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Fourteen welders were examined with the purpose to evaluate the incidence and the type of pathologic changes of the gastrointestinal tract due to the exposure to welding fumes. The medical examination was followed by endoscopic and bioptic study of gastric and duodenal mucosa. The results show the presence of pathologic changes, mainly of flogistic type, in all the microscopic investigations, although the appearance of the mucosa was generally normal. Moreover, the results of this investigation suggest that pathologic changes of gastrointestinal tract could precede those of the respiratory tract.

The Authors have taken under study 6 office buildings and a total of 165 work stations with VDTs. Lighting conditions, postures, indoor climate and air-quality have been evaluated, besides worker's subjective approach sounded by individual questionnaire. Concerning visual comfort, it has been noticed that the most simple and well-known rules are often disregarded, such as avoiding to place a screen in front of a light source because of its glare. Also, operators postures are often incorrect, making problems related to their own fixity worse. Air conditioning systems assure almost excellent conditions for thermal comfort, but air changes are often poor and microbiologic quality suffers from plant's inadequate servicing. Finally, the survey of questionnaires shows a complaint percentage which only partly corresponds with the objective data collected, reflecting instead an uneasiness to the kind of work and its organisation.