The rapid industrialisation and thereby discharge of poisonous gases, chemicals and effluents into water is increasing health hazards including lungs diseases like asthma, asbestosis, silicosis, heart diseases, muscle ailments, infertility and cancer-related diseases in the remotest areas of southern Punjab and industrial hubs of Pakistan.
While talking to journalists here, the only specialist in the region in treatment of occupational maladies, Dr Altaf Hussein, stated this on Monday. He said that toxicity lags far behind the rate of new development and rapidly increasing environmental illnesses in human beings.
Dr Altaf is currently working with Pakarab Fertiliser Co. He has obtained Diploma in Internal Medicine from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, in 1996 after completion of his graduation from Multan Nishtar Medical College in 1992. He has also done Masters in Occupational Medicine from Singapore National University.
He said that all chemical substances must be utilised after checking toxicity, and the exposures have to be maintained within permissible values.
Change in manufacturing process and replacement of more toxic substance with less one is must for human survival, he said.
The health care professionals, veterinary doctors are more prone to get occupational infections like hepatitis A, B, and B, C, TB, HIV, anthrax and malaria, he added.
The pesticides can cause mental ailments, gastric and liver disorders. In Pakistan the workers of cement factories, mining, sand blasting and foundries are highly exposed to silica which causes silicosis.
In United States, about 1.2 million of workers are exposed to silica dust and about 60,000 suffer from some degree of silicosis. Among some 20 million living men and women exposed to asbestos between 75,000 and 300,000 are expected to develop exposure-related cancers in the next 50 years.
Approximately 360 chemicals are documented to cause occupational asthma and their agents are utilised in chemical processing plants, textile mills, refineries, welding plants and spray painters, soap manufacturing tanning etc. The required numbers of physicians in the fields of occupational medicines is very small.
Resultantly, the general physicians are making attempts to treat active disease instead of identifying and alleviating the root causes.
He said the byssinosis, a disease common in cotton factories, has already disabled high proportion of workers, while the employees relating with lead, mercury and cadmium industries run greater risk of catching anaemia and kidney failure.
Carbon monoxide, carbon disulphide and arsine, produced during processing in steel mills, foundries and furnaces, result into high blood pressure and heart attack.
There is a wide range of occupational diseases while the occupational lung diseases have been recorded at Number One. Workers exposed to grease and oils as motor mechanics, machinists and shipyard employees run bigger danger of developing dermatological illnesses including acne, leukoderma and skin cancers.
He said that the government must take steps in this regard and formulate legislation to deal with health issues related to all industries to ensure employees' healthcare.
He suggested that the government ought to provide opportunity to medical graduates for higher studies in the field of occupational medicine within the country and the medical colleges should offer a few hours of formal instruction in occupational medicine.
The faculty of occupational medicine may be introduced in each medical college to produce specialists in this area. The government should provide training to primary care physicians to cover the shortage of occupational health professionals.