Air pollution and workplace accidents: Evidence and implications

We estimate the impact of air pollution on workplace accidents and permanent disabilities in Italy, a setting characterized by stringent air pollution and work safety regulations. Using daily administrative data between 2014 and 2018, we leverage winter heating regulations and atmospheric dynamics to address the endogeneity of air pollution generation and exposure. We find an elasticity of accidents with respect to particulate matter (PM 10 ) of 0.12 and estimate no effect of pollution on disabilities. Using age groups as a proxy for work experience, we find larger impacts for less experienced workers. Increasing PM 10 by 10 µ g/m 3 would raise the average cost of an accident by 78 euros (7.3 %); employers bear 60 % of this cost, and public insurers bear 40 %. • We study how air pollution affects workplace accidents in Italy (2014–2018). • A 10-unit increase in PM 10 causes 0.073 additional accidents (elasticity of 0.12). • Effects are driven by less severe accidents, with no impact on permanent disabilities. • About 60 % of compensation claim costs for air pollution-induced accidents are borne by employers. • Very young workers (ages 15–25) exhibit strong effects from air pollution.