Women working in a cosmetics factory near Nairobi, Kenya.

Chemical Safety and the Environment

Women working in a cosmetics factory near Nairobi, Kenya. © Lacye Groening (ILO)

Workers around the world are disproportionally exposed to chemicals across almost all sectors, with more than 1 billion workers exposed to hazardous substances, including pollutants, dusts, vapours and fumes, each year. 


An estimated 1 million of these workers lose their lives each year due to exposure to hazardous chemicals. For those who do not lose their lives, they may face non-fatal injuries and diseases resulting in disability, debilitating chronic disease and other health impacts. All of these deaths, injuries and illnesses are entirely preventable.

Major industrial accidents, such as the 2020 Beirut Port Explosion of ammonium nitrate, show the urgency of this global health crisis.

Publications

Chemical exposures in mining

Impacts for occupational safety and health

Chemical exposures in mining

Hazardous exposures to plastics in the world of work

Hazardous exposures to plastics in the world of work

Exposure to lead in the world of work: Impacts for occupational safety and health

Exposure to lead in the world of work: Impacts for occupational safety and health

Conventions, Recommendations and other Instruments

Training Courses

Training Courses

The International Training Centre of the ILO (ITC-Turin) provides a variety of free and paid courses, both online and in person, related to chemical safety and health.

Labelling and Safety Data Sheets

ILO Collaboration on Chemicals