Occupational diseases on the rise between Sassari and Olbia in 2024. This was discussed yesterday in Sassari, at the Chamber of Commerce, during the conference dedicated by INAIL to the role of workers' representatives for safety and those for territorial safety.
"There was a 64% increase in pathologies in 2024," reports Luca De Santis, territorial director of Inail Sassari-Olbia-Tempio, "648 cases, of which 410 were positively defined."
This trend is also confirmed by the latest surveys for the first eight months of 2025 and, De Santis specifies, "in three out of four cases—75%—these are diseases related to the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, followed in descending order by pathologies of the nervous and respiratory systems, the ear, and tumors." Workplace accidents are also on the rise again.
In 2024, in northern Sardinia, a slight decline in this sense was noted - twelve fewer cases compared to the 3,884 in 2023. In the first eight months of 2025, the increase in accident reports was 1.9%, together with that of fatal cases, with two more people unfortunately dying.
"Then there are commuting accidents," says Alfredo Nicifero, Inail general director for Sassari, "that is, when people travel from home to work and vice versa. Twenty percent of deaths occur during these journeys."
The highest number of accidents, 65%, occur among men between the ages of 45 and 59, rising to 85% in fatal accidents, and 90% of these are employed workers. There were 410 accident reports in 2024 between Sassari and Olbia in the accommodation and restaurant industries, 358 in the construction sector, 290 in agriculture, 275 in transportation and warehousing, and 272 in vehicle sales and repair.
In recent times, the Carabinieri have carried out several inspections at companies in the Sassari area, finding that they lacked a worker safety officer, imposing fines and suspending operations.
"In the province," says Antonello Simula, president of the co.co.pro of Sassari, Olbia, and Tempio, "there are 42,000 active businesses and only 1,100 worker safety representatives , and very few representatives for territorial safety."
"They are an important support," he concludes. "They assess risks and protect employees from accidents. They shouldn't be seen as those who block work."
But is what's happening in Sardinia unique? "No, it's consistent with the rest of the country," clarifies Guglielmo Loy, president of CIV INAIL, "even though northern Sardinia represents an interesting microcosm where very different realities coexist, from construction to the transport infrastructure network, as well as artisanal and agricultural businesses, both large and small."
Health and safety interventions must be targeted, according to Loy. "The key," he concludes, "is always information and training."