Bệnh nghề nghiệp không phải là dễ dàng xác định là chấn thương. Theo Cục Thống kê Lao động, đã có 5,7 triệu chấn thương và bệnh tật được báo cáo vào năm 1999. Trong số này chỉ có trường hợp bệnh nghề nghiệp được báo cáo. bệnh nghề nghiệp bao gồm chấn thương lặp lại, chẳng hạn như hội chứng ống cổ tay, mất mát noiseinduced nghe, và ngộ độc. Nó chắc chắn xuất hiện rằng nhiều căn bệnh nghề nghiệp không được báo cáo khi người sử dụng lao động hoặc người lao động là không. | 8 Health Hazards Exposure in the workplace can cause occupationally related illnesses. Courtesy of the . Environmental Protection Agency. OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESSES Occupation illnesses are not as easily identified as injuries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there were million injuries and illnesses reported in 1999. Of this number only 372 000 cases of occupational illnesses were reported. The 372 000 occupational illnesses included repeat trauma such as carpal tunnel syndrome noise-induced hearing loss and poisonings. It certainly appears that many occupational illnesses go unreported when the employer or worker is not able to link exposure with the symptoms the employees are exhibiting. Also physicians fail to ask the right questions regarding the patients employment history which can lead to the commonest of diagnoses of a cold or flu. This has become very apparent with the recent occupational exposure to anthrax where a physician sent a worker home with anthrax without addressing his her potential occupational exposure hazards. Unless 2008 by Taylor Francis Group LLC. physicians are trained in occupational medicine they seldom address work as the potential exposure source. This is not entirely a physician problem by any means since the symptoms that are seen by the physician are often those of flu and other common illnesses suffered by the general public. It is often up to the employee to make the physician aware of their on-the-job exposure. If I have continuously used the term exposure since unlike trauma injuries and deaths which are usually caused by the release of some source of energy occupational illnesses are often due to both short- and long-term exposures. If the result of an exposure leads to immediate symptoms it is said to be acute. If the symptoms come at a later time it is termed a chronic exposure. The time between exposure and the onset of symptoms is called the latency period. It could be days weeks months or even years as
