[Injury rates and severity during the construction of High Speed Train Track Torino-Novara: which are the expected risks?].
BACKGROUND
Construction of the Torino-Novara High Speed Train Track (TAV) provided a unique opportunity to describe the magnitude of accidents on a major construction project for which complete data were available for 123 companies with over 10,000 employees.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the rate and severity of accidents during the construction of TAV and to compare this with national indexes. The limits and critical points of the national surveillance system are discussed and solutions for responding to public occupational safety and health service needs are proposed.


METHODS
1,691 injuries with more than 3 lost work days were recorded between 2003 and 2005 by the TAV Surveillance System (Orme-TAV). Accident rate and severity indexes (Orme indexes) by year and occupation, were compared with indexes for Piedmont and Italy for the period 2002-04 provided by INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Diseases) for the Construction sector and the Road and Railway Construction sub-sector. A comparison with the accident rate of the same 123 firms calculated for all construction yards in Italy in 2003-04 (national indexes) was also made.


RESULTS
Accident rates decreased from 152 in 2003 to 72 in 2005 per 1,000 workers, but were higher than the national indexes (the Orme indexes/national indexes ratio was 1.75 in 2003 and 1.67 in 2004). Accident severity indexes were lower than the national figures.


CONCLUSIONS
Complete reporting, facilitated by the existence of a Surveillance System, yielded accident rates that were more reliable than those previously reported. Data suggest that the discrepancy is due to both underreporting and exposed worker assessment difficulties. The burden of on-site work-related accidents in the construction sector appears to be higher and more costly than what has been desumed from national data.
Bena
Antonella
A
Servizio sovrazonale di Epidemiologia, ASL 5, Grugliasco, Torino. antonella.bena@epi.piemonte.it
Debernardi
Maria Luisa
ML
Pasqualini
O
O
Dalmasso
M
M
Quarta
D
D
D000041:Absenteeism; D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005160:Facility Design and Construction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011890:Railroads / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012306:Risk; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices