Australian Work Exposures Study - Asthmagens

Recent research shows 47% of male and 40% of female workers were exposed to one or more asthmagens in their workplace. The Extended Australian Work Exposure Study (AWES–2) examined the types of work and workers most likely to be exposed to asthmagens (substances that cause asthma) in their workplace. The study also found that workers could be exposed to more than one asthmagen depending on the types of tasks undertaken at work.

This summary from Safe Work Australia, describes the results of a national, population-based survey of Australian workers to examine the prevalence of exposures to asthmagens at work.

A full description of the methodology and findings of this study was published in the peer-reviewed paper "The estimated prevalence of exposure to asthmagens in the Australian workforce, 2014." The article in BMC Pulmonary Medicine is open access.