[Asbestos exposure in the petrochemical industry and interaction with other occupational risk factors: analysis of the last ten years INAIL data].

The present study analyzes the trend of occupational diseases, in particular those asbestos-related, in the petrochemical industry from 2002 to 2011, taking into account the number of diseases claimed to and compensated by the National Institute for Insurance of Workplace Accidents and Occupational Diseases (INAIL), assessing risk factors and possible interactions. To identify the research areas, we selected INAIL cost codes, related to the petrochemical industry. In the last five years, over the total claims submitted by industrial workers, 54% of claims for asbestosis, 76.7% of claims for neoplastic diseases, and 78.6% of claims for pleural plaques have been compensated. In the petrochemical industry, such percentages are respectively 59.2%, 81.6% and 82.7%. These data suggest possible interactions between asbestos and other risk factors, particularly significant in the petrochemical industry, although difficult to identify, as well as an initial underestimation of asbestos exposure in this industry.