Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
The past as prologue: How the history of occupational illness and injury teaches us about today
Dublin Core
Title
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
The past as prologue: How the history of occupational illness and injury teaches us about today
The past as prologue: How the history of occupational illness and injury teaches us about today
Subject
The past as prologue, history of occupational illness, injury teaches
Description
The question posed in this presentation is not limited to “what” history teaches us about the occupational illness and in injury we see around us today but, as importantly, how does history teach us. If we gain the insights into the “how,” we can be alert to the warning signals of newly emerging novel exposures or reemerging, long-established established hazards. The history of occupational illness and injury is fundamentally the story of the myriad of ways in which technological change modifies
the ways in which the environment of employment puts workers at risk. Sometimes such change makes that environment inherently safer, but all too often there are obvious and not-so-obvious hazards that accompany the innovation. History teaches us that steam and pneumatic powered processes in the 19th century dramatically increased worker exposure to silica dust, bringing an epidemic of disease. It is not that silicosis, albeit poorly characterized, hadn’t been present long before, but it had never been on such a scale. Similarly, technologic changes have driven the histories of various “trade palsies” as they evolved into modern repetitive strain injuries, from the metal pen nib causing scrivener’s palsy to wall-to-wall carpeting creating carpet layer’s knee to electronic mail sorters inducing carpal tunnel syndrome. History also teaches us how we need guard against the cyclical amnesia that characterizes the
recurring recognition then apparent obliviousness and failure to control obvious hazards. Examples include carbon disulfide, a potent toxicant in the 19th century rubber industry, whose introduction into the viscose rayon industry proceeded without timely, critical evaluation by occupational medicine researchers or clinicians. The history of manganese neurotoxicity also can be characterized by similar pattern of discovery flowed by forgetting. Ourcurrent “surprise” at the resurgence of silicosis in the artificial stone industry, grinding a material that is nearly 100% crystalline silica, underscores this recurrent pattern. Finally, history teaches us how we should consider the lives and work of the leaders and pioneers of the discipline that we so often laud in the historical reviews. The stories of these figures should not be hagiographies, but rather need to show how Ramazzini, Thackrah, Proust, Hirt, Hamilton and others used their own experience paired with a critical reception of transmitted wisdom, to advance the field of occupational medicine. The history of occupational medicine is enriching, It is central to our discipline. And it is ignored at our own peril.
the ways in which the environment of employment puts workers at risk. Sometimes such change makes that environment inherently safer, but all too often there are obvious and not-so-obvious hazards that accompany the innovation. History teaches us that steam and pneumatic powered processes in the 19th century dramatically increased worker exposure to silica dust, bringing an epidemic of disease. It is not that silicosis, albeit poorly characterized, hadn’t been present long before, but it had never been on such a scale. Similarly, technologic changes have driven the histories of various “trade palsies” as they evolved into modern repetitive strain injuries, from the metal pen nib causing scrivener’s palsy to wall-to-wall carpeting creating carpet layer’s knee to electronic mail sorters inducing carpal tunnel syndrome. History also teaches us how we need guard against the cyclical amnesia that characterizes the
recurring recognition then apparent obliviousness and failure to control obvious hazards. Examples include carbon disulfide, a potent toxicant in the 19th century rubber industry, whose introduction into the viscose rayon industry proceeded without timely, critical evaluation by occupational medicine researchers or clinicians. The history of manganese neurotoxicity also can be characterized by similar pattern of discovery flowed by forgetting. Ourcurrent “surprise” at the resurgence of silicosis in the artificial stone industry, grinding a material that is nearly 100% crystalline silica, underscores this recurrent pattern. Finally, history teaches us how we should consider the lives and work of the leaders and pioneers of the discipline that we so often laud in the historical reviews. The stories of these figures should not be hagiographies, but rather need to show how Ramazzini, Thackrah, Proust, Hirt, Hamilton and others used their own experience paired with a critical reception of transmitted wisdom, to advance the field of occupational medicine. The history of occupational medicine is enriching, It is central to our discipline. And it is ignored at our own peril.
Creator
Paul D. Blanc
Publisher
Elsevier Korea LLC
Date
January 2022
Contributor
Sri Wahyuni
Format
PDF
Language
English
Type
Text
Coverage
Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
Files
Citation
Paul D. Blanc, “Safety and Health at Work Vol. 13 Supplement 2022
The past as prologue: How the history of occupational illness and injury teaches us about today,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 21, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2560.
The past as prologue: How the history of occupational illness and injury teaches us about today,” Repository Horizon University Indonesia, accessed November 21, 2024, https://repository.horizon.ac.id/items/show/2560.