Employmentweb_low

eMployMent relations and health inequalities: pathways and MechanisMs
behavioural strategies (Vogt, 1998). however, a work environment
that is too hot or too cold, in combination with insufficient protection,
constitutes a health hazard. overheating can be a
problem in industrial jobs requiring heavy work
during warm weather or in closed, heated places
(leffler & hu, 2000). health problems are caused by
insufficient blood circulation, imbalances in the
supply of water and other essential elements and
hyperthermia (ogawa, 1998). acute consequences of
overheating are heat syncope, heat oedema, heat
cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke (ogawa,
1998). cold stress is an environmental hazard which
affects people working outdoors, in cold places or
handling cold substances (leffler & hu, 2000). Worker feeding the blast furnace. Ezz steel plant is located in
important effects are restrained functioning, Alexandria and employs more than 2000 skilled workers. It is
respiratory problems, hypothermia and cold injuries the middle East's leading producer of high quality long and
flat steel for use in a wide range of end applications (Egypt).
(holmér, 1998). also, both cold stress and
source: © ilo/M. crozet (2008)
overheating can exacerbate the stress reactions to
other demanding working conditions (holmér, 1998).
exposure to dangerous situations leads to an increased risk of
injuries. These may be provoked by physical agents (such as
mechanical energy, electricity, chemicals, ionising radiation, etc.) or
by the sudden absence of essential elements, such as oxygen
(castillo, Pizatella, & stout, 2000). important causes of worker injury
include traffic accidents, falls, the physical impact of objects and bad
movements or slips. The most affected sectors are manufacturing,
transportation and construction (fao, 2008). While the direct cause
of an accident is often clear, there is often a complex interaction of
underlying indirect causes (castillo et al., 2000). frequent
consequences of accidents include fractures, lacerations, abrasions,
burns, amputations and poisoning (castillo et al., 2000).
ergonomic risk factors are related to straining movements and
postures, which are often related to “learned automatisms”. That is,
people are inclined to perform a specific activity always in exactly the
same way, resulting in situations of overload (Kumar & Kumar,
2008). Particularly demanding types of movements are wrist flexions
and extensions, wrist radial and ulnar deviations and upper limb
movements and postures (Muggleton et al., 1999). ergonomic
hazards are most common in industrial sectors and agriculture, but
also in (routine) white collar work and care-provision (Parent-
Thirion, fernandez, hurley, & Vermeylen, 2007; Wahlstrom, 2005).
Toxins are substances like dusts, fumes, mists, vapors and
gases, with a harmful effect on the human body. The physiological
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