Transference of occupational chemicals through breast milk

Abstract

The significance of this study stems from an interest in the information relating to the transference of occupational chemicals through breast milk as a job hazard for the Risk Control Specialist to consider. Three quarters of employed women are of reproductive age and more than half of United States children are born to working mothers, many of which return to work after six weeks and continue to breast feed their children until age 12-24 months. The vast number of workers of reproductive age together with the substantial number of work place chemicals suggests that a considerable number of workers are potentially at risk for adverse outcomes. The purpose of this study is to identify the extent that industries of the 21st century that utilize high-risk chemicals are taking necessary precautions to protect their female employees. What occupational chemicals are known to transfer through breast-milk, how does the transference occur, and what are the known toxicological implications to the breast-fed infant? What percent of the current production workforce of industries using high-risk chemicals is female and what high risk chemicals are currently being used in production? To what extent are workplace controls among high-risk industries being utilized to reduce occupational chemical exposure to females of reproductive age? A survey was designed for this study to collect information from risk control specialists regarding the percent of women working in production in chemically high-risk areas, they types of chemicals used and the employee protection put in place by the industry. In developing the survey, the 7 questions were directed specifically to gather information on female employees between the ages of 18 and 55 years (reproductive years). The subgroup was asked to respond to generic questions on the types of jobs held by female employees, the percent on line/production workers that were female, and the total number of employees at the mailing location. The Risk Control Specialists were asked to check all the chemicals their company used in production and or cleaning and they were also asked to respond relating to the workplace controls utilized to reduce occupational chemical exposure to female employees. All appropriate descriptive statistics will be run on the data to address the research questions for this study. The data was analyzed using SPSS software for research analysis.