Accidents in the construction sector: a worrying picture
In 2023, they were reported 43,480 injuries in the construction sector, with an increase of 6.4% compared to 2019 (40,874 cases).
Although one registers slight decrease compared to 2022 (-2.6%), the trend remains alarming. The deadly events were 202with an increase of 2% compared to 2019, but down by 4.3% compared to 2022.
The riskiest activities are those related to specialized construction work, which represents the 65.2% of complaints. The construction of buildings affects the 25.8%while civil engineering for 9%.
Geographical and demographic distribution of injuries
From a territorial point of view, Northern Italy records the highest number of complaints with 22,569 cases (57.4%), followed by Central and Southern Italy with 21.3% each. Lombardy is the region with the highest number of accidents (15.3%), followed by Emilia-Romagna (11.9%) and Veneto (11.6%). Even in fatal cases, Lombardy remains in first place (14.2%), followed by Campania and Puglia (9.7%).
THE foreign workers are particularly vulnerablerepresenting approximately the 30% of total injuries. In particular, the community Albanian is the most affected with 2,477 cases reported. Injuries concern almost exclusively men (99%) and are more frequent in the age group 40-59 years (53.9%).
Growth of occupational diseases in the construction sector
A critical element highlighted by the INAIL report is the increase in occupational diseases in the construction sector. In 2023 they were registered 12,950 complaintswith a growth of 42.3% compared to 2019 and 23.9% compared to 2022.
The workers of “Specialized construction work” are the most affected, representing the 63.3% of total complaints. They follow the “Building construction” with the 28.6% and the“Civil Engineering” with the8.1%.
The most common pathologies are those musculoskeletalwhich represent the 75.3% of total complaints. Among these, disorders of the soft tissues and back pain. Diseases follow nervous system (10.5%) andear (9.6%).
Territorial distribution of occupational diseases
From a territorial point of view, the Central Italy records the highest number of reports of occupational diseases (40.7%), followed by South (25%), from North-East (15.9%), from Islands (10.9%) and from North-West (7.5%).
The regions with the highest number of complaints are the Tuscany (17%) and the Marche (13.4%), followed by Puglia (9.7%). Foreign communities, especially those outside the EU, show a significant increase in complaints (+70.9% since 2019).
Causes of accidents and occupational diseases
The main causes of injury include:
- body movements with or without effort (41%);
- loss of control of machines or equipment (23.8%);
- slips and falls (22%).
Occupational diseases mainly arise from:
- manual handling of loadscausing musculoskeletal pathologies;
- exposure to noise and chemicalsresponsible for hearing loss and respiratory diseases.
Conclusion: the need for targeted interventions
The construction sector, despite being essential for the Italian economy, remains one of the riskiest for workers. It is essential to implement targeted prevention strategies, such as:
- continuous training on safety;
- correct use of personal protective equipment (PPE);
- more stringent controls on construction sites.
Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the human aspect in security management, especially in small businesses, where the risk perception and the time management they are decisive factors for reducing the number of accidents and occupational diseases.
