Cases of occupational diseases down 58 percent in China

BEIJING -- Newly reported cases of occupational diseases have dropped by 58 percent over the past decade in China, an official said on Thursday.

Newly reported cases of occupational pneumoconiosis, in particular, have declined by 67 percent, National Health Commission (NHC) official Wang Jiandong said at a press conference.

This marks notable progress in China's efforts to curb the spread of occupational diseases, the official said, though the situation remains severe given the rapid urbanization and industrialization in China.

The country's workforce aged between 16 and 59 was estimated at 880 million in China at the end of 2022, data shows.

China's occupational health surveillance has covered more than 95 percent of counties and districts in the country, said Zhang Meibian, an official of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC).

NEW FORMS OF EMPLOYMENT

With increasing new forms of employment in China, the health of those working for online car-hailing and courier platforms has come into the spotlight recently.

Efforts should be made to better disseminate knowledge of diseases linked with these occupations, encourage employers to improve workplace conditions, and push forward the revision of the law on the prevention and control of occupational diseases, Zhang said.

Workers exposed to radioactive substances are another group that requires better workplace protection, experts have said.

At the end of 2022, 75,000 medical and health institutions practiced radiological diagnosis and treatment in China. There were another 15,000 radiation units in the industrial sector.

The surveillance rate of workforce radiation doses has been raised to more than 95 percent in hospitals in China, and new cases of occupational radiation sickness have been significantly slashed, said Sun Quanfu, another China CDC official.

CATEGORIES & CATALOGUE

China is studying the feasibility of adjusting its categories and catalogue of occupational diseases, Wang said.

The current categories and catalogue of occupational diseases were released in 2013. The catalogue listed 132 occupational diseases in 10 categories.

There is now room to adjust these categories, Wang said, citing lower risks of workers developing established occupational diseases, thanks to the upgrading of industries and the progress made in the prevention and control of occupational diseases in recent years.

Efforts to draw up new standards and data measurements began in 2020, Wang said.