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Common occupational chemical hazards
The ILO’s 2021 report, Exposure to hazardous chemicals at work and resulting health impacts: A global review, identified the top ten workplace chemical exposures which should be considered a priority.
Asbestos
- Causes over 200,000 deaths per year from mesothelioma, cancers and asbestosis.
- Despite being phased out in more than 50 countries, workers continue to be exposed in different industries, including mining, construction and textiles.
Silica
- Silica exposure is most extensive in occupations involving manual labour, for example in construction, sandblasting and mining operations.
- Over 65,000 deaths occur annually from occupational silica exposure, due to silicosis and cancer.
Heavy metals and e-waste
- Workers can be exposed to different heavy metals in the workplace, including arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury and nickel.
- Workers in numerous industries are at risk of serious health impacts from these hazardous chemicals.
Solvents
- High solvent exposure occupations include painters, lacquerers, printers, dry cleaners, footwear manufacturers, occupations in graphics and plastic product works.
- Health impacts depend on solvent type, but they have linked to cancer, kidney and liver damage and reproductive dysfunction.
Dyes
- Dyes are commonly used in the textile, pharmaceutical, food and cosmetics industries.
- Azo dyes degrade to release carcinogenic substances.
Manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs)
- The recent increase of MNM production in a wide variety of industries represents a novel exposure risk for workers.
- Limited data exists on the health impacts of MNMs.
Perfluorinated chemicals (PFAS)
- Workers in chemical industries, firefighters and ski-wax technicians are particularly at risk of hazardous PFAS exposures.
- They have been linked to a variety of cancers, as well as immune, endocrine and reproductive dysfunction.
Endocrine-disrupting chemicals
- Substances from many different chemical groups that can act at very low doses to impact the functioning of the endocrine system.
- EDCs have been implicated in multiple reproductive disorders in men and women, as well as cancers, neurodevelopmental disorders and obesity.
Pesticides
- Approximately 1.8 billion people are engaged in agricultural activities worldwide and most use pesticides.
- Pesticides are considered a major public health concern, with major health impacts including pesticide poisonings, cancers and neurotoxic effects.
Workplace air pollution
- Pollution of air in the workplace, either indoors in the work premises or during work outdoors, can cause a range of health impacts.
Relevant tools
Below is a list of tools relevant for implementing this topic :
- ILO: Asbestos Convention (No.162) and Recommendation (No. 172), 1986
- ILO: Occupational Cancer Convention (No. 139) and Recommendation (No. 147), 1974
- ILO: Code of practice - Safety in the use of asbestos (1984)
- ILO: A practical guide on best practice to prevent or minimise asbestos risks (2006)
- ILO: Asbestos, asbestosis, and cancer - Helsinki Criteria for Diagnosis and Attribution (2014)
- ILO: Resolution concerning asbestos (2006)
- ILO: The ILO position on safety in the use of asbestos
- ILO/WHO: Outline for the development of national programmes for elimination of asbestos-related diseases (2007/2014)
- ILO: Occupational health: Silicosis
- ILO/WHO: Outline for a National Programme for the Elimination of Silicosis (NPES) (2006)
- ILO: Exposure to Mercury in the world of work - A review of the evidence and key priority actions (2022)
- ILO: Solvents and the workplace (2014)
- ILO: Code of practice - Safety and health in textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (2022)
- ILO: Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention (No. 148) and Recommendation (No. 156), 1977
- ILO: Code of practice - Ambient factors in the workplace (2001)