Occupational illness is recognized as an area of systems focus in Prevention Works. Many people think that occupational illnesses are primarily relevant for health care environments. In fact, they are illnesses that can occur from exposures in any type of workplace. It is everyone’s responsibility to recognize and control hazards that could lead to severe illness, injury or death with the same diligence as other workplace health and safety hazards.

Education, training and workplace tools: Moving from research to workplace practices

Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW), in collaboration with the ministry and its Occupational Illness Prevention Steering Committee (OIPSC) partners worked together to roll out several new educational resources, presentations, and workplace tools in the last fiscal year. The goal was to educate and support everyone in the workplace so they could better recognize and assess risks and improve control of workplace exposures. These initiatives included:

Preventing exposures to chemical hazards in the construction sector

In November 2021, the Infrastructure Health and Safety Association began working with industry stakeholders on the development of a strategy for preventing exposures to chemical hazards in construction. This long-term project was originally started by the Occupational Disease and Research Labour-Management Health and Safety Committee working group.

In addition, in 2021 the IHSA developed four on-demand webinars for the construction sector. These were developed from the seminar on Regulation 833: Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents. The four webinars included:

  1. Assessing the impact of Intervention - The future cancer burden of construction workers
  2. Tips and tricks to a successful fit testing program
  3. A brief overview of occupational hygiene air monitoring in construction
  4. 2020 updates to Regulation 833

Surveillance and research

Investing to prevent work-related cancers

Over the past year, Occupational Cancer Research Centre (OCRC) has succeeded in advancing OHS research capacity and driving research to action. They have also increased partnershipswith key research centres, universities and health and safety organizations, on both a provincial and national level. In addition to over 20 publications and conference presentations, OCRC has made significant updates to its website. These include specific exposures, such as crystalline silica, diesel engine exhaust, wood dust and ultraviolet radiation from sunlight.

Additional accomplishments include hosting and guiding Masters-level and PhD students. These students have contributed to important publications and provided expert commentary in media requests. They have also hosted Occupational and Environmental Health seminars and used social media to share materials, events and research.

Research in occupational disease

The Centre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease focuses on the prevention of non-malignant occupational diseases. These include skin diseases, hand-arm vibration syndrome and diseases that occur from exposure to irritants and allergens. In 2021–2022, CREOD participated in a number of knowledge and exchange activities. These included:

  • 18 formal research presentations
  • 43 published papers and 8 submitted manuscripts
  • 10 research abstracts
  • five non-refereed reports and articles

CREOD leveraged ministry funding to conduct six pilot studies on COVID-19 research topics. Examples include homecare and community support workers, fogging of face shields, Care+ resource repository and adverse effects of PPE. The Centre continues to actively participate in Ministry advisory groups and turn their research into action.

Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) occupational disease strategy

The WSIB launched the Occupational Disease Strategy in February 2021. Its goal is to help create a responsive and sustainable approach to occupational disease policy and decision-making at the WSIB. The strategy draws on recommendations from two primary sources:

The WSIB approved the Occupational Disease Policy Framework on Tuesday October 18, 2022. This was after a consultation period held between Tuesday November 30, 2021, and Monday, February 28, 2022.

In 2021, the WSIB awarded funding to various researchers in occupational disease across the country. Examples include:

  • The University of British Columbia will provide a systematic review and meta-analyses of current evidence on occupational asbestos exposure and gastrointestinal cancers.
  • The University of Toronto will provide a systematic review on occupational exposures to vapours, gases, dusts and fumes and the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

In addition, the WSIB designed its Health and Safety Excellence program (HSEp) to help employers adopt best practices in recognizing and controlling exposures that could lead to occupational disease. HSEp enables employers to work on health and safety topics related to the identification and prevention of occupational disease These include:

  • Recognition of Hazards
  • Risk Assessment
  • Control of Hazards
  • Injury, Illness and Incident Reporting
  • Legal Requirements
  • Emergency Prevention and Preparedness
  • Monitoring, Measurement and Analysis

Training and education

The Workers Health and Safety Centre (WHSC) is Ontario’s only labour-endorsed health and safety training provider. WHSC delivered almost 22,500 person hours of training directly related to the prevention of hazardous exposures that cause occupational illness. Training included programs dealing with the control of hazards such as asbestos, noise and infectious diseases.

Updates to WSIA regulation and OHS compliance initiatives

McIntrye Powder/Parkinson's disease added to list of presumptive occupational diseases

In January 2022, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) and the ministry announced a regulatory change made under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. The change means that if a worker is exposed to McIntyre Powder through a process involving MacIntyre powder and is diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the disease is presumed to be work-related and compensable under the WSIA unless the contrary is shown. This will facilitate and expedite compensation for affected workers.