Biomechanical Risk for the Hand-Arm System During Work Activities on Peach Fruit Tree

Biomechanical disorders of the upper limb represent an important social and economic burden in Italy. Every year a significant number of occupational diseases are reported, the annual average in the period 2015/2019 is 59,552, of which 65%, or 38,704, are attributable to occupational diseases of the osteomuscular system and connective tissue; if we then look at the occupational sector, about 22.8% are attributable to the agricultural sector. These significantly high figures result in a total economic burden estimated at 104,844 million euros, or 6.3% of the national GDP. The result is an expenditure that burdens the coffers of the State, causing a “change of course of funds” that, instead of being used for prevention and improvement of the quality of working life, are unfortunately used for the treatment of accidents and occupational diseases. These data show that there is a greater need to carry out a risk assessment, in accordance with current legislation, in order to identify the exact level of exposure of workers and thus outline appropriate prevention and protection measures that significantly reduce the risk of accidents but above all the occurrence of occupational diseases. The aim of this research was to assess the risk of exposure to biomechanical overload of the upper limbs for workers employed in the manual thinning of peach fruits, a seasonal operation necessary to control the productive load of the crop.