David Coggon, in his editorial on “Occupational medicine at a turning point”,¹ makes a number of insightful observations and thoughtful suggestions regarding health and hazards in the workplace. He notes that “As many of the most serious occupational hazards have been successfully addressed, attention has shifted increasingly to other work related disorders that are rarely fatal”. He points out that the human and economic costs of these less fatal conditions are considerable and that the current research and intervention models may require some rethinking to deal effectively with them. I found his discussion and recommendations on this topic timely, and they will help the expansion of occupational research into this new area.

Considerable progress has been made on reducing and eliminating many serious occupational hazards, particularly in developed countries. It may, however, be premature to assume that chemical and physical hazards are under control. The understanding of occupational exposures in the development of …