[Identification and mortality of Italian emigrants returning to Italy after having worked in the crocidolite mines at Wittenoon Gorge, Western Australia].

The crocidolite mine at Wittenoom Gorge, Western Australia, has been active from 1943 to 1966, and managed by Australian Blue Asbestos Ltd (ABA). Migrants constituted the large majority of workers. The list of workers is composed of 6,911 subjects (6,501 males). In it we identified 1,102 Italians (1,069 males) and completed the follow up for those previously lost, remained in Australia or returned to Italy. Up to 1997, 302 subjects (301 males) definitively resettled in Italy, almost always returning to their community of origin. The median length of work at Wittenoom for those resettled was 17.8 months. The resettled subjects are spread around Italy, and 112 subjects (37%) already died. We compared the mortality rates of those returned to Italy to the rates of the male Italian population. Migrants were subjected to a strong selection before departure and were the target of a surveillance program during work at Wittenoom: however, for those resettled, instead of a healthy migrant effect, we observed an overmortality, mainly due to deaths from penumoconiosis (10 deaths vs 0.38 expected), from respiratory tumours (3 deaths from pleural mesothelioma and 4 from primary peritoneal tumours; an excess of lung cancers, SMR 1.28, 95% CI 0.72-2.11, and an excess of undefined caused of deaths (SMR 6.29, 95% CI 2.52-12.96). The study suggests that asbestos-related diseases and deaths have been observed among those resettled to Italy. In order to increase the precision of the follow up of the Wittenoom cohort, a search outside Australia should be carried out in some European countries for workers whose vital status was unconfirmed. Survivors in Italy are suffering from asbestosis, jeopardizing their life, and are at risk of cancer, but few have received information, actions aimed at reducing the accumulated risk, or compensation. Italy had a multi-million number of migrants for work, and an important percentage of migrants is returned to Italy: the effects of occupational exposures to adverse agents should be expected, but this topic has received up to now little attention.