Occupational hazards to workers associated with nanotechnology

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Occupational hazards to workers associated with nanotechnology

Pogrebnjak A.

Dr. ofPhys.-Math. Sc., Prof., Head of the Department of Nanoelectronics and Surface Modernization, Sumy State University

Kyselova O.

Dr. of Law, Associate Professor of the Department of Administrative, Commercial Law and Financial and Economic Security, Academic and Research Institute of Law of Sumy State University

Annotation

Globally, nanotechnology is considered the most promising technology of the future with great economic potential for growth and employment. Nanotechnology is definitely the next industrial revolution and can be expected to have a direct impact on daily life and lead to changes in the areas of social and economic life. Nanotechnology is becoming a strategic investment area that no country or nation can neglect. New technologies are transforming all spheres from healthcare to transportation and manufacturing. New types of jobs are being created, and the structure of employment is changing. People of all ages will have to adapt to the new situation on the labor market, which is associated with technological changes and structural shifts in the demand for labor, the importance and possibility of retraining, advanced training, and career guidance throughout life will obviously be updated. This is followed by a synopsis of research on the impact of nanotechnology on the workforce, which shows, on the one hand, growing evidence of the specific risks associated with nanoparticles, and on the other hand, the potential for transforming the labor structure. The study shows the importance of monitoring the impact of new technologies on the development of labor relations and employment in order to identify risk areas.

Keywords: nanotechnology, risks, employment, labor protection, workers.

Анотація

Виникнення високотехнологічної галузі принципово нового типу сформувало сучасний етап розвитку світової економіки, ознаменований появою ринку нанотехнологій та появою широкого спектру пов'язаних із цим ознак.

У всьому світі нанотехнології вважаються найбільш перспективною технологією майбутнього з великим економічним потенціалом для зростання та зайнятості. Нанотехнології стають стратегічною сферою інвестування, яку не може нехтувати жодна країна чи нація. Нові технології перетворюють усі сфери від охорони здоров'я до транспорту та виробництва. Створюються нові види робочих місць, змінюється структура зайнятості. Людям різного віку доведеться адаптуватися до нової ситуації на ринку праці, яка пов'язана з технологічними змінами та структурними зрушеннями в попиті на робочу силу, важливість та можливість перепідготовки, підвищення кваліфікації та профорієнтації протягом усього життя буде очевидно оновлено. У цій статті ми дослідили вплив нанотехнологій на робочу силу. Ми виявили докази специфічних ризиків, пов'язаних з наночастками, а з іншого боку, очевидним є потенціал для трансформації структури праці. Дослідження показує важливість моніторингу впливу нових технологій на розвиток трудових відносин та зайнятості з метою виявлення зон ризику.

Таким чином, нанотехнології можна сміливо вважати одним із найперспективніших напрямків науково-технічного розвитку на десятиліття вперед. Однією з головних переваг нанотехнологічної галузі є її багатопрофільність, що надає нанотехнологічним продуктам широкий простір для їх застосування. Соціальні наслідки нанотехнологій охоплюють так багато фундаментальних технологічних змін, які продемонстрували, що вплив технологій на робочу силу є далекосяжним і клопітним. Рання оцінка наслідків нанотехнологій для праці має вирішальне значення як для підготовки робочої сили, так і для вироблення політики для подолання руйнівних соціальних наслідків, які можуть виникнути.

Ключові слова: нанотехнології, ризики, зайнятість, охорона праці, працівники.

Introduction

The emergence of a high-tech industry of a fundamentally new type has shaped the current stage in the development of the world economy, marked by the emergence of the nanotechnology market and the emergence of a wide range of related features. Nanotechnology is defined as a dual-use technology because it provides both opportunities for progress and development of mankind, but can also pose a serious threat to the health and life of people and the environment [1]. Therefore, the task of determining the positive and negative aspects of the introduction of nanotechnology, the conditions for the development of these technologies in Ukraine is very important. Nevertheless, the impact of nanotechnology on the labor force is still practically not considered. It is obvious that the issue of the impact of the nanotechnology market on employment has not yet entered the agenda for the emergence of research on this topic, due to the fact that currently in Ukraine there are relatively few industries and workers involved in nanotechnology. As noted by Ivanov S.M. and Karasiuk V. V., in Ukraine the vast majority of enterprises that use and / or create nanotechnologies, by type of economic activity belong to institutions of higher education and institutions engaged in research and development in the field of natural sciences. The identified trends allow to conclude about the initial state of the domestic nanoindustry [2]. But some theoretical and practical aspects of nanotechnology were considered by such Ukrainian scientists as H. Androshchuk, D. Hlukhova, M. Kyzym, V. Liashenko, I. Matiushenko, B. Movchan, L. Musina, O. Salikhova and others. In their work, these scientists consider issues related to the concept of nanotechnology, their development, practical application, impact on the social sphere.

The aim of the study is to identify the main risks posed by the introduction of new technologies on labor resources, assess the difficulties and consequences of the use of nanotechnology, as well as the use of nanotechnology in the field of labor protection.

Results

Labor resources and the situation on the labor market have always played the role of indicators of the stability of society and the development of the state and national economies. Due to this, the state of development of technologies and innovations is assessed almost at the same level with the efficiency of the labor market, which confirms the urgent need to improve and harmonize the employment policy, wages and innovative and technological development of Ukraine. That means, that the labor market should be based on the need for workers for the development of industrial sectors, which can change the proportion between those employed in the formal and informal sectors of the economy in favor of the formal sector, and will also create the necessary conditions for the efficient use of labor and increase employment.

The debate over the implications of new technologies for employment has a long history. It is clear that institutional changes in the introduction of technological innovations create both favorable conditions and barriers to the development of the labor market. American sociologist R. Inglehart believes that the “artificial intelligence society” will lead to even greater stratification of society and 1% of rich people will control the entire economy, while 99% of the population will be employed in unstable low-paid jobs. Almost all work will be automated, including highly educated specialists, such as lawyers, doctors, who will be replaced by computer programs. The scientist considers the transfer of professions from humans to artificial intelligence to be the long-term and most dangerous challenge. The author sees a way out of this situation in strengthening the role of the state, creation by the state of jobs where people would work and create useful things that would improve the quality of life in society and provide these people with a sense of purpose in life and self-respect [3].

O.O. Herasymenko emphasizes that the fundamental changes taking place in the world economy at the turn of the millennium objectively determine changes in labor activity against the background of increasing competition. In the modern economic system, in any field of activity a person becomes a carrier of innovation both at the stage of generating new ideas and in the process of applying new, non-traditional methods, processes, techniques of work. Characteristic features of innovative work at the stage of using innovations are reflected in the following:

- application of complex means of labor in labor activity;

- multi-operational labor processes, their multifaceted nature, diversity, in contrast to mono-activity, according to the technocratic system;

- awareness of employees in the specifics of technological processes in general, and not just their individual stages and operations;

- increasing the share of control operations that require special attention, increased psychological load;

- the need for independent decision-making, ensuring the creation of a quality end product of labor [4].

Technological advances are often blamed for shrinking the job market, as increasingly efficient and automated processes seemingly reduce employment opportunities. But the reasons for current trends are multiple and complex. Indeed, while technology lowers the number of repetitive and physically intense jobs, it creates others that didn't exist before. This is particularly true in the area of nanotechnology, an emerging technology that is already transforming our world.

As a result of the development of technologies, the “professions of the future” will become more complex, which will require new approaches to the training of qualified specialists. At the same time, the ongoing significant transformations in the structure of labor resources (such as an aging population, a decrease in the birth rate, a change in generations of the labor force and their values, a lack of talent in the labor market and the emergence of a “lockdown generation”) cause the emergence of the risk of a decrease in labor productivity and a slowdown in economic growth, which leads to the need to constantly improve the quality of the labor force of both the young and the adult population. Higher demand for high qualifications and rapid obsolescence of skills require radical changes in education: an orientation towards “soft” skills, individualized lifelong learning and retraining throughout the career, the development of a practical component in education.

An important characteristic of nanotechnology, which cannot be neglected, is that it is and will keep being very fast-developing and highly dynamic. Therefore, it is indeed necessary to develop the concept of lifelong learning and training in this field, as skills once acquired might not be applicable anymore when the technology develops further on. Apart from formal vocational education and training, appropriate possibilities to acquire the necessary skills at the workplace should be made possible. Ways of ensuring it, offered by experts, include job rotation, obtaining specific experience abroad, and learning in groups or by problem solving. Besides developing and modernising the continuous vocational training at the workplaces, employees' general participation rate in the training needs to be raised too, mostly by changing their attitude and fostering acceptance of such training. Another valuable option was pointed out by Jan Voves, and it regards retraining of science professionals who have previously left scientific field and opted for work in another field. If it is possible to attract these professionals to nanotechnology, the retraining could take place in nanotechnology research centres all over Europe (the so called poles of excellence). That would provide an opportunity of sound training and provide with the new specific skills [5].

Innovative companies, who are the front runners in the development and adoption of nanotechnology, will gain market advantages at the national and global levels, while less innovative companies may fail, generating changes in the industrial structure that will directly affect the labor market. Although this process of companies' rearrangement in a new competitive scenario is still in a very early stage, some of its features and emerging implications for labor can be anticipated.

Production and manufacture of nanotechnological intermediary and final products are already produced in several branches, such as nanoparticles or nanosurface coatings. Further products are also expected. Here automation is increasing and process control is becoming increasingly complex and meaningful.

Occupational exposure to nanoparticles can occur in laboratories where nanomaterials are being produced and handled, and at workplaces where nanomaterials or nanoproducts are being produced, manufactured or processed. Workers are mainly exposed to nanoparticles in production processes at different stages - filling, sampling, cleaning and maintenance work - or in disruptions of normal operations. Where activities involve liquid media (e.g., precipitation reactions, dispersion in the liquid phase), ingestion by inhalation is usually precluded by avoiding aerosol formation. The Guidance on Safe Handling of Nanomaterials and Nanoproduct published by the Dutch Trade Union Confederation FNV (FNV 2010) recommends assessing the life cycle starting at the moment the materials or products enter the company and ending when those materials or products leave the company again as “ready-for-use product” or waste material. If those materials are modified or incorporated into another product, workers will also be exposed when handling, transporting, disposing of and recycling them [6].

Participation by workers in setting the appropriate prevention measures is a key factor. The absolute priority is to eliminate or reduce nanoparticle exposure as far as is technically possible. The whole workforce must be involved in the company's risk assessment programme and be certain that the information supplied by the company is sound. Because these are key actions that workers must take. Acceptance of risk is a relative concept that includes judgment about the certainty and severity of risk, the extent of the health effects, voluntary nature of the risk, the risks and advantages of any alternatives, and compensation for undergoing the risk [7].

It is about the extent to which workers are exposed to greater risks than the general public or, stated another way, whether it is appropriate to exchange incentives such as wages or hazardous duty pay for additional risk from exposure to nanoparticles. This issue may be less significant if nanoparticle controls reduce workers' risk levels to those of the general public, if conceivably both are known. Clearly, society accepts that some jobs are inherently riskier than others. However, in many countries the societal goal is to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all workers [8].

The right to labor protection refers to the inalienable human rights recorded in fundamental international instruments such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976). In the European Union, occupational health and safety issues are of great importance. Health and safety in the workplace is a top priority for legislative and executive authorities in the EU. International treaties and agreements, conventions and recommendations of the International Labor Organization, directives of the European

Union occupy an important place in the regulatory and legal field on labor protection. Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 “On the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health of workers at work” - “Framework Directive”. The purpose of this directive is to introduce measures to help improve the health and safety of workers in the workplace. The directive lays down general principles for the prevention and protection of workers against occupational accidents and diseases. It contains principles related to risk prevention, safety and health protection, risk assessment, elimination of risks and accident factors, information, consultation, participation and training of workers and their representatives in occupational health and safety. The Framework Directive contains basic obligations for employers and workers. At the same time, the obligations of employees do not affect the principle of responsibility of the employer and the latter cannot impose financial costs on employees to ensure occupational health and safety.

The system of production risk prevention will be formed in accordance with the consistent hierarchy of the following general principles defined by Directive 89/391/EEC: occupational hazards workers nanotechnology

- risk prevention;

- assessment of unavoidable risks;

- elimination of sources of risk;

- adaptation of working conditions to the employee;

- adaptation to technical progress;

- replacement of high-risk equipment with safe or less dangerous equipment;

- development of a coherent general policy for the prevention of industrial risks, covering technology, work organization, working conditions, social relations and the impact of factors related to the production environment;

- giving priority to collective protection measures over individual protection measures used by the employee;

- proper training of employees [9].

The positive impact of implementing enterprise-level health and safety systems on both hazard and risk reduction and productivity is now recognized by governments, employers and workers around the world.

At the level of state regulation, measures to improve working conditions can be divided into legislative, organizational, technical, preventive medicine and economic ones. Legislative measures determine the rights and obligations of workers in the field of labor protection, their work and rest regime, labor protection for women and youth, sanitary standards for the maximum content of harmful substances in the working area, compensation for damage to injure, their pension and benefits provision, etc.

Organizational measures provide for the introduction of a labor protection management system, training workers, providing them with instructions, creating labor protection offices, organizing control over compliance with labor protection requirements, etc.

Technical measures include: development and implementation of complex mechanization and automation of heavy, harmful and monotonous work; creation of safe technology; installation of safety, signaling, blocking devices; technical solutions for the normalization of the air environment, industrial lighting, prevention of the formation and removal of harmful substances from the working area, reduction of noise, vibration, protection from harmful radiation; creation of isolation cabins for operators working in hazardous conditions, or remote control; development and manufacture of collective and individual protective equipment, etc.

Medical-preventive measures include: preliminary and periodic medical examinations of workers in hazardous, harmful and difficult working conditions; providing them with therapeutic and prophylactic nutrition; conducting industrial gymnastics; ultraviolet and bactericidal radiation; the use of coniferous, salt-coniferous baths, massage, etc.

Economic measures include material incentives for work to prevent injuries and improve working conditions, a more rational distribution of funds allocated for labor protection.

An important role in increasing labor productivity and increasing the importance of labor protection issues in the team is also played by psychological means of increasing labor safety, which combine the factors that determine the psychological climate in the production team, ensuring the psychological compatibility of its members, professional selection of personnel, training and education in safe working methods for workers, placement and effective use of labor resources, their relationship in the production process. Ethical means of improving labor safety reflect the relationship between participants in the labor process, team members. Ethical issues cannot be adequately addressed for nanotechnology without sufficient knowledge of the hazards involved. Because limited information is available on the safety of an ever-growing number of nanomaterials, an ongoing research effort is needed to comport with the principles of autonomy, beneficence, and nonmaleficence. In addition, research is needed on the extent of exposure and the effectiveness of controls. Internationally, such research is under way. However, the question of the level of funding of this research has ethical implications because much of the current control guidance is precautionary and is not based on strong quantitative risk assessments. Further research is the only way to address this lack of appropriate information [10, 11].

Conclusions

Thus, nanotechnology can be safely considered as one of the most promising areas of scientific and technological development for decades to come. One of the main advantages of the nanotechnology industry is its multidisciplinarity, which gives nanotechnology products a wide space for their application. As a result, almost all countries around the world continue to invest more and more in this field, and partnerships are being established between research institutes and commercial companies. The social implications of nanotechnology encompass so many fundamental technological change has shown, technology-driven effects on labor are far reaching and troublesome. The early assessment of nanotechnology implications for labor is crucial both for training unappropriate labor force, and to work out policies to deal with the disruptive social consequences that may arise. Far from being a factor for dismissal of the subject, the prevailing small size of the nanotechnology labor force should be taken as a rich laboratory to study and anticipate such issues. The issues of occupational safety and health, as well as the health of workers at enterprises due to the availability of nanotechnologies, are very important and relevant for any state. Comfortable and safe working conditions are one of the main factors affecting the productivity and safety of work, and the health of workers. In this connection, the effectiveness of measures to improve conditions and improve labor safety is the most important element of the company's competitiveness. An important role in increasing labor productivity and increasing the importance of labor protection issues in the team is also played by psychological means of increasing labor safety, which combine the factors that determine the psychological climate in the production team, ensuring the psychological compatibility of its members, professional selection of personnel, training and education in safe working methods for workers.

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