Contact:
Debra Bethard-Caplick
847/ 818-1800, X383
[email protected]
For Immediate Release
1999 Labor Day Checklist Gives Tips To Control Asthma in the Workplace
Chicago, August 30, 1999--Asthma--the single most common respiratory disorder among occupational diseases--is the focus of the 1999 Labor Day CheckList, issued today by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM). It offers 30 tips on ways employees and employers can eliminate or reduce asthma-related problems at work.
Who is at risk? More than 17 million Americans suffer from respiratory diseases. Airway disease, including asthma, is the fourth leading cause of death, according to the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The government agency notes that as many as 28 percent of adult asthma may be attributable to exposure in work settings.
"There are hundreds of materials in the workplace that may cause asthma," reports Dr. Philip Harber, director, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles. "Environmental particulates, chemicals and antigens such as pollens, dusts and animal materials, have all been held accountable," says Dr. Robert J. McCunney, ACOEM president and director, Environmental Medical Service, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge.
Is workplace asthma preventable? "Every patient with asthma should discuss work factors with his or her physician, and changes may need to be made at one's work area," recommends Dr. Jane Barlow, medical director, Family Health Center, Del Rio, Texas, who developed the 1999 CheckList. "The need for asthma research and sharing it through education is critical for achieving an optimum, healthy work environment."
ACOEM, an international medical society of 7,000 occupational medicine physicians, provides leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces and environments by educating health professionals and the public; stimulating research; enhancing quality of practice; guiding public policy; and advancing the field of occupational and environmental medicine.
For a free copy of the 1999 Labor Day CheckList, send a stamped, self-addressed, business-sized envelope to Labor Day CheckList, ACOEM, 1114 N. Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60004-4770; visit the ACOEM web site, http://www.acoem.org; or use ACOEM's fax-on-demand service, (800)226-3626.
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