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The Italian information system on occupational exposure to carcinogens (SIREP): structure, contents and future perspectives.

OBJECTIVES
The Italian information system for recording occupational exposures to carcinogens (SIREP) was set up in 1996 as a result of the implementation of European directives concerning the improvement of workplace safety and health. The aim of this study is to describe the characteristics of this information system designed and developed for monitoring exposure risk at workplace. The main results about exposed workers in Italy are also presented. Moreover, we discuss the choices adopted when setting up the structure and the issues encountered in recording data and introduce future developments of the system.


METHODS
The design of the information system made use of the structured analysis technique, and it is based on a relational database. Particular attention has been addressed to the system security to prevent non-authorized accesses and to guarantee data integrity. The core information of the database is in accordance with recommendations of the European work group on the measurements of the exposures in the workplace. Results are reported by economic sector, carcinogenic agent, job task and exposure level.


RESULTS
The professional exposures of approximately 36,547 employees from 2778 firms were reported to the SIREP database in the period 1996-2005. The three prevalent exposures-hardwood dust, benzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-account for >25% of the exposed workers. The main economic activity involved is wood industry and furniture manufacture, while the most frequently observed job is chemical-processing plant operator of petrochemical plants. At the end of 2005, >100,000 different exposure histories were recorded and the number of exposed workers accounts for approximately 0.2% of the Italian workforce.


CONCLUSIONS
The SIREP database has been set up in order to assess, control and reduce the carcinogen risk in the workplace. It may be useful as part of a surveillance and monitoring system to determine the need for intervention strategies and to assess their effectiveness.