Microinquinanti negli ambienti di vita e di lavoro : definizioni, normativa di riferimento ed aspetti applicativi

The development in the quality-quantity nature of environmental contamination by man-prcduced polluting chemical compounds, has created the need to define, and periodically update, the limit values, quality standards, control methods and technical regulations (such as the product properties of fuels, controlling industrial processes, territorial planning, etc.). Certain international scientific organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), have established guidelines to safeguard human health including the quality of the air, initially just referred to outdoor environments and, recently, indoors as well. These guidelines are based on the highly researched knowledge into cause/effect relations and identifying the concentrated effect, or non-effect, on man. They only refer to a certain number of atmospheric pollutants, where scientific knowledge about their effects on man is considered sufficiently acceptable. In fact, over recent decades the legislator has worked to draft, amend and improve new regulations regarding air quality, which are the subject of this study. From an analysis of the regulations that have been examined, the following points of fundamental interest have been highlighted: 1. outdoor and indoor living environments are increasingly "regulated" through the issue of Directives, Guidelines and Recommendations, while the workplace, where much higher concentrations of macro- and micropollutants are considered acceptable, is not sufficiently focused on by legislator 2. only a small number of compounds (less than a hundred), are subjected to specific formation with a figurative numeric value lndicated (OEL), despite the fundamental concept of good practice in prevention that involves the entire working population; 3. alongside the "traditional" pollutants, of undoubted and recognised harm, numerous micropollutants are placed, which more knowledge is gradually being obtained about which should assist the legislator, who will have useful information to enable establishing the methods and experience that are necessary to complete the prevention process in the workplaces.