Harari R, Forastiere F, Axelson O
IFA, Corporacion para el Desarrollo de la Produccion y el Medio Ambiente Laboral, Quito, Ecuador.
Am J Ind Med. 1997 Sep;32(3):185-9. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199709)32:3<185::aid-ajim1>3.0.co;2-x.
To document the problem of child labor as a health issue, we report here three case-studies in Ecuador: exposure to mercury among gold washers, exposure to organophosphates and carbamates in the fruit-growing industry, and exposure to solvents among shoe cleaners. We measured the relevant biological indicators of exposure (mercury in urine, urinary levels of phenols, and acetylcholine esterase in erythrocytes) among selected samples of 10 children for each working place. In all the case studies, the values of the biological indicators showed elevated exposure to well-known toxicants, which are now rare in developed countries, even among adult workers. The findings meld with a previously reported case study of intoxication from inorganic lead among children employed in the manufacture of roof tiles in Ecuador. This study highlights the need to properly evaluate and control the potential health effects due to exposure to toxic substances among children employed in different occupations in several parts of the world.
为记录童工问题对健康的影响，我们在此报告厄瓜多尔的三个案例研究：淘金者接触汞、水果种植行业接触有机磷和氨基甲酸酯，以及擦鞋工接触溶剂。我们在每个工作场所选取了10名儿童作为样本，测量了相关的接触生物指标（尿汞、尿酚水平和红细胞中的乙酰胆碱酯酶）。在所有案例研究中，生物指标的值显示出对知名有毒物质的接触增加，而这些有毒物质在发达国家现已罕见，即使在成年工人中也是如此。这些发现与之前报道的厄瓜多尔从事屋顶瓦片制造的儿童因无机铅中毒的案例研究相吻合。这项研究强调了有必要对世界上几个地区从事不同职业的儿童接触有毒物质可能产生的健康影响进行适当评估和控制。
