When it comes to human health and safety, the extractive industry represents one of the most hazardous activities. When accidents occur in mines, quarries or processing plants, consequences are usually very serious. A description of Italy’s state of the art is made herein, with a special focus on occupational injuries occurred during the 2012-2019 period of time as well as fatal injuries of the last...

The residual presence of critical components (e.g. Asbestos Containing Materials – ACMs) still represents one of the main criticalities for the Occupational Safety and Health – OS&H in many large public facilities. The very first step for an effective Risk Assessment and Management is obviously a clear definition of the different approaches, complying with the Italian general and special OS&H...

The large use of nanomaterials in several industrial processes drove the attention toward the potential health issues associated to their diffusion in the environment. However, since nanomaterials are characterized by a polidisperse particle size distribution, the human health risk induced by a nanoparticle (NP) contamination cannot be assessed through the ASTM procedure commonly used for chemicals. Toxicity...

Rockfall net fences are multicomponent protection devices for mitigating rockfall hazard. As passive measures, they are used to intercept and stop rock blocks propagation after their detachment from a cliff or a slope. During their design working life, net fences subjected to ageing phenomena, corrosion and impact loads, causing their efficiency loss or even their effectiveness. A multi-matricial procedure...

The residual presence of critical components (e.g. Asbestos Containing Materials – ACMs) still represents one of the main criticalities for the Occupational Safety and Health – OS&H in many large public facilities (Lee and Van Orden, 2007).

Since...

The management of health and safety at work is represented by the set of preventive and protective measures to minimize the exposure of workers to risks that may cause the onset of diseases or increase the number of accidents.

Data on occupational accidents...

When major accident scenarios are considered, the effects of major events which give rise to a serious, immediate or deferred danger to human health or the environment, inside or outside the production or storage area due to the presence in high quantities of one or more dangerous substances are being considered. Events of this type, except in exceptional cases, have always had important consequences...

Nowadays, occupational exposure to airborne dust is still one of the most concerning problems our society should face, since both airborne dust is a common pollutant in almost all the NACE sectors activities, and the occupational exposure quantification is critical. One of the possible causes can be identified in determining the real conditions of dust pollution in the workplaces, attributable to the...

Rockfall net fences and drapery meshes constitute two of the most adopted protective structural works against rockfall hazard. During their life, they are subject to ageing, corrosion, and impact loads, with a consequent loss of efficiency or even effectiveness. Due to the variability of the environment and, more in general, to external conditions, a definition of a service life, although not unique but...