction Workers-Epidemiological Remarks by the Italian National Mesothelioma Registry (ReNaM)

Alessandra Binazzi et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Notwithstanding the ban in 1992, asbestos exposure for workers in the construction sector in Italy remains a concern. The purpose of this study is to describe the characteristics of malignant mesothelioma (MM) cases recorded by the Italian registry (ReNaM) among construction workers. Incident mesothelioma cases with a definite asbestos exposure have been analyzed. Characteristics of cases and territorial clusters of crude rates of MM in construction workers have been described, as well as the relation between asbestos use before the ban and the historical trend of workforce in the construction sector in Italy. ReNaM has collected 31,572 incident MM cases in the period from 1993 to 2018 and asbestos exposure has been assessed for 24,864 (78.2%) cases. An occupational exposure has been reported for 17,191 MM cases (69.1% of subjects with a definite asbestos exposure). Among them, 3574 had worked in the construction sector, with an increasing trend from 15.8% in the 1993-98 period to 23.9% in 2014-2018 and a ubiquitous territorial distribution. The large use of asbestos in construction sector before the ban makes probability of exposure for workers a real concern still today, particularly for those working in maintenance and removal of old buildings. There is a clear need to assess, inform, and prevent asbestos exposure in this sector.

Keywords: Italy; asbestos; construction workers; mesothelioma; national mesothelioma registry.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Asbestos consumption, construction workers and MM cases in construction workers (for 10-million-person years of observations). Italy, ReNaM, 1993–2015.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of MM cases (%) by exposed groups and time-period. Italy, ReNaM, 1993–2018.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Map of crude rates of MM in construction sector by municipalities of patient’s residence. Italy, ReNaM, 1993–2018.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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