Operating Water: Race, Class and Occupational Exposures at a Municipal Water Treatment Plant

Background: Water treatment plant operators treat water so that it is safe to drink. Water treatment workers in the Global South may experience unreported occupational diseases more often due to lack of worker health and safety education or enforcement capacity.

Purposes: To 1) describe occupational health and safety exposures among water treatment plant operators, 2) identify the types and contexts of exposures.

Methods: A descriptive observational study was conducted of water treatment operators in the Caribbean to examine worker exposures to chemical, physical, ergonomic and psychosocial factors. Participants were found through local business, non-governmental organizations and tourism officials.

Results: Hazards and risks faced by workers in these environments may be greater than the general population due to the nature of exposures related to water treatment operations and lack of health and safety education. Often it is assumed that the benefits of employment will outweigh any detrimental health effects of on-the-job factors and/or that the workers themselves can make the appropriate judgments. These assumptions are situated in complex cultural structures of race and class. Observations accurately reflected workers' situations; namely, resources for occupational health and safety do not exist and often workers are constricted in their ability to advocate for better working conditions due to political, cultural and environmental systems.

Conclusion: Efforts are needed to increase access to health and safety resources for water treatment operators. It is important to increase the competency and capacity of water treatment operators and understand their situation in the context of municipal politics and culture.