Will the OEL be higher if I prohibit women in the work area?
Here at Affygility Solutions, we occasionally get asked the question "How will the occupational exposure limit change if I prohibit women from working with a compound that has a significant reproductive hazard?"
While it may be tempting to raise the OEL by removing women from a specific work area, in most countries in the developed world, this is prohibited and is a form of "Protective Discrimination." Several important points to consider:
- Implementing such a policy has the potential of impacting women economically by denying them jobs in the workplace;
- Many substances claimed to be harmful to the fetus, may be just as harmful to the unborn via the male reproductive system;
- Implementing such a policy not only discriminates against women by denying them their jobs; it equally discriminates against men by denying them the right to a safe and healthy workplace. Reproductive hazards are an issue for women and for men.
The above points are reinforced by the landmark US Supreme Court decision in the Johnson Control case (Auto Workers v. Johnson Controls Inc.; 499 US 197, 1991) which held that gender-specific fetal protection policies were discriminatory. Furthermore, the court held that employers cannot make occupational exposure decisions for the unborn children: Decisions regarding unborn children are left to the parents. Since the 1991 US Supreme Court decision, reproductive protection plans are now gender neutral and incorporate both male and female reproductive and developmental hazards.
The solution for compounds with reproductive hazards is to have validated containment systems in the workplace, and to implement an effective training and educational program.