工作场所有害物质暴露及其健康后果的社会学研究——美国学者的贡献及启示

Sociological Study on Hazardous Exposure in Workplace and Its Health Consequences:On Contribution and Enlightenment of American Scholars

工作场所有害物质暴露及其健康后果是环境社会学、健康社会学、职业社会学等社会学分支研究方向的交叉领域,国内社会学界对其关注不足。美国工作场所有害物质暴露的受害群体主要是社会分层体系中处于较低层次的蓝领工人群体以及农业从业者。“有害物质暴露—疾病”因果关系难证实、社会地位弱势加之组织能力不足等因素进一步加剧了受害群体有害物质暴露的应对困境。工作场所有害物质暴露问题的治理面临多重困境。美国职业健康与安全运动通过与环境保护运动联合,加强其组织化程度,注重邀请科学家和普通工人、社区居民参与,积极利用媒体发声等,在揭露行业隐藏危害和争取知情权、促进危害源头的治理等方面取得了较好的效果。美国工作场所有害物质暴露及其后果的社会学研究对中国今后相关研究路径的确立、研究议题的展开具有重要的启示意义。

Hazardous exposure in workplace and its health consequences are the intersection of environmental sociology,health sociology,occupational sociology and other sociological branches,to which sociology community of China has not paid sufficient attention.By combing the sociological research on hazardous exposure in workplace in the United States and its consequences,the paper provides reference for related research in China.It is found that victims of hazardous exposure in industrial sites in the United States are mainly at a lower level in social stratification like blue-collar workers and agricultural practitioners.The"hazardous exposure-disease"causal relationship is difficult to confirm.Theweak social position and insufficient organizational capacity of the victimized group further increase theirdifficulty to cope withhazardous exposure.The governance of hazardous exposure in workplace faces multiple dilemmas.Through joint actions with the environmental protection movement,the American Occupational Health and Safety Movement strengthened its organization,focused on inviting scientists and ordinary workers,community residents to participate,and actively used the media to make its voice heard,etc.,thus managed to expose the hidden dangers of the industry,seek the right to know and reveal the source of harm.The sociological study of hazardous exposure in workplace in the United States and its consequences has important implications for the future development of relevant research in China.