Reid Alison, Merler Enzo, Peters Susan, Jayasinghe Nimashi, Bressan Vittoria, Franklin Peter, Brims Fraser, de Klerk Nicholas H, Musk Arthur W
School of Public Health, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia.
Venetian Mesothelioma Registry, Occupational Health Unit, Local Health Authority, National Health Service, Padua, Italy.
Occup Environ Med. 2018 Jan;75(1):29-36. doi: 10.1136/oemed-2017-104322. Epub 2017 Jul 29.
Three hundred and thirty thousand Italians arrived in Australia between 1945 and 1966, many on assisted passage schemes where the worker agreed to a 2-year unskilled employment contract. Italians were the largest of 52 migrant groups employed at the Wittenoom blue asbestos mining and milling operation. We compare mortality from asbestos-related diseases among Italian and Australian workers employed at Wittenoom.
A cohort of 6500 male workers was established from employment records and followed up at state and national mortality and cancer registries. SMRs were calculated to compare mortality with the Western Australian male population. Time-varying Cox proportional hazards models compared the risk of mesothelioma between Australian and Italian workers.
1031 Italians and 3465 Australians worked at Wittenoom between 1943 and 1966. Duration of employment was longer for the Italian workers, although the concentration of exposure was similar. The mesothelioma mortality rate per 100 000 was higher in Italians (184, 95% CI 148 to 229) than Australians (128, 95% CI 111 to 149). The risk of mesothelioma was greater than twofold (HR 2.27, 95% CI 1.43 to 3.60) in Italians at the lowest asbestos exposure category (<10 fibre years/per mL).
A hierarchy in migration, isolation and a shortage of workers led to Italians at Wittenoom incurring higher cumulative exposure to blue asbestos and subsequently a greater rate of malignant mesothelioma than Australian workers.
Poor working conditions and disparities between native and foreign-born workers has had a detrimental and differential impact on the long-term health of the workforce.
1945年至1966年间，33万意大利人抵达澳大利亚，其中许多人通过援助通道计划来到这里，这些工人同意签订一份为期两年的非技术就业合同。意大利人是在维特努姆蓝石棉采矿和选矿厂工作的52个移民群体中人数最多的。我们比较了在维特努姆工作的意大利和澳大利亚工人中与石棉相关疾病的死亡率。
根据就业记录建立了一个由6500名男性工人组成的队列，并在州和国家死亡率及癌症登记处进行随访。计算标准化死亡比（SMR）以比较与西澳大利亚男性人口的死亡率。时变Cox比例风险模型比较了澳大利亚和意大利工人之间患间皮瘤的风险。
1943年至1966年间，有1031名意大利人和3465名澳大利亚人在维特努姆工作。意大利工人的就业时间更长，尽管接触浓度相似。每10万人中间皮瘤死亡率在意大利人（184，95%置信区间148至229）中高于澳大利亚人（128，95%置信区间111至149）。在最低石棉接触类别（<每毫升纤维年数10）中，意大利人间皮瘤风险大于两倍（风险比2.27，95%置信区间1.43至3.60）。
移民中的等级制度、隔离以及劳动力短缺导致维特努姆的意大利人比澳大利亚工人累积接触蓝石棉的量更高，随后恶性间皮瘤发病率也更高。
恶劣的工作条件以及本地和外国出生工人之间的差异对劳动力的长期健康产生了有害且不同的影响。
