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The purpose of this study is to analyse the various risk factors present in the artisan and semi industrial bread making technological cycle as well as verify the kind of illnesses and ailments encountered amongst the workforce. The objective being to identify a preventive action programme together with the necessary Health support measures. Our case study, drew upon a sample of 428 workers (252 bread makers and 176 sales staff). Each of them was asked to complete a questionnaire about the production process, the kind of exposure to wheat flour particles, smoking habits, present or past common allergy pathologies, the symptoms connected to the work, both in the allergic and osteomuscular field. Those positive respondents were subjected to various medical tests so as to ascertain a definitive diagnosis of their ailments. As was easy to predict, the most common pathology (ailment), found amongst bread makers, related to the respiratory system--16.7% of the population. In particular, 7.5% was affected by eye rhinitis, 2.8% by allergic bronchial asthma, 3.2% indicated a mix between rhinitis and bronchial asthma and 3.2% by BPCO. Skin ailments affected 2% of workers and WMSDs more than 2.8%.

The aim of this work is to describe a model for the evaluation of chemical risk, according to the legislative decree 25/2002, planned by U.O.O.M.L. "Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo", in collaboration with "Gruppo Industriali Chimici dell'Unione Industriali-Provincia di Bergamo" and applied in 19 Chemical Industries of the Province of Bergamo. The objective of the model is the rationalization of the procedures to ponder the levels of exposure and to value different typologies of risk using and manipulating chemical substances with the purpose to optimize the relationship among the attention for safety, workers health and the employment of resources.