Frumkin H, Walker E D, Friedman-Jiménez G
Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.
Occup Med. 1999 Jul-Sep;14(3):495-517.
Environmental and occupational hazards do not affect all communities equally. Members of ethnic and racial minorities, whether as working people or as community residents, sustain disproportionate risks from chemical, physical, and biological hazards. This paper reviews the nature of these disproportionate risks, focusing primarily on the workplace, but considering general environmental exposures as well. It discusses three principal mechanisms of increased risk: excessive hazardous exposures in both the workplace and the general environment, increased susceptibility, and inferior healthcare. It presents evidence that, as the result of these factors, members of minority groups display elevated rates of work-related illness, injury, fatality, and disability. Finally, it offers recommendations with regard to research, primary prevention, minority recruitment into the occupational health professions, and treatment and compensation for injured and ill minority workers.
环境和职业危害对所有社区的影响并不相同。少数族裔成员，无论是作为劳动者还是社区居民，遭受化学、物理和生物危害的风险都过高。本文回顾了这些过高风险的本质，主要关注工作场所，但也考虑了一般环境暴露。它讨论了风险增加的三个主要机制：工作场所和一般环境中过度的有害暴露、易感性增加以及医疗保健较差。它提供的证据表明，由于这些因素，少数群体成员出现与工作相关的疾病、伤害、死亡和残疾的比率较高。最后，它就研究、一级预防、少数群体进入职业健康领域、以及对受伤和患病的少数族裔工人的治疗和补偿提出了建议。
