Safe removal of underground asbestos – cement water pipes: Operating instructions for the protection of workers and living environments

The Italian National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (Inail), throu- gh the Directorate for Research (DR), coordinates 3-year research plans regarding all aspects of health and safety at the workplace. Two research units are devoted to research: the Department of technological innovations and safety of plants, pro- ducts and anthropic settlements (Dit) and the Department of Medicine, Epidemiology, Workplace and Environmental Hygiene (Dimeila). The research develops cutting-edge new operating procedures, methodologies, equipment, systems, and insights. Both Departments pay considerable attention to the complex issue of asbestos. In particular, the Laboratory 9 of the Dit works at the development of methods, procedures and models for risk assessment in the presence of hazardous substan- ces released by production materials and processes, both in work and living envi- ronments. Thus, the lab identifies measures for risk mitigation, the protection of workers and the safeguard of residential communities. In this framework, the asbestos research team of Lab 9 prepares technical referen- ce documents at national and international level, in collaboration with public authorities, research bodies and universities. Target of these documents are sec- tor operators, businesses and other stakeholders involved in protecting workers and living environments. The present paper is one of these documents. It addresses the safe removal of underground asbestos-cement water pipes. The main purpose of the document is to integrate and harmonize the operations and safety procedures adopted, indica- ting criteria of ease of planning, reproducibility and homogeneity of operations to facilitate the work of sector operators and of local supervisory bodies. Inail in this way promotes a systematization process and a complex project of col- laboration between public and private entities. The end goal is to build a participatory process, in which field research leads to the effective transferability of results, providing data useful to working environments and risk prevention, as well as promoting the circular nature of technical and scientific knowledge in national and international communities.