Confindustria Ceramica and the Emilia-Romagna Region present the new Silica Protocol and the results achieved over the past five years

These were the key topics of the Memorandum of Understanding on Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS), presented this morning at the Association’s headquarters during a meeting attended by more than 100 experts and industry professionals.

The event was opened by Giuseppe Diegoli, Head of Collective Prevention and Public Health of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Pietro Conte, Head of the Labour Area of Confindustria Ceramica, and Massimo Muratori, General Secretary of FEMCA CISL Emilia Centrale, representing all the trade union organisations involved.

The agreement, signed last February by the Emilia-Romagna Region, Confindustria Ceramica, Acimac and the trade unions Filctem CGIL, Femca CISL and Uiltec UIL, confirms the central importance of worker protection for the entire sector and strengthens a participatory management approach that has been in place for more than twenty years.

Professor Elisa Franzoni (Scientific Director of Centro Ceramico) presented the results of sampling activities carried out in ten production facilities, providing a detailed overview of the actual exposure levels within the district. Professor Francesco Saverio Violante, former Professor of Occupational Medicine at the University of Bologna, illustrated the factors influencing the effects of exposure to respirable crystalline silica, comparing the district’s data with those of other Italian and international industrial areas.

Simone Mosconi (Confindustria Ceramica) and Andrea Govoni (Emilia-Romagna Region) reviewed the technical milestones achieved since 2021, highlighting the district’s position at the European level and outlining the next operational developments envisaged under the renewed Protocol, extended for a further four years.

In conclusion, all participants reaffirmed the effectiveness of a collaborative approach that has made the ceramic district a benchmark in Europe: a model capable of combining health protection with production efficiency, translating current regulations into practical, shared and operational guidelines for companies.