T moore chp 7 teachback

Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

Chapter 7Environmental and Occupational Health

Taylor Moore


Introduction

• Where and how we live and work affects our health at all times.

• Our “environment” consists of out diet and living habits, along with out surroundings.

• At any given time, our bodies contain measurable amounts of industrial chemicals, pesticides, and other toxic wastes from the air, soil, food, and water.


Facts

• Women, with up to 10 percent more body fat than men on average, are more biologically vulnerable to environmental toxins than men.

• Although harmful chemicals, like DDT, are regulated in the U.S., a majority of American women have some percentage in their bodies.


Responsibility

• Many employers and organizations place safety responsibility on the workers themselves


Shared Risks, Unequal Burdens

• “People of color are more likely than whites in the United States to work in more dangerous workplaces, to live closer to environmental hazards, and to dwell in substandard housing” (98).

• The environmental justice movement is working to make these issues right.


Working Conditions of Women

• Low seniority and required support of bosses prevent many women from complaining about hazards


Types of Hazards

• Chemicals: exist in our food, water, air, clothing, homes, and workplaces• Body burden: the amount of chemicals in the human body at any point

• Radiation: comes from normally functioning nuclear power plants, weapons facilities, testing sites, and uranium mining

• Electromagnetic fields: invisible lines of force created up to three feet around power lines, electric wiring, and electrical equipment and appliances• Lead to increased chances of leukemia and cancer rates


Effects of Hazards

• Skin diseases: second most common type of occupational disease• Caused by many substances including solvents, latex, and some

pesticides

• Respiratory ailments: caused by air pollution, smoking, and dust of coal, grain, cotton, and flour• Leads to chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and adult asthma

• Multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS): environmental or ecological illness from chronic reactions to chemicals used in many industries• Cosmetics, newsprint, diesel fuel, solvent vapors, mattresses


Effects of Hazards

• Infectious diseases: pose a risk for health care and those who deal with bodily fluids• Tuberculosis, hepatitis B and C, and HIV

• Reproductive health hazards: anything that harms male or female reproductive organs• Chemicals, physical agents, or work practices

• Breast milk contamination: all women have toxic chemicals in their bodies, which can contaminate breast milk


Effects of Hazards

• Endocrine disruption: chemicals can disrupt reproductive health, thyriod gland, nerves, and immune system• Can mimic, block, or alter the body’s normal estrogen functioning

• Breast cancer: one-in-seven women have a chance of developing the disease• Harmful chemicals at work can increase this risk greatly

• Hearing loss: the most common occupational disease in the U.S.• Develops gradually over time and is usually irreversible


Effects of Hazards

• Other effects of occupational hazards:• Back pain• Foot and leg pain• Neck, shoulder, and hand strain or injuries• Headaches, unusual fatigue, and irritated skin, eyes, or nose from

poor air quality• Stress from physical factors, coworkers, bosses, or shift changes


Effects of Hazards

• “Homicide is a leading cause of occupational death for women” (109).

• Robbery, disgruntled workers, former employees, clients or partners/ex-partners can put women at risk for workplace violence

• For more information, contact NIOSH at 1-800-35-NIOSH


Reducing our Exposure

• Educate yourself on products you buy

• Get involved in your community and workplace


Action Plan

1. Be a careful consumer: read labels, and demand full disclosure

2. Investigate environmental conditions at work and at home

3. Talk to your neighbors and develop alliances around hazardous issues

4. Document your health and that of your family

5. Find out who paid for studies you look in to

6. Use the consumer boycott to find out where hazards are coming from


Rachel Carson

• Wrote the book Silent Spring in 1962 about the dangers of pesticides


Lois Gibbs

• Organized the Love Canal Homeowner’s Association in 1978

• Forced New York State to recognize toxic waste problems


Peggy Shepard

• Cofounded West Harlem Environmental Action in 1988

• Fought the location of a sewer treatment plant in a community


Erin Brockovich

• Famous for her investigation in 1996 of contaminated water in Hinkley, California


Patty Martin

• Founded Safe Food and Fertilizer in the early 2000s


Taking Action in your Workplace

• You can call OSHA: your employer could figure out you complained via workplace gossip

• Try to show connections between health problems and hazards

• Try to form a workers’ health and safety committee

• Know the groups strengths, weaknesses, barriers, and opportunities

Health & Medicine

T moore chp 7 teachback