Biological hazards

Biological hazards in the workplace have been a topic of study, discussion and publications for many centuries. Notable early researchers and their works include Bernadino Ramazinni’s (2001) eighteenth-century treatise on occupational diseases, De Morbis Artificum Diatriba [Disease of Workers], John Tyndall’s (1888) Essays on the Floating-Matter of the Air: In Relation to Putrefaction and Infection; and Thomas Oliver’s (1902) Dangerous Trades: The Historical, Social, and Legal Aspects of Industrial Occupations as Affecting Health. Biological hazards such as viruses, bacteria and allergens exert a significant burden on worker health and wellbeing, as well as impacting the economy. Between 2014 and 2015, infections and parasitic disease caused 290 serious workers’ compensation cases (0.2 per cent of all claims), while injuries and illnesses associated with biological factors ranged from 606 cases in 2000-01 down to 360 cases in 2012-13 (Safe Work Australia, 2018). Industries with elevated risk of biological exposures—particularly those relating to micro-organisms—include health care, agriculture, waste management, forestry and food production (Safe Work Australia, 2018; Viegas et al., 2017). Consideration should also be given to previously unquantified biological hazards, whether these are atmospheres such as space (Lang et al., 2017), evolving ecosystems due to climate change, such as permafrost melt and anthrax (Charlier et al., 2017), or emergent industries such as medicinal and recreational cannabis production (Davidson et al., 2018; Green et al., 2018).