The impact of occupational disease in Ontario has been devastating for many workers, their families, friends, and employers. While the impact of traumatic injuries, such as falls or electrical contacts, are usually immediate, occupational disease symptoms don’t often show themselves until many months, years, or even decades after exposure to health hazards.
Now is the time to take action against exposure to health hazards to prevent occupational illness in the future.
The following are just some of the health hazards that may be present in your workplace.
| Location, materials, or tasks | Hazard | Major diseases |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling, cutting, grinding, chipping, shoveling, sweeping, excavating, crushing, drying, sanding, or screening silica-containing materials such as sandstone, granite, gravel, sand, drywall; or abrasive blasting | Silica | Silicosis; lung cancer |
| Diesel- or gasoline-powered engines | Exhaust fumes | May increase risk of lung cancer |
| Sprayed-on fireproofing, pipe and boiler insulation, asbestos cement products, acoustical plaster, vinyl tiles, gaskets, roofing felts, drywall joint-filling compound, coatings, and mastics | Asbestos | Mesothelioma; lung cancer; asbestosis |
| Heavy equipment, explosive-actuated tools, grinders, chainsaws, abrasive blasting, chipping guns, compressors; general work environment, etc. | Noise | Noise-induced hearing loss; tinnitus |
| Propane heaters, circular saws, compressors, scissor lifts, cement mixers, and any gasoline-, propane-, or diesel-powered equipment | Carbon monoxide | Drowsiness, headache, confusion, unconsciousness, and death |
| Removal or burning of lead-based paint, coatings, mortar, and sheet metal, or anywhere lead was previously used | Lead | Nervous system effects, impaired male reproduction, impaired pregnancy outcomes, kidney disease, and possibly cancer |
| Applying spray-foam insulation | Isocyanates | Respiratory sensitization that can result in asthma |
| Installation or removal of refractory ceramic fibers | Refractory ceramic fibres | Evidence of mesothelioma, lung cancer, and lung fibrosis in animals at very high doses |
| Welding and flame-cutting | Metal fumes (lead, chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc); gases (oxides of nitrogen, ozone, phosgene, and asphyxiants) | Ranges from irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat to nervous system effects and cancer |
| Working with wet cement and concrete, epoxy resins and hardeners, plants, asphalt fumes, coal tar pitch, and solvents | Various chemicals | Dermatitis (allergic or irritant reaction to chemicals that contact the skin) |
| Extreme temperature conditions | Heat stress and cold stress | Heat stroke; frost bite, hypothermia |
| Location, materials, or tasks | Hazard | Major diseases |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature extremes from working outdoors or in temperature-controlled environments (e.g., freezers) | Heat stress and cold stress | Heat stroke; frost bite, hypothermia |
| Working around loud equipment or machinery, vehicle engines, or open windows in cabs; loading and unloading operations; power tools in shops; chipping dried concrete from mixer drums | Noise | Noise-induced hearing loss; tinnitus |
| Diesel- or gasoline-powered engines | Exhaust fumes | May increase risk of lung cancer |
| Diesel-, gasoline-, or propane powered engines | Carbon monoxide | Drowsiness, headache, confusion, unconsciousness, and death |
| Maintenance shops | Adhesives, brake fluids, epoxy resins, gasoline, oils | Dermatitis (irritant and allergic) |
| Welding, flame-cutting, and brazing | Metal fumes (lead, chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc); gases (oxides of nitrogen, ozone, phosgene, and asphyxiants) | Ranges from irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat to nervous system effects and cancer |
| Removing old brake pads and lining | Asbestos | Mesothelioma; lung cancer; asbestosis |
| Machining or grinding parts | Metalworking fluids | Dermatitis (irritant or allergic); eye, nose and throat irritation; asthma |
| Skin exposure to sunlight | Ultraviolet light | Skin cancer (especially left arm) |
| Skin contact with cement during loading, unloading, and clean-up operations in ready-mix concrete | Cement | Dermatitis; burns to the skin |
| Loading or chipping dried concrete from mixer drums; road dust | Silica | Silicosis; lung cancer |
| Location, materials, or tasks | Hazard | Major diseases |
|---|---|---|
| Generator brakes, pipe and electrical insulation, spray-on coatings, asbestos cement and other building materials | Asbestos | Mesothelioma; lung cancer; asbestosis |
| Welding & brazing | Metal fumes (lead, chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc); gases (oxides of nitrogen, ozone, phosgene, and asphyxiants) | Range from irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat to nervous system effects and cancer |
| Diesel- or gasoline-powered engines | Exhaust fumes | May increase risk of lung cancer |
| Insulating fluids, or fluids in cables, capacitors, transformers, or other equipment | Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) | Skin acne and rashes; possible liver disease; nervous system effects; some evidence for cancer |
| Nuclear power generation | Ionizing radiation | Cataracts, skin reddening, effects on reproductive system, and cancer. |
| Extreme temperatures; facility equipment such as generators | Heat stress and cold stress | Heat stroke; frostbite and hypothermia |
| Generators, turbines, air compressors, chainsaws, and other machinery and equipment | Noise | Noise-induced hearing loss, tinnitus |
| Coal, fly ash; drilling, cutting, grinding, or abrading silica-containing materials | Dust and silica | Silicosis; lung cancer |
| Cutting, burning, and splicing electrical cable and insulation | Lead | Nervous system effects, impaired male reproduction, impaired pregnancy outcomes, kidney disease, and possibly cancer |
| Decay of organic matter in wastewater treatment | Hydrogen sulfide and methane | Eye, nose, and throat irritation; asphyxiation; oxygen deficiency; explosion |
| Water treatment chemicals | Caustics, corrosives | Irritation of the eye, nose, throat, and skin, or severe burns to exposed parts of the body |
| Microorganisms in human and animal wastes | Biological hazards | Respiratory and gastrointestinal illness; asthma; allergies. |
