Week 13: Workplace Health and Safety Flashcards
What are 4 details about the interaction between work and health?
People who work are generally healthier than those who cannot; higher income workers have better
physical, mental health, longevity, on average, than lower wage workers
Unemployment associated with higher disease incidence, increased hospital admissions, premature mortality, other adverse outcomes
Work policies affect ability to raise children, address family health challenges
Some jobs improve health; others can be hazardous; others are a combination
What are 4 details about the cost of work injuries and illnesses?
ILO (International Labor Organization) estimates >2.3 million work-related deaths, 317 million serious/disabling injuries per year worldwide
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS] (2014, 2015) estimates 4,700 fatal and >3 million serious injuries per year among U.S. workers; economic cost >$200 billion in 2013 (National Safety Council 2015)
Many not reported; U.S. injury numbers underestimate incidence, possibly by 40-70% (Spieler & Wagner 2014)
Work-related illnesses (vs. injuries) harder to track because of time lag/latency; U.S. deaths from exposure to hazardous workplace agents (around 50,000 per year)
What are workplace hazards for 3 different workplaces?
Garment/textile: cotton dust exposures lead to lung disease, repetitive motion hazards lead to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), unsafe structures lead to 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse
Electronics manufacturing: generally clean facilities but chemical exposure hazards, excessive work hours
U.S. poultry processing plants: repetitive motion hazards/MSDs, lacerations/skin infections, respiratory symptoms from disinfecting agents, organic dusts
List some industries with high injury rates.
High injury rate U.S. industries: health care/social assistance (highest, 500,000/year), agriculture/ forestry/fishing/hunting, arts/entertainment/recreation, transportation/warehousing (BLS 2014, 2015)
What are 3 details about vulnerable workers?
Likely to: work in high-hazard occupations, be first- generation immigrants; less likely to: report hazardous conditions, be trained/supplied with protective equipment, receive compensation/medical benefits if injured, be represented by a union
In past, many dangerous U.S. jobs held by immigrants or African Americans (e.g., high exposure jobs at coke ovens, tire plants [Michaels 1983]); today, immigrants (e.g., 2013 fatality rate for U.S. construction workers 8.6 deaths per 100,000, 9.8/100,000 for Latino workers [Byler 2013]); undocumented workers especially at risk
Temporary workers, low-wage workers (injured at work at a higher rate [Steege et al. 2014], also at risk
What are 3 details about early U.S. workplace carnage?
Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, Chicago meatpacking plants
Dr. Alice Hamilton’s 1910 survey of occupational health in Illinois led to early workplace safety law
Triangle Shirtwaist Fire (1911) - beginning of concerted government workplace safety intervention, union action, NY/state workplace safety laws; deaths witnessed by Francis Perkins, Labor Secretary (1st woman in cabinet), instituted worker protections (pensions, umemployment benefits, minimum wage, overtime laws)
What are 4 details of legislation related to U.S. mine disasters?
The US Bureau of Mines was created in 1910 following the 1907 explosion at the Monongah Mine in West Virginia that killed at least 362 miners and the 1909 fire at the Cherry Mine in Illinois that killed 259 men
The Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 was passed soon after a 1968 fire and explosion killed 78 miners in a mine near Farmington, West Virginia
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (known as the Mine Act), extending and improving protections for both coal and non-coal (mineral and rock) miners, was passed following a 1976 disaster at the Scocia Mine in Kentucky that resulted in 28 deaths
The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER Act) amending the Mine Act was passed in 2006 following disasters at the Sago, Darby, and Crandall Canyon mines that resulted in 23 deaths
What are 2 details related to the government’s role in workplace health and safety?
Public/union protests, unrest, mine disasters, led to:
Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969
Occupational Health and Safety (OSH) Act of 1970: right to safe workplace, created OSHA (Occupational safety and Health Administration, Dept. of Labor [DOL]), NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; research)
States can establish own OSHA programs, but must be as effective as federal; around half have their own
What are 2 details about OSHA?
The mission of OSHA is to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance
Some of the things OSHA does to carry out its mission are:
Developing job safety and health standards and enforcing them through worksite inspections
Providing training programs to increase knowledge about occupational safety and health
What are 4 details about NIOSH?
Mission: Improve worker safety and well-being.
Part of CDC
More than 1,300 employees
Works closely with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration in the U.S.
What are 3 goals of NIOSH?
Goal 1: Conduct research to reduce worker illness and injury, and to advance worker well-being
Goal 2: Promote safe and healthy workers through interventions, recommendations and capacity building.
Goal 3: Enhance international worker safety and health through global collaborations
What are 4 details about protecting workers?
Safety and health management systems/injury and illness prevention programs, required in many states
Hierarchy of controls: address hazards at the source (e.g., substitute non-toxic for toxic chemicals), rely on personal protective equipment as last resort
Worker chemical exposures usually higher than public:
strong health effects evidence from occupational epi. studies
higher exposures allowed by law– permissible exposure limits [PELs]; but <600 PELs to date, so most exposures unregulated
OSHA inspects if worker complaint, fatality/serious injury, or high-hazard industry; penalties generally low; but worker fatality rate down to 3.3/100,000 (BLS 2015)
What are 3 details about workers’ compensation?
Most U.S. states established workers’ comp. plans early 20th century, to provide medical care/partial wage replacement until return to work; in exchange, workers cannot sue (no-fault system); each state own rules/no federal system (except railroad and federal workers)
System limitations:
studies show only a fraction of workers receives benefits
low-wage workers even less likely to file claims (Smith 2012)
illness claims difficult to make (vs. injury claims)– rarely diagnosed or diagnosed long after employment ends
In U.S., costs borne by families/out-of-pocket (50%), taxpayers (17%), private insurance (13%), and workers’ comp. programs (21%) (Leigh & Marcin 2012)
What are 4 details about sustainability?
Transition from fossil fuels means transition away from high risk industries coal mining, oil/gas drilling, refining
But green jobs have hazards too (e.g., wind turbine workers, high risk of falls)
Sustainability aspects now encompassing workers:
Life cycle analysis– examines health and environmental costs of products, from raw materials to disposal, includes worker safety and health
Voluntary corporate reporting, worker illness/injury rates
Increasing recognition that safe workplaces are well-run/profitable (e.g., Alcoa’s CEO Paul O’Neil targeted a 0 injury rate, increased revenue/market capitalization)
What are 5 details about globalization?
Goods often assembled in one country from parts made elsewhere, finished goods distributed widely
Sometimes multinational employers ensure worker safety/health across supply chain; more often, hazards addressed (or not) by local authorities
Low- and middle-income countries have limited resources, rely on ILO (International Labor Organization) standards, help from WHO (World Health Organization)
ILO & WHO also lead targeted efforts (e.g., Global Programme for Elimination of Silicosis)
NGO (e.g., labor unions, human rights groups) pressure drives change, but companies can still move to lower cost locations
