Occupational Diseases: Causes, Types, and Prevention
Occupational Diseases
Definition of Industrial Hygiene
Industrial hygiene is the non-medical prevention of professional risks. The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) defines it as “the discipline devoted to understanding, evaluating, and controlling those factors arising or caused in the workplace that can cause diseases or create discomfort among the workers.”
Industrial Pollutants
- Chemical
- Physical
- Biological
Key Aspects of Industrial Hygiene
- Its goal is the prevention of occupational diseases.
- The causes are industrial pollutants.
- Toilet Risk Assessment:
- Identification
- Measurement
- Valuation
- Pollutant control
- Its development unfolds in the work environment.
Technical Definition of Occupational Disease
“It is that slow and gradual deterioration of workers’ health caused by chronic exposure to adverse situations; those produced by the environment in which the work develops the way this is organized.”
Occupational Disease Law (Art. 116 LGSS)
“Means the occupational disease contracted as a result of work done by an employed person in the activities specified in the table to be approved by the implementing rules and development of this law and that it is caused by the action of the elements or substances in the table showing, for each occupational disease.”
Working Definition of Disease
“Diseases not covered by Art. 116 covering the workers upon the completion of their work, provided it is proved that the disease was caused solely its implementation.”
Table of Occupational Diseases (RD 1299/2006)
1. Produced by Chemical Agents
- Agent: Heavy metals
- Subagent: Arsenic and compounds
- Activity: Art restorers
2. Produced by Physical Agents
- Industrial noise
- Professional-sensorineural deafness
- Air-Traffic
3. For Biological Agents
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Legionellosis
- Maintenance of facilities
4. Installation of Substances and Agents
- Silica powder
- Silicosis
- Quarries and public works
5. Skin Diseases Caused by Substances and Agents
- Substances of low molecular weight (<1000 Daltons)
- Dermatosis
- Work in labs
6. For Carcinogens
- Asbestos
- Mesothelioma
- Thermal insulation in construction
Factors Determining an Occupational Disease
- The concentration of pollutant in the workplace
- The exposure time
- The characteristics of each person
- The relative health
- The presence of several pollutants at once
Chemical Contaminants
Inert matter in the air (NOT LIVE):
- Individual molecules:
- Gases
- Vapors
- Groups of molecules:
- Fibers
- Dust
- Fumes
- Mists
Types of Effects
- Corrosive
- Fatty acid, sodium hypochlorite, etc.
- Irritants
- Formaldehyde, Ozone, etc.
- Asphyxiating
- Simple (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, etc.)
- Chemical (carbon monoxide, cyanide, etc.)
- Toxic systematic
- Heavy metals (mercury, cadmium, etc.)
- Neumoconióticos (silica, asbestos, etc.)
- Sensitizers (isocyanates)
- Anesthetics and narcotics (industrial solvents, etc.)
- Carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic
- Vinyl-chloride
- Benzene
- Thalidomide
Types of Toxicity
- Toxicity local / systemic
- Acute / Chronic
- Toxicity immediate / delayed
- Toxicity reversible / reversible
- Carcinogenesis, genotoxicity, and teratogenicity
Toxicity Assessment
- Dose-effect curve
- Dem /-DLm
- Dose-response curve
- -DE50 /-DL50
Mechanical Energy
Noise / vibration / pressure variations
Thermal Power
Hot / cold / hot / cold
Electromagnetic Energy
Ionizing / non-ionizing
Biological Pollutant
- Microorganisms, cell cultures, and human endoparasites which may cause infection, allergy, or toxicity
- In addition to this definition we have to consider:
- Allergies caused by substances of animal or vegetable matter
- Injury caused by laboratory animals