The politics of silicosis in interwar Spain : republican and francoist approaches to occupational health

This article explores the emergence and recognition of silicosis as an occupational disease in interwar Spain. Following International Labour Office guidelines, growing international concerns and local medical evidence, Republican administrators provided the first health care facilities to silicosis sufferers, who eventually became entitled to compensation under the Law of Occupational Diseases (1936), poorly implemented due to the outbreak of the Civil War (1936-39). Silicosis became a priority issue on the political agenda of the new dictatorial regime because it affected lead and coalmining, key sectors for autarchic policies. The Silicosis Scheme (1941) provided compensation for sufferers, although benefits were minimised by its narrow coverage and the application of tight criteria

Reseñas

Arthur McIVOR ; Ronald JOHNSTON, Miners' lung. A history of dust disease in British coal minin

Radiological protection in the Spanish nuclear industry under Franco, 1939-1975

Este trabajo es una reelaboración del capítulo de la memoria de doctorado de Sánchez Vázquez, 2010, p.189-215, dedicado a la protección radiológica.En los debates sobre la controversia nuclear pocas veces se presenta en primera plana la cuestión de la seguridad laboral en las instalaciones radiactivas. Históricamente se ha priorizado la atención a los potenciales daños a la población general frente a la propia seguridad de los trabajadores empleados en instalaciones de riesgo. Con objeto de cubrir parcialmente ese vacío historiográfico, este trabajo pretende llevar a cabo un acercamiento al desarrollo de la protección radiológica laboral en España durante la dictadura del general Franco (1939-1975). Para ello repasaremos el surgimiento de las medidas de protección radiológica en el ámbito internacional y el posterior desarrollo legislativo en el caso español, proceso que fue paralelo al crecimiento del programa nuclear nacional. Para finalizar, exploraremos las principales evidencias del impacto de las radiaciones ionizantes sobre la población laboral españolaIn debates about nuclear controversy, the issue of occupational safety in radioactive facilities is rarely foregrounded; it has historically been relegated to second place compared to the attention given to potential harm to the general population. Aiming for, al least, partially filling this historiographical gap, this article deals with the development of occupational radiological protection in Spain under the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1975). It covers the rise of radiological protection measures on an international level and the subsequent development of legislation in the case of Spain, a process that paralleled the growth of the nation’s nuclear program. Finally, it explores the main evidence of the impact of ionizing radiation on Spain’s working population