Storia dell’AIDII

Abstract

History of Industrial Hygiene in Italy is strictly linked with Occupational Medicine. Cultural and socioeconomic environment of born and evolution of AIDII (Associazione Italiana degli Igienisti Industriali) are highlighted. Usual activities of industrial hygiene were: assessment of occupational exposures and risk evaluation of chemical and physical hazards, sampling, analytical procedures, handling of data and suggestion for engineering control measures. AIDII published on 1976 the first edition of the journal of the association “Giornale degli Igienisti Industriali”, over the decades after many changes of editorial board and typographical structure become “Italian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene”. AIDII publishes, on authorization of American Conference of Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), the annual translation of Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices. AIIDI organises annual a National Congress and scientific conferences on subjects of Industrial Hygiene, Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene course. AIDII promotes specific sampling strategies.Some devices for aerosol sampling were designed under the leadership of Nicola Zurlo and in collaboration with others hygienists of external public bodies for the detection of the “respirable” dust fraction with inertial separating devices such as impactors and centrifugal separators (cyclones). The growing interest for passive samplers led to the production of a new passive sampler with conical inserts useable with different airflow to adapt the sampling process to the level of pollution. Starting from 1986 AIDII develops the process of certification of the Italian Industrial Hygienists.