While the industry continues to make great strides in mass producing drugs that protect and improve the health of millions, huge numbers of workers involved in the manufacture of tablets are finding their own health at serious risk as a result of their working environment. And for employees who do succumb to respiratory disease or suffer from noise induced hearing loss, there is little chance of a cure any time soon.
In a global culture that is attuned to the safety risks in a workplace, it is vital that the same emphasis is also placed on the long-term health of the workers. Some of this emphasis is simply down to how much media attention is focused on accidents and fatalities rather than workers’ health issues.
Fortunately, accidents within the pharma industry are infrequent. But the chemical spill at Novartis’s Basel plant in 2012 hospitalised a number of workers, as well as staff from an outside cleaning agency with severe coughs and breathing issues. While the immediate health problems have been recorded, it remains to be seen whether this incident will present any long-term implications in terms of respiratory health.
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