Author(s)

S. Berardi, E. Bemporad

Abstract

The presence of hazardous chemical agents and carcinogens/mutagens in unsaturated soil and/or groundwater, or their use in clean-up activities, doesn’t necessarily entail a risk to human health. It depends on the toxicological characteristics, the concentration of the substance, the transport mechanisms and the exposure media. In Italy, the management of chemical risk to workers’ health in contaminated sites is currently not standardized. For this reason, in 2013 a team of experts in the management of contamination sites and of occupational risks, coordinated by INAIL, began to work out a document dealing with the operative instructions to protect the health of workers present for any reason in a contaminated site. This document addresses the main aspects related to the protection of workers exposed to contaminants considering both the toxic and the carcinogenic effects of chemicals. In this paper a particular issue, addressed in the document, is discussed: the proposed methodology to check the presence of chemical and carcinogen/mutagen agents at workplace for the inhalation exposure pathway.

Keywords

chemical risk, workers’ health, soil contamination