Occupational health issues in marine and freshwater research

Although employment in the field of environmental research is often seen as glamorous, adventurous and exciting, as with many other occupations, specific hazards must be considered in order to maximise safety during routine performance of required tasks. Marine and freshwater scientists are potentially exposed to a wide variety of occupational hazards, and depending on the focus of their research, risks may include animal attacks, physiological stresses, exposure to toxins and carcinogens, and dangerous environmental conditions [1-4]. Furthermore, technological developments have expanded the range of environments and conditions in which marine and freshwater researchers are capable of working. For example, advances in dry suit technology have enabled broader polar research, modern ship design has allowed access to open ocean for longer periods of time, and developments in submarine technology has resulted in exploration of deeper water.While procedures can be implemented to reduce the occupational risks associated with their field, environmental researchers must remain cautious of potential hazards. Marine and freshwater research remains a potentially risky occupation, and the likelihood of death, injury and long-term health impacts needs to be seriously considered. Although a substantial quantity of literature deals with various safety issues and the dangers from biota that this group may experience during their work [5,6], relatively few studies have focused on the specific occupational health aspects of this group, and few if any published studies describing occupational risk are research-specific. Consequently, much of this discussion explores the potential hazards that aquatic researchers may experience and attempts to relate these hazards to marine and freshwater research activity. Risks faced by SCUBA divers, for example, while being well-documented, have not generally been considered from an occupational perspective and much of the relevant literature pertai