The 64th session of the ‘1 Guest 1 Guest’ event organized by Üsküdar University Occupational Safety, Health and Environmental Health Application and Research Center (ÜSGÜMER) was held. Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ, Branch Manager of Occupational Health and Safety at Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), participated as a guest speaker at the online event. Emphasizing that humans have limits in movement, access, and recovery, Karadağ stated that cumulative occupational diseases and cumulative problems would arise if a person encounters an event that exceeds their recovery rate. Karadağ said, “Occupational diseases exist because we make people work beyond their performance and limits.”
At the online event, Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ, Branch Manager of Occupational Health and Safety at İBB, delivered his presentation titled 'Occupational Diseases in Turkey's Second Century: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back'.
“This definition is much more accurate than the one widely accepted today”
Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ, speaking about occupational health and the occupational diseases arising in this profession, said: “If a disease lasts longer than expected, it may be related to work exposure, or if a disease is encountered more intensely in a particular group, the characteristics of that group may be a factor in the disease. Many definitions can be made for the definition of occupational disease, but generally for many countries and schools of thought, they are diseases caused by factors encountered by a person during their work, and therefore more frequently observed in certain professions and work areas compared to the general population. We can express it this way, and this is the correct definition. Or at least, this definition is much more accurate than the one that is more common today,” he stated.
“Because we make people work beyond their performance and limits”
Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ discussed why occupational diseases emerge. Karadağ said: “Occupational diseases exist because we make people work beyond their performance and limits. Why do we make them work beyond their performance and limits? We make them work to gain more profit. As a result, more production per person is achieved, and more surplus value is obtained. Basically, this is the approach or the fundamental reason for occupational diseases. If you start to harm a person in the workplace faster than their recovery process, the cumulative problem that arises will explode as a disease. This is fundamentally what we experience. Charlie Chaplin explains this very well in his ‘Modern Times’ video. What do human limits mean? A limit is actually a very broad term. That is, a person has limits of movement, limits of access, and limits of recovery. ‘Recovery rate’ is actually a personal characteristic. If a person encounters an event that exceeds this recovery rate, then cumulative occupational diseases, cumulative illnesses, and cumulative problems will emerge,” he stated.
“We are facing an occupational disease that is a drop in the ocean”
Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ, speaking about the status of occupational diseases in Turkey, said: “I don't know which year the number 597 belongs to, but it's not important either. Because it has never exceeded 1000. So to speak, we are facing an occupational disease that is a drop in the ocean. Because, according to the number of workers in Turkey, we should be able to detect three hundred thousand occupational diseases per year. Undetected occupational diseases will emerge as various injuries and disabilities. So, is this number sufficient data? Let's look at a brief history. Starting from the 80s, we encountered different interventions regarding occupational health in Turkey. For example, in the mid-1980s, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) started training workplace physicians. If we look back a little further, in 1978, a regulation concerning the duties, powers, and responsibilities of workplace physicians was issued; it was a requirement set by the International Labour Organization (ILO). However, in 1978, the Confederation of Turkish Employer Associations (TİSK) initiated suspension of execution and court processes. However, the regulation concerning the duties, powers, and responsibilities of workplace physicians could only come into force in 1984,” he said.
“We failed…”
Dr. Özkan Kaan Karadağ said: “In fact, a lot of work was done in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Management System for the country. Inspectors were trained, and certain campaigns were launched to increase awareness. These campaigns travelled throughout the country under the name of occupational health and safety, but it didn't work. Despite all these efforts, there was no decrease in occupational accidents, nor an increase in the number of occupational diseases detected. That is, the main performance criteria for occupational accidents are the reduction in numbers and fatality rates. Unfortunately, in our country, neither the numbers decreased, nor the rates, nor the fatality rates. We failed,” he stated.
The event concluded with answering participants' questions.