Occupational diseases can be described as illnesses or health problems that can be directly caused or worsened by hazards in the work environment. They can arise from long-term exposure to chemical, biological, or physical risks. Here, we’ll look into some of the major occupational diseases.
What are Considered Occupational Diseases in Australia?
Safe Work Australia collects, analyses, and publishes data and other critical information that informs the development and identification of workplace health and safety policies. In pursuit of this objective, Safe Work Australia has continued to monitor what constitutes credible indicators for occupational diseases.
So, what is the meaning of occupational diseases? Based on the opinions that arose from the consultation with certain key stakeholders, eight diseases have been identified by Safe Work Australia (SWA) as critical for monitoring in workplaces. These disease groups include:
- Musculoskeletal Disorders
- Noise-induced Hearing Loss
- Respiratory Diseases
- Mental Disorders
- Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
- Cardiovascular Diseases
- Contact Dermatitis
- Occupational Cancers
These eight disease groups have been established by SWA as per the indicators as published in:
- The National Data Set for Compensation-Based Statistics (NDS)
- The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS)
- The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare’s (AIHW) National Hospital Morbidity Database (NHMD)
- The AIHW’s National Cancer Statistics Clearing House (NCSCH)
These datasets are mainly reliant on the claims of workers, leading to the identification of the potentially most dangerous occupational diseases.
What are the Top 8 Occupational Diseases in Australia?
Here is a look into the 8 disease groups identified as the ones possessing the most occupational disease risks:
1. Musculoskeletal Disorders
Musculoskeletal disorders cover a broad group of clinical disorders that have a significant impact on the musculoskeletal system. There can be a wide range of impacts and the intensity of the disorder on the affected person. And they can include a wide range of conditions that impact the muscles, tendons, joints, ligaments, peripheral nerves, and supporting blood vessels.
So, what are the potential causes of these diseases in the workplace? As per 2006-07 SWA data, 60% of occupational claims for musculoskeletal disorders come from extensive stress on the body. This category considers muscular stress from physical movement, whether handling a heavy object or not.
2. Noise-induced Hearing Loss
When the question of what diseases are common in Australia arises, noise-induced hearing loss is one of the top occupational hazards. The symptoms for this involve hearing impairment resulting from exposure to excessive noise at work. This is also commonly referred to as industrial deafness.
As per SWA’s study, over the period of 2004-05 to 2006-07, noise-induced deafness victims included train drivers, miners, sheetmetal tradespersons, engineering process workers, crane operators, and so on.
3. Respiratory Diseases
Occupational respiratory diseases include issues such as asthma, asbestosis, silicosis, legionnaires’ disease, organic dust hypersensitivity, and certain other respiratory conditions related to breathing in chemicals, fumes, gases, and vapours.
Each of these respiratory diseases has different and specific causative agents. These causative agents are specific to a few industries. It is true that some of these causative agents are found in a broad spectrum of industries, but some are only found in extremely specific industries.
Exposure to chemicals, fumes, gases, and vapours could include work-related hazards, such as welding gases, solvents, fuel vapours, and cleaning agent fumes.
4. Mental Disorders
Mental disorders refer to work-related mental disorders that are associated with mental stress. However, mental stress is not a clinically diagnosable health issue. It is more so considered the state of an individual, increasing the risk of developing a wide range of diagnosable physical and mental disorders.
So, who was affected the most by these disorders? Over the period of 2004-05 to 2006-07, the highest rate of compensation claims for mental disorders was from prison officers, paramedics, nurses, police officers, prison officers, social workers, and many more.
5. Infectious and Parasitic Diseases
Some of the most infamous infectious and parasitic diseases, which are considered occupational risks, are:
- Zoonoses: infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans. The most common examples include Q-fever, leptospirosis, and brucellosis.
- Protozoal diseases such as malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), cowpox, rubella, and mycoses.
- Intestinal infections such as cholera, salmonella, gastroenteritis, typhoid, and dysentery.
- Diseases such as hepatitis A, B, and C.
When it comes to the group most affected by this disease in Australia, as per the 2004-05 to 2006-07 survey, the group consisted of nurse managers, ambulance workers, paramedics, meat processing workers, nurses, nursing assistants, meat tradespersons, registered nurses, and many more.
6. Cardiovascular Diseases
Work-related cardiovascular diseases are diseases caused or exacerbated by occupational factors. They include heart diseases such as ischaemic heart disease, and other circulatory diseases. Some of the possible diseases considered here would be cerebrovascular disease, arterial disease, hypertension, varicose veins, etc.
The most common compensation claims against cardiovascular diseases came from police officers, general clerks, delivery drivers, machinists, electricians, and more.
7. Contact Dermatitis
Contact dermatitis is a condition that is caused by substances that interact with the skin. This condition most commonly affects the hands, with other areas of exposed skin being at risk as well.
Irritant contact dermatitis is caused by substances that dry up the skin and cause skin irritation. And once this issue occurs, there is a chance that the allergy may last a lifetime. Hairdressers, cooks, kitchen hands, cleaners, motor mechanics, etc., have been the occupations with the highest rates of contact dermatitis compensation claims.
8. Occupational Cancers
The most common occupational cancer in Australia is mesothelioma. It is a typically fatal cancer that occurs when someone is exposed to a form of carcinogen. Other occupational cancers may include melanoma, lymphoma, and leukaemia, also caused by carcinogens.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, there are approximately 400 agents that are potentially carcinogenic to humans, leading to possible occupational cancer risks.
Wrapping Up
Occupational hazards can have long-term risks to workers at different establishments. And the eight occupational diseases that have been mentioned are all potential issues that have been observed all over Australia. With compensation claims and other areas of complaints, occupational diseases form a serious threat and need to be tackled efficiently.
Make The Workplace Safe for Your Employees Today!
If you are concerned about your workforce and the occupational safety of your employees. Why not consider occupational diseases and start taking proactive steps towards their prevention! Contact us today to create a safer workplace!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are These the Only 8 Occupational Diseases That We Need to Be Concerned With?
There are other potential occupational diseases as well. However, these 8 are considered after thorough research on the data available in Australia.
Is PPE a Sufficient Protective Measure Against Occupational Diseases?
PPE can be a key measure of protection against occupational hazards. But they are not sufficiently protective against occupational diseases. For that, stricter conditions need to be maintained.
Do Carcinogenic Elements Necessarily Cause Cancer?
Carcinogenic elements generally cause cancer. However, they act as a very slow poison. They generally take 20 years or more to actually have an effect. But they are extremely highly likely to lead to cancer.
Are Cardiovascular Occupational Diseases the Most Common Among Factory Workers?
That is not necessarily the case. Different factory settings lead to different conditions. And each condition can cause a different type of occupational disease.
