Occupational health

Report of a project that involved interviews with seventeen women occupying a variety of positions in the mining sector within rural, remote and northern settings in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories. Includes findings related to safety training, injury prevention, occupational injuries, and other work-related stressors and concludes with a number of recommendations that surfaced throughout the discussions with the women.

A literature review of chemical exposure and plastics production as it relates to women's health.

Fourteen videos documenting a workshop hosted by NNEWH in partnership with the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in January 2012 in Windsor, Ontario. The workshop dealt with recent studies on the emerging health concerns for women workers in the auto sector, specifically plastics manufacturing and the possible elevated incidence of breast cancer and reproductive problems in women plastics workers. 

A clear language factsheet describing the possible health dangers from chemical expsurres experienced by women who work in the automotive plastics industry.  Exposures described are mainly by breathing the fumes and dusts, and also by absorption through the skin. Many of these chemicals interfere with hormone systems and are therefore called endocrine disruptors.

Discusses the work of researchers Jim Brophy and Margaret Keith who have studied the links between cancer risk and occupation in the automovie plastics industry in Sarnia, Ontario. Much of the material used in this article is drawn from the chapter entitled “Plastics Industry Workers and Breast Cancer Risk: Are We Heeding the Warnings?” in the book Consuming Chemicals: Law, Science and Policy for Women's Health, edited by D.N. Scott and written by Brophy, Keith, and fellow researchers Robert DeMatteo, Michael Gilbertson, Andrew Watterson and Matthias Beck. 

Discusses how environmental and occupational neurotoxicology research continues to confuse the terms sex (biological attributes) and gender (socially constructed roles and behavior) and to use these words interchangeably. Notes studies that examine both males and females, providing evidence for sex differences in toxicokinetics and responses to neurotoxic assault as well as gender differences in exposure patterns, biomarkers of exposure, neurobehavioral performance and social consequences. Argues that integrating sex and gender considerations into research in neurotoxicology would not only provide us with a better understanding of the mechanisms and pathways that lead to toxic assault, but also provide a means to improve preventive intervention strategies.

The survey was administered to a sample of LPNs, RNs and RPNs from across the country. Data from the survey help to identify relationships between selected health outcomes, the work environment and work-life experiences.

Describes how pharmaceuticals are developed and produced, and what is known about the associated hazards. Includes an overview of health and safety laws in Canada and elsewhere, as well as some examples of relevant best practices. Concludes with a series of recommendations. Abridged version of “Occupational health and safety hazards in pharmaceuticals manufacturing: Past, present and future knowledge, policies and possibilities, particularly for women,” written by Dorothy Wigmore for Women and Health Protection.