Top 10 Causes of Occupational Lung Disease

Many respiratory problems develop at work and there are several jobs that are at risk for occupational lung diseases. the US department of labor estimates that over 23000 workers developed job-related lung disease in 2008 and an alarmingly high rate of over 16000 people died from occupational induced diseases of the lungs.
Occupational Lung Diseases such as mesothelioma, lung cancer and asbestosis can be prevented by wearing the appropriate protective gear which usually involves a face mask of some kind to prevent aggravation or infection from the work environment.
Today, the Huffington Post released an article in which it stated the 10 worst career fields for your lungs. It was not focused solely on mesothelioma, but rather on several different types of lung diseases.
Here is their top 10 causes of occupational lung disease along with my comment:

1. Construction: involves the construction, renovation and in the worse case, demolition of buildings that are likely to be old. Theses buildings sometimes contain asbestos material along with the dust and chemicals. The asbestos inhalation can lead to mesothelioma.
2. Manufacturing: depending on the type of product being manufactured, can lead to dust, chemical or gas exposure.
3. Health Care: most people are not aware that the latex gloves so commonly used in the health care field has dust on the surface to which many are sensitive.
4. Textile: dust from cotton or other textiles.
5. Bartender: we all should know by this of the dangers of second hand smoke. Imagine a bartender in a ‘smoking’ bar or club for an 8 hour shift!
6. Baking: this is often taken for granted, but the dust from the flour is another hazard.
7. Automotive Industry: the auto paint can cause serious respiratory problems especially if made from isocyanate or polyurethane.
8. Delivery Truck Drivers: diesel fumes can cause lung problems and makes truck driving one of the top 10 occupations at risk for lung disease.
9. Miners: these workers may be exposed to dust in enclosed areas  for hours maybe even days at a time.
10. Fire Fighting: inhaled smoke and chemicals can cause serious lung problems especially from burning chemicals and material. The good thing about this occupation is that they are more likely to wear protective gear, although in extreme circumstances the fire’s fury can overpower any kind of respiratory protection.

This seems an accurate list of occupational lung disease job descriptions. The good thing about this list is that most can be prevented by wearing the relevant face mask or other protective gear. The bad is that oftentimes we don’t wear protection, even though we know we are in danger. To make things even worse, some employers do not even warn their employees about the work hazards, which is why there are so many mesothelioma lawsuits nowadays.

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