Industries shifted responsibility for hazards onto individual workers’ protective gear

Evidence

The use of respiratory masks as the first line of defense against silicosis has long been a contentious issue in the dusty trades. Traditional engineering controls included exhaust and ventilation systems, physical separation of dust-producing processes such as sand blasting, and administrative improvements, such as rotating workers in the dusty areas of a factory. However, these controls did not keep pace with the advances in high-speed sand blasting, which created ever more dust throughout factories. Smaller shops often could not afford the engineering improvements needed. The masks themselves are difficult to wear during an entire sweltering workday. Army Corps of Engineers regulations state, “Only when all engineering or administrative controls have been implemented, and the level of respirable silica still exceeds permissible exposure limits, may an employer rely on a respirator program” (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1996). Rather than setting standards for effective exhaust and ventilation systems, however, the industry shifted the focus from needed structural improvements to workers’ use of masks: With some men respirators are a continual complaint. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1805 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Industry personnel also used the adverse effects of smoking on workers’ health to exonerate vinyl chloride. They claimed that smoking, rather than vinyl chloride, caused workers’ health problems. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1781 (#exemplifies, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Asset-based welfare policies since the 1990s individualized the risks of material security. — Paul Langley, Assets and Assetization in…, 38; Blame-shifting let industry substitute education for removing the hazard; Industry shifted the burden from structural safeguards onto individual worker behaviors — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 1805 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Industry shifted the burden from structural safeguards onto individual worker behaviors #corroborates (1.00) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1805
• Industry shifted blame to workers’ own smoking to exonerate a carcinogen #exemplifies (0.92) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 1781