What you need to know about the occupational hazards of the future

What are occupational hazards?
An occupational hazard is defined as a risk accepted as a consequence of a particular occupation. For instance, visual overload is an occupational hazard for busy art critics. “Future occupational hazards will mostly be related to exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals,” predicts Dr. Christopher De Souza, honorary ENT and skull base surgeon at Mumbai’s Holy Family Hospital.
“Any new occupational hazards which may crop up in the future will definitely fall in the lifestyle mismanagement category where people fail to adjust to working environments and are thus susceptible to risks,” adds Dr. N. Somasekhar Reddy, Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Apollo Hospital in Hyderabad, who cites wrist pain in a typist as a “modern occupational hazard”.

Future occupational hazards:
>    Radiation: The frequent and exponential increase in the usage of devices like microwaves, television sets, mobile phones and the thinning of the ozone layer increase our exposure to harmful ionising radiation, which is likely to be a huge threat in the years to come.
If there is another nuclear meltdown like Fukushima or Chernobyl there will be more far-reaching consequences, very much like the nuclear apocalypse predicted.
>    Uncontrolled consumption: The enormous misuse of water, resulting in shrinking amounts of groundwater all over the world puts us up against diseases because the soil also contains harmful chemicals, rendering it dangerous. Hazardous conditions like arsenic poisoning is widely seen in Bengal and Rajasthan because the chemicals in the soil enter the water, which in turn reaches households. Cases of cancer due to this, were also cited.
With the growing consumption of fast food, soft drinks contain large amounts of chemicals that do not have any benefit. For example, the famous beverage Red Bull, which usually energises the person, was sued for adding chemicals, which meddled with the sleeping patterns of an individual. In addition, obesity is now a global epidemic and by 2050, it will be the number one health problem in the world, beginning with the USA.
>    Dealing with depression: Depression is the commonest and most under-diagnosed health problem according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).  In most cases around the world, when struck with a health problem, depression does set in, making it difficult to deal with.
 
What can be done?
Unfortunately, due to continuous exposure to unfavourable job environments, occupational hazards are chronic because of cumulative damage, i.e. regular and frequent exposure to toxic items and substances over prolonged periods of time.
However, it also depends upon the preparedness of the employees to have appropriate pre-job training and checks to identify the vulnerable group of individuals, since all individuals doing the same job are not equally at risk for similar occupational problems, explains Reddy.
 
Take the necessary precautions
While there will be ways and means to deal with such issues, Reddy questions how long one can actually depend on them. The usual standby for a neck ache, for instance, is a medical collar to support the neck muscle. “All these ‘supports’ are modifying the movement of a given body part since the ‘part’ may be sore due to some other reason. It is always better to tackle the root cause and understand why that particular movement is painful,” he advises.

It’s all in the mind
“While there is nothing psychosomatic about occupational hazards, once the disease sets in, the person tends to become depressed,” explains De Souza.  Reddy agrees and says, “However, social fabric and family support have a huge impact. Well-educated persons in high-paying jobs and others in low-paying jobs are both equally at risk, depending up on their mental make-up.”