[Protection of working mothers: operational guide document. The Marche Regional Section of the Italian Society of Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene (SIMLII) ].

Protection of working mothers: operational guide document. The aim of this operational guide document is to protect the health of working mothers and their babies during pregnancy, puerperium and breastfeeding. The project was developed by a technical working group which included professionals in the pertinent fields from the Workplace Prevention and Safety Services of the local Vasta-2 Area of the Marche Regional Health Service:physicians, health assistants, and nurses.

[Beekeeping: study of organization, general hazards assessment, pre-assessment of risk for mechanical overload using a new tool for easy application].

Background: Beekeeping is common activity in the two regions in this study, Marche and Tuscany: in both regions the numbers of beekeepers, both amateur and professional, and honey production are high.

Objectives: The aim was to study, through the application of simple tools, the organization of beekeeping activity so as to identify hazardous situations in the work process.

Methods: We followed the production cycle of two businesses that differed in size and work organization for a period of twelve months.

[Working hypothesis of simplified techniques for the first mapping of occupational hazards in handicraft. First part: ergonomics hazards].

During the last Congress of the International Ergonomics Association (IEA), Beijing - China August 2009, in collaboration with World Health Organization an international group for developing a "toolkit for MSD prevention" was founded. Possible users of toolkits are: members of a health and safety committee; health and safety representatives; line supervisors; foremen; workers; government representatives; health workers implementing basic occupational health services; occupational health and safety specialists. According with ISO standard 11228 series and their ISO Application document for the Key enters and Quick Assessment (green/red conditions), our group developed a first mapping methodology of occupational hazards in handicraft, working with the support of the information technology (Excel).