Nowadays there is a wide range of so called 'green jobs' - jobs which contribute to environmental preservation and/or restoration. We need to make sure that these jobs provide safe and healthy working conditions for workers. What are the most important new occupational safety and health requirements related to these 'green jobs'? Or can we directly transfer the traditional OSH knowledge to these occupations?
Green jobs is such a wide category (roof top solar installer, ethanol plant operator, etc.), we cannot specify changes in OSH because we expect the increase in those jobs. Those are rather similar to construction (roof top solar) or petrochemical (bioethanol plant) OSH requirements.
Environmental preservation and restoration are better examples. Those are very close the forestry and agriculture jobs from OSH perspective.
“Green jobs” embrace not only new operational challenges, but also fallout in the organisational level in companies. Apart from the technical and managerial practices widely recognised so far, broader approaches are to be needed in response to the new forms of work.
Relevant world-wide bodies in OSH have already identified the green jobs as one of the main trends and challenges to be tackled. Refer is made to the European Angency EU-OSHA, which has stablished specific programs to help organisations to deal with these emerging risks, namely green jobs. See:
- https://osha.europa.eu/en/tools-and-publications/publications/reports/green-jobs-foresight-new-emerging-risks-technologies/view
- https://osha.europa.eu/en/emerging-risks/green-jobs
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