L. Elinson et Ks. Yeung, POLICY DEVELOPMENT FOR COMPENSATING WORKERS EXPOSED TO CRYSTALLINE SILICA IN ONTARIO, CANADA, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health, 21, 1995, pp. 111-114
The Ontario Workers' Compensation Board develops policy for diseases b
y considering scientific information within legal, political, and soci
al contexts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the process used
to develop a policy for lung cancer among gold miners and to examine
the extent to which this process assists the development of similar gu
idelines for workers with silica dust exposure. The scientific and pol
icy questions are similar, both requiring consultation with stakeholde
rs. To improve the development process for the gold miner policy, cons
ultation for silica and lung cancer needs to be more inclusive. The re
sulting procedures would also need to be precise enough to assist adju
dicators to make decisions without limiting their ability to decide ea
ch claim on the merits of the case. The major challenge is to ensure t
hat the final policy is scientifically and legally supportable and acc
eptable to both workers and employers.