140 Good intentions gone wrong. A case study in occupational hygiene, corporate social responsibility and product stewardship

Typically exposure based assessments in occupational based settings focused on able bodies workers without significant intellectual disability or neurological injuries. Where co-morbidities or intellectual disabilities are prevalent in a workforce, the potential for exposure, particularly unrecognised exposures is heightened. In this case study, a workplace which employs workers with disabilities was engaged to clean respirators following their use in heavy metals processing, as a form of product stewardship and corporate social responsibility. Unfortunately, the nature of the services provided was not explicitly detailed or the hazard identified. Workers themselves were not sufficiently competent in risk recognition to indicate if/when masks received were more dusty than normal, and due to their disabilities were at a heightened risk of exposure or cross contamination of the workplace. An assessment of the workplace was conducted, with samples collected of the work areas, general office areas and masks resulting in appreciable lead levels. The survey was additionally complicated as the workplace is in close proximity to lead processing industries. The complexities of this work are discussed, including the ethics of requiring blood samples in high-care requirement workers, outcomes from investigative approaches as well as learnings in how occupational hygiene is important in product stewardship and CSR.