Some jobs are objectively more dangerous than others. They expose people to particularly consequential workplace hazards. Truckers are at risk of crashes on the job, while security professionals could end up injured by a criminal trying to flee the premises.
Chemical exposure is a common job hazard that can cause immediate and/or long-term health challenges. Typically, employers have an obligation to inform workers of chemical exposure risks and provide them with safety equipment. Despite those rules, workers could potentially end up exposed to unsafe levels of dangerous substances. They may then end up developing serious illnesses as a result.
Which professions have a high association with chemical exposure in central Pennsylvania?
1. Manufacturing
Creating products requires a variety of different equipment and often an assortment of chemical compounds. Workers in the industrial sector may be subjected to exposure to dangerous substances ranging from formaldehyde to asbestos. Without appropriate protective gear, they could be at risk of immediate illness, chemical burns and even cancer.
2. Healthcare
Workers in the healthcare sector may have to handle a number of dangerous substances. From radioactive materials to chemicals that are essentially poison used to treat conditions like cancer, chemicals and other hazardous materials present in a medical environment can sicken workers despite being useful for treating or diagnosing patients.
3. Agriculture
Agricultural workers may help plant crops, maintain farmland and/or handle livestock. The chemicals they could end up exposed to include glyphosate, neonicotinoids and atrazine.
4. Maintenance
Building maintenance professionals including custodians and janitors may have to handle numerous dangerous chemicals to perform their job functions. For example, sanitizing agents can be dangerous chemicals especially when unintentionally inhaled or applied to unprotected skin.
5. Groundskeeping
Colleges, retail parks and apartment complexes often hire professionals to maintain their outdoor facilities. Those professionals may come into contact with several different types of dangerous compounds. They may need to apply pesticides and herbicides, including some that contain glyphosate, which may have an association with increased cancer risk.
Workers who believe they have experienced dangerous chemical exposure may need to keep personal records of their on-the-job risks. Maintaining written records of what chemicals a company has exposed a worker to and when could help them obtain medical care later. Doctors who know that a worker has handled glyphosate or asbestos can more effectively screen them for illnesses.
In cases where there is a direct connection between a health challenge and prior chemical exposure, workers may need assistance seeking compensation. Workers’ compensation benefits can help pay for treatment expenses and possibly lost wages when chemical exposure leads to medical maladies for professionals. There is also the potential to pursue claims against the manufacturers of the products. Connecting prior job responsibilities to a current illness can help people demand justice for medical issues that result from hazardous chemical exposure at work.