Occupational Safety and Health in China, Part I: U.S.-China Symposium on “Integrating Occupational and Environmental Health”

Abstract

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.