At the 2017 ‘black lung, white lies’ inquiry into Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis (CWP) it was reported that ‘the entire QLD coal industry was shocked’ as cases of CWP emerged in their workforce. In 2018 when 19 of 35 engineered stone workers from 2 workplaces were diagnosed with silicosis or progressive massive fibrosis we were shocked again.
As Immediate Past President and Fellow of the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists (AIOH), Tracey Bence will tell the story of the reawakening and response to an unacceptable prevalence of occupational respiratory disease in our country. She will share a view on the history of dust diseases and the crystalline silica exposure profile of engineered stone workers and other, larger cohorts. Some 3 years after the final report of the National Dust Diseases Taskforce, Tracey will reflect on new mandatory reporting of silicosis cases to the National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry and explicit regulations to control risks to health from crystalline silica which became effective this month.

But faced with this burden of growing occupational dust disease, she asks are these debilitating dust diseases really just a workplace health issue?

Work-related diseases are an entirely preventable group of diseases; however they affect many people every year. Dr Renee Carey’s research has shown that upwards of 3.6million Australians are currently exposed to carcinogens at work. Her presentation will consider the extent of the issue, both in terms of occupational exposures and the resultant burden of disease. She will also provide some insight into potential interventions and ways to reduce the burden of occupational disease. The recent ban on engineered stone will be used as a case study to illustrate how research and evidence in occupational epidemiology can be translated into real-life public health wins.

Unions are at the forefront of fighting for safer and healthier working conditions, fairer wages, improved access to healthcare, and better workers’ compensation, which are all important components of public health.

One of the aims of the trade union movement is to eliminate exposures to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) that lead to disease and to minimise all exposures to RCS in Australia. To do this requires unified advocacy from unionists, affected workers, doctors, public health experts, and work health and safety specialists. This collaborative approach is exemplified by the recent response to the silicosis crisis, which led to Australia being the first country to ban engineered stone and introducing some of the strongest regulations to control silica dust in the world.

Liam will make the case for why the trade union movement is an important part of public health, citing the collective action against engineered stone and silica dust more broadly as a prime example, and highlight the continued impact of union advocacy on the health of Australians.