English translation: "white deaths" /workplace deaths
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17:03 Feb 17, 2011
Italian to English translations [PRO] Social Sciences - Human Resources / In a book on architecture in a chapter on construction sites.
Italian term or phrase:"morti bianche"
I know that these are fatal accidents at the workplace and that they are called "bianchi" because nobody is responsible. I posted it to see if anyone knows of a similar term in English. Otherwise I will just side-step it with "fatal accidents at work".
"Infatti, il Legislatore ha cercato di porre un freno al triste fenomeno delle “morti bianche” con emanazioni successive di norme volte a incentrare sui concetti di prevenzione e formazione il problema della sicurezza nei luoghi di lavoro.
Explanation: 'white deaths' would be a literal translation from the Italian. Maybe it could be used in inverted commas followed by something along the lines of 'workplace deaths' or 'workplace accidents'... but again this is just a suggestion!
This is from an interesting article on the bbc news website:
"Italians compare it to a plague, labelling the casualties "white deaths"."
Thanks for the insight, Oliver. That didn't cross my mind at all! I think that the expression "morti bianche" is very culture-bound for its many implications (workers' movement) and the criticism around the use of the term itself. Colours might evoke different emotions/concepts in different languages and in this case the use of the adjective 'white' suggests the lack of responsibility, an implied reference to the concept of innocence (hence the debate on the use of this expression among those who seek justice for people who died in the workplace due to poor safety measures). In the light of the above, an expansion could help clearing a possible misinterpretation. But at the end of the day, any cultural connotation might be worth keeping or not depending on the tone of the text and the target reader...
This is how I translated, basically with the intention of anticipating precisely that reaction, "the sad phenomenon of 'white deaths' (“white” because no one is responsible for these workplace fatalities)". The answers given and your reference confirm what I thought, which is that there is no equivalent (not even a distant one) euphemism in English. My translation informs readers that there is a sort of slang terminology for this phenomena in Italy. Just how well this has succeeded, I don't know. Thanks for the reference though. Points are fun, but the terminology is serious.
I realise you've closed this now, but I pass this on in any event for info:
Question put to a solicitor in the UK with extensive experience in personal injury and insurance litigation, inc. H&S at work: ‘Where accidents in the workplace are concerned, have you ever heard of the expression 'white deaths' and if so, what does it mean to you?’
Response: ‘No idea. Sorry. Never heard of it!’
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Answers
13 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +4
\"morti bianche\"
workplace fatalities
Explanation: Bit boring, but seems to get lots of hits
Holly Nathan Italy Local time: 19:55 Native speaker of: English
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +4
