industrial diseases

Cornish tin miners in the pit. Illnesses such as bronchitis, consumption, and rheumatism were common among the men who worked underground, and by the age of 40, many miners were no longer fit to work. Death and injury were accepted hazards of the job. The Cornish tin mines did, however, inspire several safety-based innovations, such as the miner's safety lamp, invented by Penzance-born Humphry Davy.

In medicine, diseases connected with the workplace. Examples include lung diseases that develop following the chronic inhalation of dust, silica, and asbestos (see asbestosis); back injuries due to heavy lifting; and dermatitis following the handling of irritant substances.

Occupational diseases can also affect office workers. These include repetitive strain injury because of excessive keyboard use and the cluster of symptoms described by workers who occupy ‘sick buildings’ (see sick building syndrome).