Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

1. Chapter 7
Environmental and Occupational Health
Taylor Moore
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

2. • 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.
Introduction
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

3. • 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.
Facts
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

4. • Many employers and
organizations place
safety responsibility
on the workers
themselves
Responsibility
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

5. • “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.
Shared Risks, Unequal Burdens
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

6. • Low seniority and
required support of
bosses prevent many
women from
complaining about
hazards
Working Conditions of Women
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

7. • 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
Types of Hazards
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

8. • 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
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

9. • 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
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

10. • 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
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

11. • 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
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

12. • “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
Effects of Hazards
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

13. • Educate yourself on
products you buy
• Get involved in your
community and
workplace
Reducing our Exposure
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

14. 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
Action Plan
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

15. • Wrote the book Silent
Spring in 1962 about
the dangers of
pesticides
Rachel Carson
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

16. • Organized the Love
Canal Homeowner’s
Association in 1978
• Forced New York
State to recognize
toxic waste problems
Lois Gibbs
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

17. • Cofounded West
Harlem Environmental
Action in 1988
• Fought the location of a
sewer treatment plant in
a community
Peggy Shepard
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

18. • Famous for her
investigation in 1996 of
contaminated water in
Hinkley, California
Erin Brockovich
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

19. • Founded Safe Food and
Fertilizer in the early
2000s
Patty Martin
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health

20. • 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
Taking Action in your
Workplace
Chapter 7: Environmental and Occupational Health