Health Hazards for Children at Work

Abstract

The International Labor Office has estimated that there are 250 million child laborers (5–14 years old) worldwide, with more than 120 million of these working full-time. The issue is complex; child labor is an economic and social reality in many developing countries. Children may provide 25% or more of a family's total income, and many traditional cultures include child labor as an integral part of the child's socialization and achievement of status in the local community. Governments may regard child labor as a key factor in keeping their economy competitively viable through the provision of cheap labor for commercial interests. And yet child labor violates children's rights and exposes them to increased health risks. Children who work full-time do not attend school and thereby lose their inherent right to an education. They may come from families ravaged by poverty, live in dilapidated housing, have unsafe water supplies, poor sanitation, and inadequate nutritious food. Working children are vulnerable to anemia, fatigue, early initiation of tobacco smoking, and other health problems. Manual labor exposes children to injury and also to poisoning from chemicals such as solvents, pesticides, metals, caustic agents used on the job, to fumes and dust, and other toxic, work-related byproducts. The International Labor Organization has sought to control the most abusive of child labor practices throughout the world. Solutions to this complex and intractable worldwide problem will also require infrastructure changes in the economic and social incentives to child labor, enlightened public health policies, and community-level advocacy and involvement.

Keywords :

• Child labor
• Workplace toxins
• Occupational toxic exposures