Green Jobs in Quebec: Definition and Assessment of Potential Chemical and Biological Risks to Workers’ Health

Mission To contribute, through research, to the prevention of industrial accidents and occupational diseases and to the rehabilitation of affected workers; To disseminate knowledge and serve as a scientific reference centre and expert; To provide the laboratory services and expertise required to support the public occupational health and safety network. [...] By combining the various points of view we presented in the introduction and especially by keeping occupational health and safety in mind, we propose the following definition: Any job that has the direct aim of reducing the environmental impact of human activity and is consistent with the principles of sustainable development can be considered green. [...] In this study on the risks to workers using new technologies, we therefore gave special priority to both the narrower concept of “green” and the broader concept of “sustainability”, in order to target the impact of these technologies on the environment and, of course, on occupational health and safety, more precisely [27]. [...] 10 Green Jobs in Quebec: Definition and Assessment of Potential Chemical and – IRSST Biological Risks to Workers’ Health Finally, we should point out that the degree of “greenness”, within the perspective of this study, depends on the number of sustainable development principles associated with the job title, and thus on the importance attributed to health, safety and environmental risks. [...] Given the lack of information in some workplaces, not to mention that the purpose of this study was to draw up a general profile of the situation, the following variables were used to estimate occupational exposure: the substance’s physical and chemical properties (dustiness and volatility) and the frequency of use.