Occupational disease
Encyclopedia
An occupational disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health
. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in the general population, or in other worker populations. Occupational hazards that are of a traumatic nature (such as falls by roofers) are not considered to be occupational diseases.
Under the law of workers' compensation
in many jurisdictions, there is a presumption that specific disease are caused by the worker being in the work environment and the burden is on the employer or insurer to show that the disease came about from another cause. Diseases compensated by national workers compensation authorities are often termed occupational diseases. However many countries do not offer compensations for certain diseases like musculoskeletal disorders caused by work (e.g. in Norway).Therefore the term work-related diseases is utilized to describe diseases of occupational origin. This term however would then include both compensable and non-compensable diseases that have occupational origins.
among asbestos
miners and those who work with friable asbestos insulation, as well as black lung (coalworker's pneumoconiosis
) among coal miners, and byssinosis
among workers in parts of the cotton textile industry.
Occupational asthma
has a vast number of occupations at risk.
Bad indoor air quality
may predispose for diseases in the lungs as well as in other parts of the body.
is by far the most common, but urticaria
, sunburn
and skin cancer
are also of concern.
High-risk occupations include:
in his classic history of occupational diseases discusses many example of occupational diseases. They include:
Occupational safety and health
Occupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...
. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in the general population, or in other worker populations. Occupational hazards that are of a traumatic nature (such as falls by roofers) are not considered to be occupational diseases.
Under the law of workers' compensation
Workers' compensation
Workers' compensation is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her employer for the tort of negligence...
in many jurisdictions, there is a presumption that specific disease are caused by the worker being in the work environment and the burden is on the employer or insurer to show that the disease came about from another cause. Diseases compensated by national workers compensation authorities are often termed occupational diseases. However many countries do not offer compensations for certain diseases like musculoskeletal disorders caused by work (e.g. in Norway).Therefore the term work-related diseases is utilized to describe diseases of occupational origin. This term however would then include both compensable and non-compensable diseases that have occupational origins.
Lung diseases
Occupational lung diseases include asbestosisAsbestosis
Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory and fibrotic medical condition affecting the parenchymal tissue of the lungs caused by the inhalation and retention of asbestos fibers...
among asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
miners and those who work with friable asbestos insulation, as well as black lung (coalworker's pneumoconiosis
Coalworker's pneumoconiosis
Coal workers' pneumoconiosis , colloquially referred to as black lung disease, is caused by long exposure to coal dust. It is a common affliction of coal miners and others who work with coal, similar to both silicosis from inhaling silica dust, and to the long-term effects of tobacco smoking...
) among coal miners, and byssinosis
Byssinosis
Byssinosis, also called "brown lung disease" or "Monday fever", is an occupational lung disease caused by exposure to cotton dust in inadequately ventilated working environments. Byssinosis commonly occurs in workers who are employed in yarn and fabric manufacture industries...
among workers in parts of the cotton textile industry.
Occupational asthma
Occupational asthma
Occupational asthma is an occupational condition defined as: "a disease characterized by variable airflow limitation and/or airway hyper-responsiveness due to causes and conditions attributable to a particular occupational environment and not stimuli encountered outside the workplace".Asthma is...
has a vast number of occupations at risk.
Bad indoor air quality
Indoor air quality
Indoor air quality is a term referring to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants....
may predispose for diseases in the lungs as well as in other parts of the body.
Skin diseases
Occupational skin diseases and conditions are generally caused by chemicals and having wet hands for long periods while at work. EczemaEczema
Eczema is a form of dermatitis, or inflammation of the epidermis . In England, an estimated 5.7 million or about one in every nine people have been diagnosed with the disease by a clinician at some point in their lives.The term eczema is broadly applied to a range of persistent skin conditions...
is by far the most common, but urticaria
Urticaria
Urticaria is a kind of skin rash notable for pale red, raised, itchy bumps. Hives is frequently caused by allergic reactions; however, there are many non-allergic causes...
, sunburn
Sunburn
A sunburn is a burn to living tissue, such as skin, which is produced by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, commonly from the sun's rays. Usual mild symptoms in humans and other animals include red or reddish skin that is hot to the touch, general fatigue, and mild dizziness. An excess of UV...
and skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
are also of concern.
High-risk occupations include:
- Hairdressing
- Catering
- Healthcare
- Printing
- Metal machining
- Motor vehicle repair
- Construction
Other diseases of concern
- Carpal tunnel syndromeCarpal tunnel syndromeCarpal Tunnel Syndrome is an entrapment idiopathic median neuropathy, causing paresthesia, pain, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. The pathophysiology is not completely understood but can be considered compression...
among persons who work in the poultryPoultryPoultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
industry and information technology. - Lead poisoningLead poisoningLead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...
affecting workers in many industries that processed or employed lead or lead compounds
Historical
Donald HunterDonald Hunter (physician)
Donald Hunter CBE FRCP was a British physician and author of a classic text on occupational medicine, The Diseases of Occupations.- Life and works :...
in his classic history of occupational diseases discusses many example of occupational diseases. They include:
- Phossy jawPhossy jawPhossy jaw, formally phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, is an occupational disease of those who work with white phosphorus, also known as yellow phosphorus, without proper safeguards. It was most commonly seen in workers in the match industry in the 19th and early 20th century...
among the London matchgirlsLondon matchgirls strike of 1888The London match-girls’ strike of 1888 was a strike of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow, London.-The strike:... - Radiation sicknessRadiation SicknessRadiation Sickness is a VHS by the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault. The video is a recording of a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1988. It was released in 1991...
among some persons who had been working in the nuclear industry. - Radium jawRadium jawRadium jaw is an occupational disease brought on by the ingestion and subsequent absorption of radium into the bones of radium dial painters. The symptoms are necrosis of the mandible and the maxilla as well as constant bleeding of the gums and after some time, severe distortion due to bone...
among the Radium GirlsRadium GirlsThe Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium factory in Orange, New Jersey around 1917.... - Squamous cell carcinomaSquamous cell carcinomaSquamous cell carcinoma , occasionally rendered as "squamous-cell carcinoma", is a histologically distinct form of cancer. It arises from the uncontrolled multiplication of malignant cells deriving from epithelium, or showing particular cytological or tissue architectural characteristics of...
of the skin of the scrotum among chimney sweeps
See also
- Occupational health psychologyOccupational health psychologyOccupational health psychology emerged out of two distinct applied disciplines within psychology, health psychology and industrial/organizational psychology, and occupational health. OHP is concerned with the psychosocial characteristics of workplaces that contribute to the development of...
- Occupational medicine
- Occupational safety and healthOccupational safety and healthOccupational safety and health is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational safety and health programs is to foster a safe work environment...
- My work, my sorrow, a documentary on RSI and occupational disease in France today