Damage from dust, noise and toxic chemicals can't be reversed: the employer must supply protective gear, and you can refuse work that has no protective measures
- High value
- Evidence A
- Buys life
- Free
- Takes minutes
- Long-term effort
In plain words
Pneumoconiosis (dust disease of the lungs), noise-induced deafness and chemical eye burns are all statutory occupational diseases, and once lungs and hearing are damaged they can't be cured. You have the right to know what hazards the post has, and the right to ask the employer for protective facilities and protective gear. You can decline work that has no protection. If the employer cuts your pay or dismisses you for that, it does not count.
- Cost
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Free. The hard part is wearing a particulate respirator, earplugs and eye protection all the time, and refusing work with no protection, at the price of maybe being called someone who makes trouble.
- What you get
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From August 1, 2025, statutory occupational diseases are 135 kinds in 12 major categories, including 4 open-ended clauses. First in the list is occupational pneumoconiosis. It includes silicosis, coal workers' pneumoconiosis, graphite pneumoconiosis, carbon black pneumoconiosis, asbestosis and talc pneumoconiosis. There are also cement pneumoconiosis, mica pneumoconiosis, potters' pneumoconiosis, aluminosis, electric welders' pneumoconiosis and foundry workers' pneumoconiosis, plus one open-ended clause. Under occupational ear, nose, throat and mouth diseases are noise-induced deafness and blast deafness. Under occupational eye diseases are chemical eye burns and electric-flash ophthalmia. These injuries are irreversible, and no treatment can repair the lungs and hearing. The law gives four rights you can invoke on the spot. First, to know what occupational disease hazards the workplace has, what harm they can cause, and what protective measures should be taken. Second, to ask the employer for qualified protective facilities and personal protective equipment and for better working conditions. Third, to criticize, report and file complaints about practices that violate the occupational disease prevention laws and regulations and practices that endanger life and health. Fourth, to "refuse orders that break the rules and forced orders to do work with no occupational disease protective measures," so you can decline non-compliant orders and unprotected work. And "if an employer lowers a worker's wages, benefits and other treatment, or ends or terminates the labor contract, because the worker exercised legitimate rights according to law, the act is invalid." If you are given a pay cut, a worse deal or dismissal because you used these rights, those acts do not count (nationwide).
- Notes
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Choose the right mask: only a particulate respirator blocks dust, and ordinary gauze masks and disposable surgical masks do not. If the employer doesn't give earplugs at a noisy post, buy your own, for a few yuan a pair, because lost hearing can't be made up. "Work two years, save enough and leave" doesn't hold for pneumoconiosis. Silicosis can appear many years after leaving dusty work, and it keeps getting worse. So the checkup on leaving matters a great deal (see §19.9, the 3 occupational health checkups arranged and paid for by the employer). The new list also adds two categories. One is occupational musculoskeletal disease, which includes carpal tunnel syndrome, limited to manufacturing workers who repeatedly use the wrist or work with force for long periods. The other is occupational mental and behavioral disorder, which includes post-traumatic stress disorder, limited to emergency responders such as police officers, medical and health workers and fire and rescue personnel who took part in handling sudden incidents. For handling chemicals splashed on the body on the spot, see §13.21.
- Evidence grade
- A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.
- Sources
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- 国家卫生健康委、人力资源社会保障部、国家疾控局、全国总工会 (2024). 职业病分类和目录（2025 年 8 月 1 日起实施）. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengceku/202412/content_6992843.htm
- 新版目录 12 大类 135 种的口径见国家卫生健康委 (2024). 新版目录将职业病调整为 12 大类 135 种. https://www.gov.cn/lianbo/bumen/202412/content_6992838.htm
- 全国人大常委会 (2018). 职业病防治法（第三十九条）. https://www.beijing.gov.cn/zhengce/zhengcefagui/qtwj/201711/t20171104_779851.html（北京市人民政府转载）
Mentioned in
- Before using an angle grinder, fit the guard, wear safety glasses plus a face shield, hold it firmly with both hands, and never mount a wood saw blade to cut wood
- Don't buy blue-light glasses to “protect your eyesight,” and don't believe that “a few months facing a screen ruins your eyes,” but treat swollen, painful, red eyes as an emergency
- If acid, alkali or another chemical splashes on you, take off the contaminated clothing at once, rinse with plenty of running water, hold the eyelids open when rinsing the eyes, and don't leave until you have rinsed long enough
Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 19, tip 10. This section describes legal rules, mostly mainland China’s. It is general information, not legal advice; for your own case, talk to a lawyer. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer