Posted Date: 25th April 2024
The 28th of April each year marks World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2024. This year the theme is ‘The impacts of climate change on occupational safety and health’.
A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO), shows a “staggering” number of workers, which amount to over 70% of workforce around the globe, are likely to be exposed to health hazards as a result of climate change and any existing protections will struggle to keep up with the increasing risks.
The impact includes:
- 1.6 billion workers exposed to UV radiation, with more than 18,960 work-related deaths annually from nonmelanoma skin cancer.
- 1.6 billion likely to be exposed to workplace air pollution, resulting in up to 860,000 work-related deaths among outdoor workers annually.
- Over 870 million workers in agriculture, likely to be exposed to pesticides, with more than 300,000 deaths attributed to pesticide poisoning annually.
- 15,000 work-related deaths every year due to exposure to parasitic and vector-borne diseases.
The report shows an increasing number of health conditions in workers are linked to climate change, which includes cardiovascular disease, climate change, kidney problems and mental health conditions.
To support our clients with protecting their workforce, Safewise offers a number of online and face to face training courses specifically in the prevention of environmental risks, including: