~We suffered in silence~ : health and safety at Chatham Dockyard, 1945 to 1984 : evaluating the causes and management of occupational hazards, relating especially to asbestos, ionising radiation and masculinity
This thesis is designed to enhance knowledge and understanding of a range of issues relating to the health and safety of the workforce at Chatham Dockyard from 1945 until its closure in 1984. During this period, the Chatham Dockyard workforce was predominantly white, male and working class. Many workers entered the Dockyard with the expectation of a job for life, while others aimed to take advantage of the superior education system to advance to management grades or to progress to further education and/or a career in naval architecture. The majority of workers lived locally and generations of families from the Medway area earned their living in the Dockyard. Casual workers were also employed and came and went as labour requirements fluctuated, while women occupied positions in clerical, cooking, cleaning, sailmaking, ropemaking and, latterly, traditional male roles such as engineering, slinging and plumbing. A key objective of this study is to establish how dangerous it was to work in the Dockyard, with particular reference to the significant hazards posed by asbestos and ionising radiation. The effectiveness of efforts to mitigate the risks of Dockyard labour is assessed, while the health and safety legislative
Taaffe, Emma
History
~We suffered in silence~ : health and safety at Chatham Dockyard, 1945 to 1984 : evaluating the causes and management of occupational hazards, relating especially to asbestos, ionising radiation and masculinity. This thesis is designed to enhance knowledge and understanding of a range of issues relating to the health and safety of the workforce at Chatham Dockyard from 1945 until its closure in 1984. During this period, the Chatham Dockyard workforce was predominantly white, male and working class. Many workers entered the Dockyard with the expectation of a job for life, while others aimed to take advantage of the superior education system to advance to management grades or to progress to further education and/or a career in naval architecture. The majority of workers lived locally and generations of families from the Medway area earned their living in the Dockyard. Casual workers were also employed and came and went as labour requirements fluctuated, while women occupied positions in clerical, cooking, cleaning, sailmaking, ropemaking and, latterly, traditional male roles such as engineering, slinging and plumbing. A key objective of this study is to establish how dangerous it was to work in the Dockyard, with particular reference to the significant hazards posed by asbestos and ionising radiation. The effectiveness of efforts to mitigate the risks of Dockyard labour is assessed, while the health and safety legislative
suffer silence health safety dockyard evaluating cause management occupational hazard relate especially radiation masculinity design enhance knowledge range issue_relate health safety workforce dockyard closure period dockyard workforce predominantly white male work_class many worker enter dockyard expectation job life others aim take_advantage superior education_system advance management grade progress education and career naval architecture majority worker live locally generation family area earn live dockyard casual worker also_employ come labour requirement fluctuate woman occupy position clerical cooking cleaning latterly traditional male role engineering key objective study establish dangerous work dockyard particular_reference significant hazard pose radiation effectiveness effort mitigate risk dockyard labour assess health safety legislative