Roelofs Cora
Department of Community Health, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts.
Am J Ind Med. 2015 Dec;58(12):1231-4. doi: 10.1002/ajim.22539. Epub 2015 Nov 2.
Little is known of the impact of asbestos on the health of the workers in the United States who have removed or abated asbestos from buildings following recognition of its adverse effects on health. The United States does not have a national occupational health surveillance network to monitor asbestos-related disease and, while the United States Occupational Health and Safety Administration has a strong and detailed asbestos standard, its enforcement resources are limited. A significant proportion of asbestos abatement workers are foreign-born, and may face numerous challenges in achieving safe workplaces, including lack of union representation, economic vulnerability, and inadequate training. Public health surveillance and increased and coordinated enforcement is needed to monitor the health and exposure experiences of asbestos-exposed workers. Alarming disease trends in asbestos removal workers in Great Britain suggest that, in the United States, increased public attention will be necessary to end the epidemic of asbestos-related disease.
在美国，自从认识到石棉对健康有不良影响后，拆除或清除建筑物中石棉的工人的健康受到何种影响，目前了解甚少。美国没有一个全国性的职业健康监测网络来监测与石棉相关的疾病，而且尽管美国职业健康与安全管理局有一项严格且详细的石棉标准，但其执法资源有限。相当一部分石棉清除工人是外国出生的，他们在实现安全工作场所方面可能面临诸多挑战，包括缺乏工会代表、经济脆弱性以及培训不足。需要进行公共卫生监测以及加强和协调执法，以监测接触石棉工人的健康状况和接触经历。英国石棉清除工人令人担忧的疾病趋势表明，在美国，有必要提高公众关注度，以终结与石棉相关疾病的流行。
