Abstract
New technology is transforming the workplace and bringing with it hazards that were unknown a few decades ago. New chemicals, plasma gases, biotechnology, new electronic devices, robots, and genetic engineering are being introduced so quickly that we do not know if they pose new threats to health until after they have been in wide use. These new technologies challenge our current state of knowledge about health hazards and our ability to control potential hazards. A major concern is that there currently are not enough resources to handle traditional safety and health hazards, and that these new challenges will tax the capabilities of our current health and safety resources. It is very likely that the potential hazards posed by new technology may not be amenable to traditional safety and health approaches. A major difficulty is that we just do not have enough knowledge about these new technologies or their potential harmful effects to be able to make good judgments. Knowledge about potential health hazards is lacking, and because these technologies have only been around a short time, epidemiological evidence on long term health effects is not available. Our challenge then is to develop new hazard assessment and surveillance methods to deal with emerging technologies. Participative approaches hold promise for successful programs.
Published Version
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