All Systems
Green
How Prevention
through Design Helps
Make Green Jobs
Safe for Workers and
the Environment
BY DONNA S. HEIDEL, JAMES D. MCGLOTHLIN AND JOHN WEAVER
Some people define green jobs as those whose aim is to reuse, repurpose, and/or recycle. Others insist that, to be considered green, jobs must provide decent
wages and job security. Still
others maintain that green jobs
must be part of carefully designed
environments where workers use
nontoxic, safe-to-handle materi-
als to create products that are
beneficial for consumers and
the environment.
The NIOSH Prevention through Design
(PtD) initiative puts this last definition
into practice. Since 2007, PtD has promoted ways to eliminate hazards and
minimize risks through the design of
safe workplaces. Recently, PtD methods
have been adopted to make green jobs
safe for workers and the environment.
These projects are examples of ways to
address occupational health and safety
(OHS) challenges in the coming green
economy—an economy based on an environmentally stable and socially just
marketplace.
Green and Safe
According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), green jobs
involve “work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development (R&D),
administrative, and service activities that
contribute substantially to preserving or
restoring environmental quality.” To prepare for the green economy, UNEP,
through its Green Jobs Initiative, is facilitating a “just transition that reflects the
environmental, economic and social pillars of sustainable development,” including decent wages and conditions for
workers in green jobs.1
But does our current thinking of the
social pillar of sustainable development
include health and safety protections for
these workers? How can OHS professionals ensure that green jobs, green technology and even green products are safe
for workers?
To begin to answer these questions,
NIOSH convened a three-day workshop in
December 2009 intended to engage stakeholders in a discussion of the safety and
health of workers in green jobs. Participants at the workshop agreed that green
jobs can be made safe by applying PtD
principles and methods to the development of green products and technologies.
During breakout sessions, participants
compiled lists of activities they considered essential for ensuring the safety of
workers in green jobs. Participants were
asked to rate the importance of each activity; the sidebar on page 41 lists the 10
activities that received the highest ratings. In addition to these activities,
NIOSH proposes six recommendations
for improving workers’ health and safety
in green jobs:
1. Define, categorize and track green
jobs. This effort includes identifying
the hazards of green jobs and tracking injuries and illnesses associated
with these hazards.
