Background: In 2001, a comprehensive and standardised list for occupations or jobs known or suspected to be associated with lung cancer was prepared. The aim of this study was to assess the number of potentially exposed workers using this list.
Methods: A detailed and unique list of codes has been developed on the basis of the national standard classification of economic activities. The list is divided into two categories: one of occupations definitely entailing carcinogenic risk and another of those which probably/possibly entail a risk. Firms have been selected from ISPESL database of enterprises and the number of workers has been estimated on the basis of this list.
Results: The number of potentially exposed workers in "industry and services" sector, related to lung cancer risk, is 650,886 blue-collars and the number of firms censused in Italy is 117,006 units. These figures--based on administrative sources rather than on direct measures of exposure--are likely to overestimate potential exposure to carcinogenic agents.
Conclusions: The list founded on a standard classification permits the creation of databases to control occupational exposure to carcinogens and to increase comparability between epidemiologic studies based on job-exposure matrices.