The main problems of occupational health in Navarra, 1994-1996

Abstract

In 1996 the Navarra Occupational Health Institute, an autonomous technical organization that integrates the functions and means related to occupational health matters, drew up the Occupational Health Diagnosis of Navarra, which is a region characterised by its important industrial sector and its high proportion of small and medium size companies. The results emphasise the high accident rate in the construction sector, the constant increase of professional diseases through "fatigue of tendon pods", as well as the importance of osteo-muscular processes as a cause of temporary and permanent disability. Forty sentinel occupational tumors, mainly mesothelioma, and 27 Obligatory Statement Diseases of occupational origin, mainly brucellosis, were identified in a period of seven years and three years, respectively. Verification was made of a lack of systematised information about population exposure to occupational risks, a scarce development of medical surveillance of exposed workers, and a lack of information about the incidence of occupational injuries in self-employed workers.