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OCR for page 7
BACKGROUND
Environmental and occupational diseases encompass
a broad range of human illness. 3'4 They include lung
cancer and mesothelioma in individuals exposed to
asbestos; cancer of the b~acicler in dye workers; leukemia
in persons exposed to benzene; asthma and chronic
bronchitis in persons exposed to organic dusts; lung
cancer in persons exposed to radon; chronic disorclers of
the nervous system in workers exposed to certain
solvents; kidney failure and hypertension in persons
chronically exposed to lead; heart disease in persons
exposed to carbon disulfide; impairment of reprocluctive
functions in persons exposed to certain solvents and
pesticides; and chronic conditions and disorders of the
musculoskeletal system in workers engaged in repetitive
motion.
The full nature and extent of the health burden
resulting from occupational and environmental exposures
remain to be elucidated. The data used to quantify
occupational diseases have long been recognized as
OCR for page 8
8
inadequate Moreover, there are simply no estimates
available to quantify the total burden of disease caused by
exposures in the non-occupational environment--exposures
that are generally at much lower levels than those in the
workplace but to which a much larger and often more
susceptible population is potentially exposed for longer
durations and at periods of reduced susceptibility
However, a widespread consensus has emerged that
occupational and environmental diseases are a serious but
insufficiently recognized problem 526'7~8
From its annual survey, the Bureau of Labor Statistics
(BES) estimated about 125,000 new cases of occupational
diseases in the United States in 1984; 9 in 198S, the BES
reported 240,900 new cases, an increase largely due to a
marked rise in disorders attributed to repetitive motion,
such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendonitis, which
constituted 48 percent of the cases 7° For a number of
reasons, BES statistics are fell to be significant
underestimates of the extent of occupational diseases ~
Using a combination of data sources, including the BES, a
study in New York State estimated 35,000 new cases of
occupational disease per year in that state alone, which by
extrapolation based on relative workforce size would
suggest about 350,000 new cases of occupational disease
per year in the United States ~
Occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths are costly
events, responsible for (~) direct medical costs; (2) indirect
costs resulting from lost production, postponecl
opportunities, and diminished investment; and (3)
non-economic costs, resulting from pain and suffering,
disrupted careers, and devastated families Estimates of
the direct and indirect costs of occupational disease have
OCR for page 9
9
been developed in New York State for five categories of
illness (occupational cancer, chronic respiratory disease
and the pneumoconioses, cerebrovascular and
cardiovascular disease, and end-stage renal failure). 77
These estimates by extrapolation based on relative
workforce size suggest that annual costs for occupational
disease in the United States exceed $6 billion, with
workers' compensation contributing less than 10 percent
and tort suit awards less than 5 percent of the total cost.
The morbidity and mortality attributable to
non-occupational environmental exposures are simply
unknown, as are the associated costs.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
occupational disease
