REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND THE WORKPLACE
How Workers Are Exposed to Job Hazards
If you work with chemicals, they can enter your body in three ways:
- Breathing the chemical in
- Coming in contact with the skin, especially if your skin is chapped, irritated, or if you have an open wound
- Hand-to-mouth
Chemical exposures can cause health problems. Whether or not they cause health problems depends on:
- What the chemical is
- How the chemical enters the body
- How long or how often a person is exposed to the chemical
- How each person reacts to the chemical
Chemicals aren’t the only hazards at work
Some job exposures are not chemicals, but they may still affect your reproductive health. Some examples of these exposures are:
- Radiation
- Loud noise
- Long working hours, shiftwork, or irregular work schedules
- Lifting, bending, and standing
What you should consider
Answer these questions to start thinking about your workplace exposures:
- What do you do in your job? What does your department or group do or make?
- What are you concerned about in your workplace? Any information on product name, actual chemical name, or work condition would be helpful.
- For chemicals, what form are the chemicals in: dust, vapor, liquid, gas?
- How much time do you spend using each thing that you are concerned about in your workplace?
- Do you use any personal protective equipment or other safety equipment while performing your job?
- Page last reviewed: April 20, 2017
- Page last updated: April 20, 2017
- Content source:
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations and Field Studies