Aims: The main aim of this study is to estimate the impact on workers' health caused by hardwood dust exposure in selected industrial sectors in Italy.
Methods: Proportionate mortality ratios (PMR) by cancer site were calculated by linking the information on occupational exposure to carcinogens from the Italian national registry (SIREP, 1996-2018) to the national mortality archives (ISTAT, 2005-2018), assuming a Poisson distribution of the data.
Results: An elevated proportion of deaths from sino-nasal cancer was found in male exposed workers (PMR=4.25, CI 95%=1.37-13.23). Increased proportions of deaths were also found from stomach cancer in both genders (PMR=3.14, CI 95%=1.41-7.00 women; PMR=1.64, CI 95%=1.22-2.19 men).
Conclusions: Although hardwood dust is a known human carcinogen, there are still many high-risk occupational exposure settings. Epidemiological surveillance and continuous monitoring of workers is highly recommended in order to ensure compliance with regulatory obligations and limit the burden of associated mortality causes.