The effect of hot weather conditions on work-related accidents in two Italian cities.

Nowadays, no studies have been published on the relationship between meteorological conditions and work-related mortality and morbidity in Italy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hot weather conditions and hospital admissions due to work-related accidents recorded in six hospitals of Florence and Prato (central Italy) over the period 1998-2003. Work accidents involved prevalently skilled workers (30%), followed by employees (22%) and self-employed people (12%). Apparent temperature (AT) values were calculated to evaluate human weather discomfort due to hot conditions and non parametric procedures were used to evaluate the statistical association with work accidents. Present findings showed that hot weather conditions might represent a risk factor for accidents due to work in Italy during the summer season. In particular, the peak of work-related accidents occurred on days characterized by high, but not extreme, thermal conditions. Workers maybe change their behaviour when heat stress increases (reaching critical values for the health), reducing risks by adopting preventive measures. Results suggested that days with an average daytime AT value ranged between 24.9 °C and 28.3 °C showed higher increased risks of work-related accidents (from 11% to 26%) in comparison to other days with different average daytime AT values. In conclusion, present findings might represent the first step for the development of a watch/warning system for workers that might be used by employers for planning work activities.