Occupational disease is one of the most critical issues facing our members and retirees today. Occupational diseases are disorders of health resulting from conditions related to the workplace. They are distinguished from occupational injuries, which are disorders resulting from trauma such as strains or sprains, lacerations, burns or soft-tissue injuries, or amputations. In general, occupational diseases are related to exposures to physical, chemical or psychological hazards; they usually develop over a period of time and often resemble or duplicate diseases occurring in other settings.
Occupational diseases often develop over many months or years, depending on the intensity and circumstances of exposure. Cancer resulting from inhalation of asbestos fibres, for example, generally takes at least 20 years to develop; however, some exposures can take a much shorter time to develop into an occupational disease, which is why many workers and their families don't connect the disease back to a former or current workplace.
Occupational diseases often resemble other medical conditions. For example, lead poisoning duplicates the symptoms of several illnesses, asthma resulting from sensitization to chemicals in the workplace is often falsely attributed to exposures at home, and lung cancer often related solely to smoking. For these reasons, most occupational diseases are often overlooked or misdiagnosed and are undercounted in statistical reports; they are more common than is generally realized.
Unfortunately, many or our members and/or retirees have been exposed to harmful substances in their workplace and have developed an occupational disease or are at great risk of developing an occupational disease.
USW Occupational Disease document
Other helpful links and publications on occupational disease: