Is your job detrimental to your health? - Industrial illnesses and occupational injuries

Many people work to live but there is an increasing trend to live to work and UK employees are now spending the most hours at work when compared to the rest of Europe. Around 2.7 million UK residents work over 48 hours per week with an average of 56 hours, about twice the proportion of any other European country. This cannot be good for either their physical or mental health.

According to recent research carried out in the US, workers who do extensive amounts of overtime are at a higher risk of suffering industrial illness and workplace injuries. Specifically, those that work 12 hours a day or more were found 37% more likely to contract illness or sustain personal injury and those who work 60 hour weeks were 23% more likely to have an accident at work or fall ill. Overall, employees who work overtime are at a 61% greater risk of damaging their health than those who do not.

As well as back injuries, neck injuries and other musculoskeletal injuries that are regularly suffered in accidents at work, there are a range of industrial illnesses that can be obtained in the workplace, some of which are highlighted below:

Asbestos-related disease
Potentially, you could be exposed to asbestos anywhere, but many asbestos-related diseases are sustained as a result of exposure to dangerous asbestos dust in the workplace. Known for its rigidity, heat insulation and fire resistance, asbestos was used in building materials such as artificial slate roof tiles and storage heaters until the early 1980s.

Asbestos is generally harmless until its fibres are disturbed and many builders, roof contractors and other industrial workers tend to come across the fibres at some point in their careers. When inhaled, asbestos fibres can gather on the lungs, cause inflammation and a build up of scar tissue and lead to asbestosis, lung cancer, or even the fatal cancer, mesothelioma.

Industrial deafness
Industrial deafness has always been commonly suffered by those who work in noisy workplaces such as factories, nightclubs and engineering plants but with the increasing number of call centres in the UK, industrial deafness is becoming even more prolific.

Industrial deafness, also known as noise-induced hearing loss, can be accompanied by tinnitus, a ringing or buzzing in the ears, which is often a prelude to permanent deafness. Acoustic shock syndrome caused by a sudden burst of noise, such as a high-pitched whistle or gun shot, can also cause industrial deafness and there have been many recent successful compensation claims made by call centre staff reported in the news.

Hand-Arm vibration Syndrome
HAVS can cause symptoms such as numbness and tingling in the fingers, white fingers, and a decreased ability to do fine tasks. It is also referred to as Vibration White Finger and associated with Raynaud's phenomenon.

Those most at risk of developing this industrial illness are those that use vibrating machinery, such as forestry workers who use chainsaws and road workers who use pneumatic drills. Smokers and those that take medicines such as beta-blockers and the contraceptive pill are at an increased risk.

It is suggested that vibrating hand tools should be held as loosely as possible, anti-vibration gloves should be worn and regular breaks away from the tools should be taken, in order to reduce the risk of workers sustaining this industrial illness.

Allergies
According to Bernstein et al 1993, "Occupational asthma is a disease characterised by variable air flow limitation and/or airway hyper-responsiveness due to causes and conditions attributable to a particular occupational environment and not to stimuli encountered outside the workplace". There are many occupational allergies that can be referred to as industrial illnesses. Those whose work involves spray painting, urethane varnishes or foams and some waterproofing agents.

Along the same lines, those that work as welders, engineers, bakery workers or hairdressers are those most at risk of sustaining allergic rhinitis. This is characterised by breathing difficulties, including a runny nose, poor sense of taste or smell and congested nasal passages.

Latex poisoning is common among those that work in the health care profession. Not only can people develop allergies to the latex itself which causes extreme skin irritation but the powder used inside the gloves can also induce an occupational asthma.

Industrial illness and industry worries
The findings concerning the amount of overtime that we are choosing to do and the vast range of industrial illnesses that we are at risk of are of course a worry for employers, employees and regulatory bodies alike.

There has been a huge crackdown in recent years to make sure that employers protect workers from having accidents at work and contracting industrial illness, including the Working Time Directive weekly working hours limit of 48 hours per week. Also, organisations such as the Health and Safety Executive publish legislations concerning health, safety and welfare in the workplace as well as advice for both employers and their employees.

Policy advisor at the TUC, Paul Sellers, commented, "In the UK the situation is gradually getting better, but employers need to realise it is in their interests not to push people into working long hours."

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