Of all the occupations available on today's labor market, many jobs involve a relatively low risk of serious accidents or even occupational diseases. Unfortunately, alongside them also appear many in which workers put their health and lives at risk every day during a work shift of several hours. According to the International Labor Organization, which collects data from almost all over the world, more than 2 million people are killed and more than 1.2 million are seriously injured each year in accidents on the job. Which occupations are most prone to fatal accidents and debilitating occupational diseases?
Mining
Every year, mining makes its way onto the list of the world's most dangerous occupations, and not only because of possible mine bumps and collapses (such accidents can claim dozens, if not hundreds, of miners each year in Poland alone), but also because of the environmental conditions in the mine that contribute to various occupational diseases. More often than explosions and collapses, death is caused in miners by diseases caused by the dust and fumes present in the mine, in which miners spend long hours every day.
Workers in the mining sector often suffer from chronic lung diseases, spinal diseases, eye diseases, rheumatic diseases, as well as fungal diseases. Pyoderma, asthma or motor problems caused by frequent knee-jerk work, heavy physical exertion and working in unfavorable conditions underground are a common reason for the premature death of many miners. Even those who have survived their careers without accidents can have serious health problems and live to a ripe old age.
Aviation
The profession of piloting, both large passenger aircraft and smaller planes capable of accommodating only a crew of a few people, is another high-risk occupation both in terms of direct accidents and fatal illnesses resulting from specific working conditions. Pilots have to go through very detailed medical examinations at the outset to check their aptitude for the job and training to prepare both mind and body for the difficulties of the profession. Ultimately, however, anyone who chooses to work as a pilot must expect a huge risk of occupational diseases related to the tremendous stresses on the body in the form of long hours of work, constant changes in time zones, the specific climate aboard aircraft, and the exposure to radiation to which they are exposed in the cockpit.
Studies conducted in terms of occupational diseases indicate that there is an increased risk of leukemia and other cancers, including skin cancers, among airplane pilots due to the radiation they are exposed to while working and spending hours high above the ground. To the group of probable diseases among pilots should also be added general disorders of the body, including the respiratory and circulatory systems, associated with working at altitude, in pressures quite different from what the body is used to on the ground.
Medical, sanitary and laboratory work
A very broad occupational group exposed to numerous potentially fatal occupational diseases are those associated with medicine, laboratory work and also sanitary work. Contact with germs, bacteria, viruses, fungi and other pathogens, even with the best protection and specialized protective clothing, can be extremely dangerous and, for a partially weakened body (e.g., during a cold), potentially fatal. Particularly noteworthy here are doctors and staff in radiology departments, who are exposed to harmful radiation in amounts exceeding "healthy" standards.
Food workers
This is perhaps one of the most surprising items on the list, but when discussing fatal illnesses related to working conditions rather than the risk of fatal occupational accidents themselves, the food industry does not provide an easy environment for workers. Like the aforementioned doctors or health inspectors, some food workers come into daily contact with raw meat, fish or other highly susceptible products that direct contact or accidental ingestion can be fatal. Bakers, whose risk of contracting pneumoconiosis and lung disease is very high due to the high concentration of flour dust in the air, can also complain about health problems. It is also worth adding that in the food industry there is a surprisingly high risk of problems with the skeletal system and painful arthritis or degeneration of the joints or spine - work at the production line, often requiring staying in one position all day, is really taxing for a person and in the long run dangerous.
Occupations with a high risk of loss of health or life can be divided into two categories: those with a high risk of fatal accidents, which include construction, transportation or agriculture, for example, and the less obvious category of occupations requiring work in hazardous conditions causing potentially fatal diseases. The above list is only a fraction of the world's most dangerous occupations, showing that often the use of proper safety and health and safety measures can make a difference in an occupation's fatality rate.
