Work accidents affect business and society as a whole. Fewer accidents mean fewer sick
leaves, which results in lower costs and less disruption in the production process, with clear advantages
for the employer. But workers and their households bear also a significant burden following a work accident,
only partially compensated by insurance systems. Furthermore, the consequences of work accidents
to the State and Society need also to be considered. When an organization performs an integrated risk
analysis in evaluating its Occupational Health and Safety Management System, several steps are suggested
to address the identified risk situations. Namely, to avoid risks, a series of preventive measures are identified.
The organization should make a detailed analysis of the monetary impact (positive or negative) for
the organization of each of the measures considered. Particularly, it is also important to consider the
impact of each measure on society, involving an adequate economic cost-benefit analysis. In the present
paper, a case study in a textile finishing company is presented. The study concentrates on the dyeing and
printing sections. For each of the potential risks, several preventive measures have been identified and
the corresponding costs and benefits have been estimated. Subsequently, the Benefit/Cost ratio (B/C) of
these measures has been calculated, both in financial terms (from the organisation’s perspective) and in
economic terms (including the benefits for the worker and for the Society). Results show that, while the
financial analysis in terms of the company does not justify the preventive measures, when the externalities
are taken into account, the B/C ratio increases significantly and investments are fully justified