Silicosis remains a major worker health problem decades after industry declared victory

Evidence

After World War II, the silica industry claimed that silicosis was not only a minor problem but no longer existed. In 1946, scientists at the Industrial Hygiene Foundation (IHF) announced that “silicosis, once a great hazard to the health of industrial workers, is no longer a threat… . The dangerous trades of our fathers have all but disappeared” (Industrial Hygiene Foundation, 1946). In fact, silicosis has remained a major problem for workers in contemporary workplaces and is often misdiagnosed and ignored in retirees (Rosner & Markowitz, 1991). … 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, 1802

Categorization

• ADDENDUM: Relates to the sacrifice article’s theme of elites imposing costs on workers, here inverted: industries declaring occupational disease ‘solved’ while it persists, shifting burden to the worker.
• XREF: Connects to ‘Structural Grip’ concept of moral disengagement — declaring a hazard over lets employers off the hook for controls.