Workers at Risk: Voices from the Workplace.

This book developed out of the authors concern that the burgeoning field of risk assessment was neglecting a key aspect of the problem of occupational health - the perceptions and concerns of workers themselves. The main part of their research consisted of extended and open-ended interviews with people who work with chemicals in a wide range of occupations. They contacted people through international unions, health and safety classes, conferences, Committees on Safety and Health (COSH), and through casual conversations. After a number of preliminary trials, they conducted, taped, and transcribed interviews with 75 workers representing a variety of occupations. Hearing these voices, the authors believe they carry a critical message - that the pervasive presence of chemical risks in the workplace has profound human costs in terms of anxiety as well as of illness. With the proliferation of chemicals in so many occupations, such concerns are likely to have an increasing effect on collective bargaining, on compensation claims, and on the general morale of the work force. Thus the voices of workers, their identification of problems, their insights, and their views must be heard. They are critical to the creation of a more humane working environment.