O meio ambiente do trabalho na COP 30

Performing the Precarious. Economic Crisis in European and Japanese Theatre (René Pollesch, Toshiki Okada) Prof. Dr. Katharina Pewny (bio) In the last decade, the “precarious” – meaning the uncertain, unstable – was conceived as a theoretical concept in philosophy, sociology, and art theory. The changing working conditions in the New Economy, the worldwide economic crash in the autumn of 2008 and the increasing poverty are frequently staged in contemporary theatre, performance, and dance. Texts and stagings of Berlin-based author and director René Pollesch and Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech (2009) by Tokyo-based author and director Toshiki Okada are performances of the precarious that stabilize the unstable ground of precariousness, at least temporarily. 1. Academic and Activist Discourses on the Precarious The word “precarious” can be traced back to the French adjective précaire, which in turn originates from the Latin word precarius, meaning “sensitive, difficult” (Pewny 2009:30–47[? 2011? ein 2009 ist nicht angegeben, DF). In 2004, Judith Butler launched an influential discourse on vulnerability as a human ontology of precariousness (Butler 2004). Her thoughts have been referenced in theatre and dance studies and in performances that deal with war and other traumatic events (Burt 2008). The term “precarious”, as it has been developed in activist and sociological discourses, includes several aspects. It embraces human vulnerability arising from unsecured, precarious working conditions within current economic developments, as well as bodily vulnerability. A person living under precarious conditions is subjected to changes within her working and living conditions that she does not have power over. Despite all their political, social, and economic differences, the “multiple loci of Europe” (Chakrabarty 2000:17) provide comparatively wealthy and secure contexts of living—at least for those who hold a European passport. However, the economic shift from Fordism to post-Fordism from the 1970 s onwards set a destabilization of living and working conditions in motion. An increasing number of people, also from what was formerly known as the “middle class”, conduct free-lance work and therefore live under precarious conditions (Bologna 2006:97–106). Precarious working and living conditions can mean discontinuities of income, of social security, of legal status, and thus of planning one’s life and future. Unstable working situations, such as part-time employment and free-lance work, are thus being called “precarious” work. For the most part, precarious work is not backed by institutional resources and power mechanisms and it also lacks institutional rites de passages such as celebrations for starting a new job, work anniversaries, and retirement. Changes in precarious working situations have to be experienced and lived through individually rather than collectively. Precarity is a new norm that has moved from the peripheries of (European) societies to their centres. Many temporary work situations demand skills traditionally important for work in the arts, such as creativity, [End Page 43] excellent self-performativity and flexibility. This is an aspect of the dialectic entanglement that art and work have been engaged in since the early 1990 s: aspects of free time and “play” increasingly enter the working environment of the New Economy (Haunschild 2009:153). The theatre, in particular, has become paradigmatic for precarious working and living conditions. Because “play” differentiates the performing arts from other art forms, “the connection of play and work in the theatre serves as an exemplary standard” (ibid. 154). Simultaneously, there are increasing demands on those working in the arts and especially theatre to conform to the laws of the market. Therefore, the work of theatre makers and performers serves as a model of precarious working life, not only for other freelance academics, cultural workers, and artists in the New Economy, but also far beyond that. Consequently, people living under precarious conditions have started to discuss their living and working situations in publications, in visual media, on the Internet, and at public gatherings. The French writers Anne and Marine Rambach’s book Les Intellos précaires initiated debates on precariousness in 2001 (Rambach 2001). They spread rapidly from France to other Midand Western European countries such as Germany, Spain, and Italy. In 2003, the German-Swiss theorist and artist collective Kleines postfordistisches Drama released the video Kamera läuft (Camera rolling, in...

Terror in many respects is an occupational hazard, with targets chosen for the symbolism of the work or workplace, and emergency and healthcare workers facing exposures in their attempts to treat victims. Like industrial disasters, terrorist incidents are the result of human activity; like workplace violence, they are deliberate. Lessons learned from recent events suggest that integration of occupational and environmental health into public health should lead to an all-hazards approach with better overall disaster preparedness. Public health has been radically reshaped in the wake of the events of September 11, 2001, the subsequent anthrax attacks, and smallpox vaccination programs. Each of these events has demonstrated the importance of occupational and environmental health to the overall mission of public health, although breaking through differing world views to establish effective communications remains challenging. Meeting that challenge will enhance preparedness. Terror in many respects is an occupational hazard. Targets chosen in groups for the symbolism of their work or workplace have suffered the brunt of terrorist attacks in the United States; after the event, first-responders, rescue and recovery workers, and healthcare workers inevitably confront all or some of these hazards in the course of their work. Like other occupational exposures, terror is manmade. Although its roots differ profoundly from those causing industrial disasters, approaches to prevention and mitigation need to make use of what has been learned at great cost in the industrial sector. Rehearsed evacuation procedures, enhanced building design and maintenance, attention to hazard identification, risk assessment and communication, personal protective equipment, and supportive counseling and other services should be thought through using the same management commitment and worker involvement that help provide answers in difficult work settings. Security and postevent procedures developed to address workplace violence can be particularly helpful. Risk Assessment/Management/Communication The initial diagnosis of inhalational anthrax in Florida and the ultimate protection of large numbers of exposed individuals through chemoprophylaxis were major public health successes driven by skill, dedication, and hard work. The initial failure to adequately characterize both exposure and risk were not only painful lapses; they were lessons demonstrating the need for collaborative public health practice. Environmental sampling, exposure assessment, risk characterization, risk communication, and hazard abatement are all skills that are engaged differently on the environmental/occupational end of prevention. Unfortunately, these were called into play nationally only after the death of 2 postal workers from the Brentwood postal facility. Published initial assessments that the infective dose for inhalational anthrax was “8000–50,000 spores”1 flatly contradicted previously published reports that “Based on primate data, it has been estimated that for humans the LD 50 (lethal dose sufficient to kill 50% of persons exposed to it) is 2500 to 55,000 inhaled anthrax spores.”2 In sharp contrast, public health officials in New Jersey, one of the few states with significant occupational health capacity integrated into its health department, had rapidly intervened the preceding week. With confirmation of cutaneous anthrax in a downstream postal worker, state public health officials recognized an indicator of cross-contamination and likely significant widespread exposure, and made the decision to offer large numbers of workers chemoprophylaxis on that basis. 3 Environmental and occupational health encompasses the engineering, industrial hygiene, and toxicologic approaches needed to assess exposure, predict health outcomes, and design intervention strategies. Previous unpublished and subsequent published reports further characterized the extent to which intentionally processed spores became airborne and the inadequacy of initial sampling methods using dry cotton swabs for detecting contamination. 4,5 Environmental risk communication has long addressed the specific needs of individuals who have no perceived control over exposures, who are concerned about issues of underlying fairness of exposure distribution, and for whom adverse outcomes can be rare or unusual; this expertise was not adequately used in the early response. Environmental Sampling and Mixed Exposures The anthrax incidents imposed enormous burdens on public health laboratory capacity throughout the United States, but these were overwhelmingly environmental rather than clinical samples, both in laboratories where positive results were demonstrated 6 and in those where all specimens proved to be negative. 7,8 Of the 1496 specimens processed to rule out B. anthracis in Illinois in Fall 2001, all but 40 were environmental. 7 In addition to sheer numbers, laboratories encountered difficulties attempting to examine oddly shaped or large samples such as ventilation filters and furniture (particularly in NYC, where cross-contamination affected a number of offices), and problems with potentially mixed exposures. In at least one instance, a false alarm created the need to evaluate samples for which mixed chemical and biologic contamination was suspected. In October 2001, a crop duster dumped unknown contents onto commercial transportation barges in the Mississippi River. The initial inability of environmental laboratories to accept samples suspected of anthrax contamination or of Laboratory Response Network facilities to accept samples potentially contaminated with hazardous chemicals left the unfortunate workers on the barge in limbo for over 24 hours. Throughout 2001–2002, only one commercial laboratory had both LRN (level A) capabilities as well as American Industrial Hygiene Association certification. An Association of Public Health Laboratories survey conducted in January 2003 noted that “three quarters of the nation’s state laboratories are unable to safely accept samples suspected of containing multiple hazards, such as toxic chemicals and infectious organisms. Only eight state public health laboratories… report having a chemical terrorism… response plan in place.”9 This represents a resource gap that requires not only financial support, but also enhanced collaboration between laboratory scientists working with infectious agents and those conducting chemical analyses. Compensation Attention to occupational health issues might also have improved the current smallpox immunization program. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–296) addresses security issues ranging from food safety and boarder protection to public health response and intentional smallpox release. Section 304 of the Act specifically authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue countermeasures in the face of a potential bioterror event, including a smallpox attack. This authority was formally invoked shortly after the Act took effect, and HHS launched a national effort to immunize teams of volunteer public health- and hospital-based healthcare workers through local public health departments. However, despite active vaccination campaigns for healthcare workers in Israel and the U.S. military, the civilian response in the United States met with very specific concerns that severely reduced participation. 10 Among other reasons, section 304 failed completely to meet the liability concerns of the workers called on to volunteer. It transferred liability from vaccine manufacturers and the healthcare institutions and healthcare personnel who administer the vaccine to the federal government. However, under the restrictive Federal Tort Claims Act, vaccine recipients who sustained adverse effects would have recovered damages only for proven negligence. Not addressed were the expected consequences of an imperfect vaccine. Studies of vaccine dilutional efficacy described common side effects, including fever, chills, satellite lesions, pain, localized swelling, headache, and regional lymphadenopathy, potentially resulting in lost work time and additional medical expenses. 11 States and several large nonprofit healthcare systems scrambled to cobble together existing health insurance and workers compensation arrangements to provide coverage. Myocarditis, although fortunately rare and self-limited, is an example of an outcome with potentially high costs to the individual, yet covering hospitalization and lost work time costs for these few would have required a minor addition to the overall program budget. Both the American Public Health Association and the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) adopted policy statements on the pre-event smallpox vaccination program outlining liability, compensation, and operational concerns with recommended solutions. 12,13 Legislation was enacted in late April 2003 to correct this oversight; by then the program had largely failed. Research Needs On the other hand, the public health community also has unmet needs from its occupational and environmental health practitioners. Although research is now underway to develop appropriate protective gear for first-responders, the very real needs of healthcare workers, much less of public health workers, have not been adequately addressed. Specific questions concerning protection from biologic or chemical exposures in the act of caring for victims of terror or conducting community outreach deserve attention. Appropriate dermal protection, respiratory protection that works in healthcare settings or in broad community investigations, and the need for off-the-shelf, ready-to-use equipment when unanticipated hazards have been encountered will all require a new approach from researchers and regulators. Safety and health professionals scrambled to develop accurate messages of their own concerning the hazards to rescue and recovery workers as well as to the inhabitants of lower Manhattan. Physical and psychologic needs of workers and community members transcend exposure category, although use of “all hazards” terminology in place of “BT” raises fears among public health practitioners that “the funding will go to the fire departments.” Occupational Medicine Practice and Surge Capacity Perhaps in part because of the problems raised by the smallpox vaccination program, occupational health practitioners have been slow to attempt to integrate their existing infrastructure into the postevent functioning of local public health and disaster preparedness plans. Employee health clinics that are both hospital-based and located in large and/or vulnerable industries would provide badly needed surge capacity should an actual event occur; these resources have not been tapped or offered during any of the recent simulated disaster drills. The ACOEM position on smallpox vaccination, for example, further identified the operational need to provide convenient, confidential, and free testing for HIV or pregnancy for volunteers who need to be certain of their status, all services familiar to hospital-based occupational medicine. 13 The ACOEM efforts to develop occupational health response teams represent additional attempts to integrate occupational expertise into disaster response. 14 The inclusion of occupational health practitioners in the Technical Advisory Groups required for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-funded State BT preparedness activity is another positive step. Public health and occupational health practitioners need to expand this dialogue to provide the level of preparedness our constituents deserve, whether at home, at work, or in the community.

BackgroundPsychosocial work factors significantly influence both organisational and worker health. Poor management of these factors can create precarious working conditions, risking drivers’ health. This review maps evidence on the health impact of these factors and health interventions targeting the working conditions and unhealthy habits of commercial drivers.MethodThe search was conducted in four main databases (PubMed, Central, JSTOR and Dimensions Ai) and other sources like Google Scholar. In All, 28,039 articles were retrieved and through a rigorous screening process, 68 records were included in this scoping review.ResultsThis review found that drivers work in precarious conditions like long driving hours, low job resources and social support, low job control, poor remuneration, workplace abuse and sexual harassment, work-family conflict, lone driving hour, irregular shift work, lack or insufficient breaks during work hours and difficult access to social protection and sanitation facilities. These precarious working conditions may expose drivers to mental health issues, cardiovascular diseases, HIV/AIDs, stroke, chronic fatigue, kidney and bladder issues and musculoskeletal pains. Most health promotion interventions target behaviour at the individual level, such as the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise, with little effort to improving working conditions.ConclusionEmployers in the road transport sector need to implement health promotion interventions that focus on drivers’ well-being. Additionally, improving working conditions and enforcing occupational health and safety standards in the road transport sector are essential for creating a safe and healthy workplace for all commercial drivers.

Forty years has passed since the first issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health. Over these four decades of rapid change in scientific publishing, the Journal has stabilized its position as the top international periodical in Occupational and Environmental Health. Our latest (2014) impact factor is 3.454, with a 5-year impact factor of 4.060. The journal now ranks 21st of 160 journals in the Public, Environmental and Occupational Health category of the Journal Citation Report - and the best among more than a dozen occupational health journals on the list.Authors refer to that are important for their own new research. But what makes an important publication in occupational health research? At the very least, it should be an innovative and high-quality publication. One paper alone is rarely responsible for societal impact, but a good one can further catalyze, support, or enhance our understanding of the elements of good practical solutions and cost-effective interventions. The aim of Scand J Work Environ Health has always been to promote good and impactful research in the field of occupational and environmental health and safety and increase knowledge through scientific publication.Over the years, although the goals of the Journal have remained unchanged, scientific focus, research methods, and academic publishing itself have undergone a monumental change.Looking back, the first paper published in the Journal in 1975 was a review by Anna Maria Seppalainen (1) on the applications of neurophysiological methods in occupational medicine. At that time, neurophysiological methods were recommended for the research and diagnosis of vibration and exposure to, for example, insecticides, carbon monoxide, acrylamide, and lead. The first issues of the Journal were rich in exposure assessment methodology and toxicology. Likewise, there were many papers related to occupational medicine. In the third issue from the same year, however, a paper did emerge on sleep length and adaption to shift work among Swedish railroad workers (2), varying the content. A study of the distribution of the research topics of 85 (ie, papers with >100 citations) from 1950 to 1997 in five major occupational medicine journals (including Scand J Work Environ Health) revealed some interesting findings. While a few citations classics dealing with toxicology were published during each decade, classics concerning solvents appeared only during the 1970s and 1980s, and those dealing with work-related musculoskeletal disorders emerged in the 1980s and increased significantly in the decades thereafter (3).During the last ten years, the most popular topics in the Journal have been occupational epidemiology, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychosocial factors. These papers also performed better than average with respect to citations (especially psychosocial factors), while papers on, eg, toxicology and respiratory disorders have appeared less frequently and have also been less frequently cited (4). During the last two years (see the top-cited articles www.sjweh.fi/list_top_cited.php) , many well-cited papers have investigated key issues relating to present working life, factors predicting return-to-work (5, 6), decreased sickness absence (7, 8), longer work careers (9, 10), and higher productivity (7, 11) at work. The solutions studied were often practical interventions related to work modifications and working hours, but also changes in individual, social or lifestyle factors. The evolution of the Journal's contents seems to reflect the current trends in general occupational safety and health (OSH) research policies (see eg, http://www.perosh.eu/research-priorities/). The Journal has come a long way in updating its expertise and focus areas but is still open to all relevant topics in the area of occupational and environmental health. Also toxicology, which the Journal initially targeted, is still an issue in today's working life. …

A joint China-U.S. symposium entitled "Integrating Occupational and Environmental Health" was organized by the Department of Science and Technology of Hebei Province, PRC, and the Department of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, U.S.A. A framework called "Sustainable Production" was proposed by U.S. participants to link environmental and worker protection. Sustainable production focuses on systems of production that integrate concerns for the long-term viability of the environment, worker health and safety, the community, and the economic performance of firms and other enterprises. The disciplines of environmental and occupational health and safety were brought together by Chinese participants under the unifying theme of the development, implementation, and impact of new technologies. As production processes are increasingly concentrated in China, collaboration among U.S. and Chinese environmental and occupational health and safety professionals is ever more essential.

Precarity is becoming the paradigmatic description of young people’s work conditions in crisis-ridden Greece, but also in other European countries. Focusing on interview data on the work experiences of young adults (18-26 years old), in urban centres of Greece, this study attempts to explore the ways in which informants account for working in precarious conditions and construct agency and subjectivity within these ways of accounting. The analysis drawing on insights from critical discursive social psychology indicates that participants construct precarious work conditions as widespread and banal a) by treating precarious work as a sine qua non condition of youth employment, b) by considering precarious work as an inherent trait of the Greek job-market, c) by considering precarious work as a necessary step on a (biographical) path leading to the desired and/or appropriate job, or d) by adopting a “there is no other alternative” accounting, representing precarious job conditions as the only alternative to unemployment. The analysis also points out the ways in which participants orient themselves to a dilemma of stake and accountability, being concerned to position themselves as effortful subjects, while they are rhetorically constructing the banal regime of precarious labour. The discussion considers the need to bring into the scope of social and political psychology the specific nuances of precarious labour.

Recently, with both local and international emphasis on environment and occupational safety and hygiene conditions, there have been numerous relevant issues proposed for compliance conducted by nations and business organizations. Among them, the proposals also include environmental management systems （ISO 14001） and occupational health and safety management systems （OHSAS 18001）. ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 were separately generated in 1996 and 2001. They were further revised separately in 2004 and 2007. Due to the same operation mode （PDCA –the dynamic operation mode）, most business organizations spend the same effort for system promotion to reduce the waste caused by labor and money. Although there have been numerous experts and scholars proposing the efficiency after promoting environmental amd occupational health and safety management systems, there is still no effectiveness examined actually. This research spends focusing effort on a LED factory with environmental and occupational health and safety management systems promoted. Thereafter, the risk assessment results and system changes after improvement effort made for this factory are used to examine effectiveness. In the research process, the results of risk assessment can represent current conditions of internal environment and occupational safety and hygiene. They can be held as targets for improvement projects, also. Additionally, from the results of risk assessment, the changes to employees’ emphasis on safety and hygiene can be found. It also shows the direction urgently required for immediate improvement effort made by this factory to reduce internal risks and damages. Furthermore, after this factory has spent effort for improvement projects at various departments for past few years, not only the risk for internal activities and operation are reduced, but also the internal environment and occupational safety and hygiene are well improved. The results of this research cannot only verify the promoted efficiency of environmental and occupational health and safety management systems proposed by experts and scholars, but also bring with other tangible and intangible effectiveness （such as the emphasis on environment and occupational safety and hygiene conditions placed by the factory personnel from general employees to high rankers.）. Finally, in this research, by focusing on the process with the effort to promote environmental and occupational health and safety management systems internally, the defects can be proposed. It is expected that the internal environmental and occupational health and safety management systems can be promoted continuously. Aside from more insightful understanding of internal status, the aggressive involvement effort is also spent on international issues to improve environment and occupational safety and hygiene. It aims to reach the spirits of continuous improvement and eternal development.

Workplace safety in the decommissioning of flexible pipelines from offshore oil and gas production platforms has traditionally been analyzed based on occupational health and safety indicators. However, this quantitative approach often conceals the actual working conditions in the unloading and dismantling activities of these materials. The dismantling of the pipelines integrates a developing productive ecosystem, involving companies and cooperatives that operate under intense competition and low profitability, resulting in precarious working conditions. Objective: The study aims to analyze working conditions in the unloading and dismantling processes of flexible pipelines, expanding the focus beyond indicators and discussing strategies that promote a fairer and safer production model, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Methodology: The research uses a qualitative and exploratory approach, combined with field observation. Based on the principles of Activity Ergonomics, working conditions were analyzed both in unloading at the port and in the dismantling of flexible pipes at a recycling company. Results: The results indicate that safety in the post-decommissioning phases is often treated superficially, disregarding the concrete working conditions at ports and recycling centers. Discussion: Recycling companies operate with low profit margins and precarious conditions, highlighting the need for support from oil companies to ensure a more sustainable ecosystem with decent work. Conclusion: The adoption of a cooperative model and the revision of economic incentives are crucial for balancing occupational safety and economic viability. Ergonomics, integrated with a reevaluation of the economic model, can contribute to the consolidation of a sustainable and socially responsible production model.

Occupational Safety and Health amid the Global Pandemic

Primary prevention aimed at avoiding or drastically reducing exposures will be the most efficient way to prevent environmentally associated cancers.

Research ArticleOpen AccessEvolution of cancer etiology and primary prevention. L Tomatis, and J Huff L Tomatis Search for more papers by this author and J Huff Search for more papers by this author Published:1 October 2001https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.109-a458Cited by:14AboutSectionsPDF ToolsDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InReddit AbstractPrimary prevention aimed at avoiding or drastically reducing exposures will be the most efficient way to prevent environmentally associated cancers.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited by Mejía-Aranguré J (2016) Molecular epidemiology of acute leukemia in children: causal model, interaction of three factors—susceptibility, environmental exposure and vulnerability period, Boletín Médico del Hospital Infantil de México, 10.1016/j.bmhimx.2015.12.005, 73:1, (55-63), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2016. Mejía-Aranguré J (2016) Molecular epidemiology of acute leukemia in children: causal model, interaction of three factors—susceptibility, environmental exposure and vulnerability period, Boletín Médico Del Hospital Infantil de México (English Edition), 10.1016/S2444-3409(16)30019-X, 73:1, (55-63), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2016. Sweeney E (2014) The Individualization of Risk and Responsibility in Breast Cancer Prevention Education Campaigns, Policy Futures in Education, 10.2304/pfie.2014.12.7.945, 12:7, (945-960), Online publication date: 1-Oct-2014. Huff J and Melnick R (2012) Environmental Justice and Primary Prevention of Cancer: The Odyssey and Legacy of Lorenzo Tomatis, NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 10.2190/NS.22.1.b, 22:1, (7-17), Online publication date: 1-May-2012. Abraham J and Ballinger R (2012) Science, politics, and health in the brave new world of pharmaceutical carcinogenic risk assessment: Technical progress or cycle of regulatory capture?, Social Science & Medicine, 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.04.043, 75:8, (1433-1440), Online publication date: 1-Oct-2012. Huff J, Chan P and Melnick R (2010) Clarifying carcinogenicity of ethylbenzene, Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 10.1016/j.yrtph.2010.08.011, 58:2, (167-169), Online publication date: 1-Nov-2010. Nair P and Sobhia M (2008) Comparative QSTR studies for predicting mutagenicity of nitro compounds, Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling, 10.1016/j.jmgm.2007.06.006, 26:6, (916-934), Online publication date: 1-Feb-2008. Huff J and Ladou L (2013) Aspartame Bioassay Findings Portend Human Cancer Hazards, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.4.446, 13:4, (446-448), Online publication date: 1-Oct-2007. Huff J (2013) Benzene-induced Cancers: Abridged History and Occupational Health Impact, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.2.213, 13:2, (213-221), Online publication date: 1-Apr-2007. Ladou J, Teitelbaum D, Egilman D, Frank A, Kramer S and Huff J (2013) American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM): A Professional Association in Service to Industry, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10.1179/oeh.2007.13.4.404, 13:4, (404-426), Online publication date: 1-Oct-2007. (2013) What Are the Real Causes of Cancer?, International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10.1179/oeh.2006.12.1.81, 12:1, (81-87), Online publication date: 1-Jan-2006. Ferrís i Tortajada J, Ortega García J and López-Ibor Aliño B (2004) La etiología y la prevención del cáncer pediátrico, Anales de Pediatría, 10.1016/S1695-4033(04)78345-9, 61:1, (1-4), . Johnson F and Huff J (2002) Bioassay bashing is bad science., Environmental Health Perspectives, 110:12, (A736-A739), Online publication date: 1-Dec-2002.Wing S and Richardson D (2002) Use of A-bomb survivor studies as a basis for nuclear worker compensation., Environmental Health Perspectives, 110:12, (A739-A739), Online publication date: 1-Dec-2002. Vol. 109, No. 10 October 2001Metrics About Article Metrics Publication History Originally published1 October 2001Published in print1 October 2001 Financial disclosuresPDF download License information EHP is an open-access journal published with support from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. All content is public domain unless otherwise noted. Note to readers with disabilities EHP strives to ensure that all journal content is accessible to all readers. However, some figures and Supplemental Material published in EHP articles may not conform to 508 standards due to the complexity of the information being presented. If you need assistance accessing journal content, please contact [email protected]. Our staff will work with you to assess and meet your accessibility needs within 3 working days.

Increased demand for long-term care (LTC) services alongside precarious working conditions has resulted in labour shortages in the LTC sector, which has led to an increasing share of workers of migrant origin filling these jobs. Previous research on migrant care workers has also highlighted the seeming gap in working conditions relative to native workers. However, lack of disaggregated data on migrant and native care workers, alongside single-case studies, may have concealed potential disadvantages faced by certain groups and insufficiently accounted for differences in migration regimes and organisation of LTC sectors. To address these gaps, we carried out a comparative study on various working conditions of migrant and native LTC workers in Austria and Sweden. Using the international Nordcare survey on care sector working conditions, carried out in Austria in 2017 (n=792) and in Sweden in 2015 (n=708), we employed t-tests and multivariate logistic regressions to compare the working conditions of migrant and native carers in home and residential care in each country. We found that worse working conditions in Sweden compared to Austria may be explained by differences in training requirements of the LTC workforce and the relatively large for-profit private sector. Country of origin also plays a paramount role in the differences in working conditions experienced by migrants compared to native care workers, with non-European migrants being more likely to face a number of precarious working conditions. Our findings highlight the need to continue addressing precarious working conditions across the sector, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic where poor working conditions have been linked to increased COVID-related deaths in nursing homes. Our findings also emphasise the importance of policies that consider the various challenges experienced by different migrant groups in the LTC sector, who may particularly be at risk of presenteeism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When it comes to the regulation of hazardous chemicals, change in any direction tends to proceed at a snail’s pace. The primary law governing chemicals and health, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA),1 has not been revised since it was passed in 1976, due in part to legislative gridlock and lack of consensus among stakeholders. So it may come as something of a surprise that over the past two years there has been a broad-based, intense, and relatively rancor-free effort to revitalize and rationalize how we manage hazardous industrial and naturally occurring chemicals. The National Conversation on Public Health and Chemical Exposures,2 brainchild of former Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) director Howard Frumkin, delivered its final product—the Action Agenda3—on 9 June 2011. “Most of us would agree we don’t want to be around dangerous chemicals. That’s a fairly widely shared value,” Frumkin says. “But you wouldn’t know it based on the amount of polarization and shouting that goes on.” Now dean of the School of Public Health at the University of Washington, Frumkin became frustrated during his years at the ATSDR, where he concurrently directed the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He wanted to improve federal agency coordination, identify areas of overlapping or redundant responsibility, make information about chemical health effects easily accessible to the general public, streamline and integrate the enormous amount of scientific data on chemicals, and reduce children’s exposure to harmful chemicals. He also wanted to re-establish a strong connection between the public health community and the environmental and occupational health communities. And he sought a fundamental change of perspective from a system based on what the Action Agenda describes as reliance on “treatment after harm has occurred”3 to one that prevents health problems.

Background: Consumers have the power to change how companies do business. For example, Remake promotes Fashion for Good by encouraging sustainable clothing with fair pricing. Empowering consumers to make responsible choices when purchasing clothing has the potential to significantly impact workplace and environmental health in countries where textiles and clothing are made. Methods: A pilot study done in 2018 at the University of Michigan indicated that 6% of consumers always think about environmental effects and 12% always think about worker health effects. Fifty-four percent (54%) and 62% of respondents reported that they sometimes think about worker and environmental health, respectively. The rest of the respondents never think about either when purchasing clothing. All 102 respondents who participated in this online survey purchased clothing. They ranged in age from 18 to 78 (median age, 38) and 75% were female. Their incomes ranged from $29,700 to $114,100 (median income, $48,900). Results: About 75% of the respondents indicated that they would, or maybe would, be willing to pay more for clothing to protect environmental and worker health. The main barrier to paying more is uncertainty that the money would actually be used to those purposes. Lack of brand transparency and trustworthiness also reduced their willingness to pay more.Conclusions: Basic demographics is important to understand consumer needs. Several fashion companies and fashion-associated non-profits are promoting sustainable clothing lines and educating the public about the adverse health impacts of fast fashion. This pilot study is a first step to evaluating how market forces can induce a shift toward a public health focus on prevention and how sustainable fashion companies can better craft their message. Empowering consumers to improve environmental and worker health is an idea whose time has come.

Not often does a new degree program make headline news, but then, in India there is nothing entirely comparable to the new master’s of public health (MPH) program launched 19 January 2010 at Sri Ramachandra University (SRU) in Chennai. With environmental disease constituting roughly half the country’s total disease burden, India has a dire need of the expertise the program will develop with its focus on occupational and environmental health (OEH). “This program is the first MPH [in India] with an exclusive focus on OEH,” says Kalpana Balakrishnan, a professor of biophysics and head of the Department of Environmental Health Engineering at SRU. “These graduates will be trained in recognition, evaluation, and management of OEH risks to serve industry and governmental organizations in addition to assuming roles as teachers of OEH in [this and other] MPH programs.” India faces a double whammy of traditional and modern OEH problems, including indoor air pollution (primarily due to the use of wood, dung, and other solid fuels for cooking); the microbial and chemical contamination of water; chemical, physical, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards in the workplace; and contamination of food supplies by heavy metals, pesticides, and microbes. Over 37 million people—more than the total population of California—are affected annually by waterborne disease, according to the international nonprofit WaterAid, and the most recent data available—published by James Leigh et al. in the September 1999 issue of Epidemiology—put the number of occupation-related deaths per year at an estimated 121,000. Yet the country, with one-sixth of humanity and a space program, nevertheless has few professionals trained to tackle such problems and inadequate capacity to undertake related research. The 2-year MPH program is the fruit of a collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley, that began in 2002 with support from the International Training and Research Program in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH), an initiative of the Fogarty International Center, National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the NIEHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “A main objective of this collaboration has been to build the capacity of staff at SRU to deliver the MPH program and undertake research,” explains Kirk Smith, a professor of global environmental health at Berkeley and a principal investigator with ITREOH. Fogarty funds have brought 6 SRU faculty to Berkeley to take advanced courses in biostatistics, epidemiology, and other disciplines. Berkeley aims to continue to provide training support over at least the next 2 years. The new MPH program covers topics such as epidemiology, biostatistics, occupational toxicology, industrial hygiene, occupational and environmental safety, exposure assessment and control, health policy and management, behavioral sciences in health, indoor air quality, analysis of airborne chemical contaminants, occupational health clinics, environmental engineering (including the management of hazardous and biomedical waste), and the use of geographic information systems. With initial graduating classes of just 10 students, Balakrishnan says, “The intake will be expanded once a critical mass of teachers is produced from the first few batches.” She believes it could be at least a decade before much of a dent could be made in the subcontinent’s OEH problems and that to truly meet its challenge, India would need dozens more such programs. “It will be difficult in the short term to find students able to pay their own fees to attend until there are jobs available to make it seem worthwhile,” Smith says. “It’s a chicken-and-egg situation, which is one of the main reasons SRU needs to start small and build up slowly to a larger program.” Smith says other Indian universities are now considering offering new courses with OEH content, but one of the major problems they face remains the recruitment of staff capable of teaching in this area. “The production of the first ‘homegrown’ graduates who can specifically fill these positions, who have firsthand experience of India’s OEH problems, and who can begin research to find new ways of quantifying them and dealing with them will be a big step in the right direction,” he says. “Addressing India’s occupational and environmental health concerns is vital in the future of a healthy India,” remarks Sanjay Zodpey, director of the Indian Institute of Public Health and director of public health education for the Public Health Foundation of India, both in New Delhi. “The MPH program in collaboration with Berkeley will not only address the shortfall in trained manpower in occupational and environmental health, but also strengthen indigenous Indian research capacity in these areas.”