Hidden danger
Date: Oct. 4, 1999
Time: 1:43 pm
A conference that started yesterday in Toronto hopes to shed some light on potential reproductive hazards in the workplace (www.whsc.on.ca/conference/repro/fWelcome.htm).
The conference will examine possible links between the growing incidence of certain health problems among children and increased exposure to chemicals and other products used in the workplace. "A wide array of diseases and disorders in children is growing," says Mary Cook, an organizer. "Since 1950, [the incidence of] childhood cancer has increased by 30% and shows no signs of stopping. The health of our future generations is at risk, but our ability to reproduce them at all may also be at risk."
Promotional material produced for the conference states that reproductive health problems are increasingly being linked to workplace and environmental contamination. Organizers believe the only answer to these problems is prevention.
"We know that chemicals are affecting the health of animals," added Cook. "Changes in the workplace and in our environment present new challenges for workers and their families."
The 4-day conference will include presentations dealing with the "greening" of workplaces, ways the external environment affects unborn children and ways legislation can protect the health of workers and their unborn children.
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