STUDY LABOUR AND SOCIAL JUSTICE EXPLOITATION BY EXPOSURE How Toxic Substances Poison Workers’ Rights Baskut Tuncak July 2019 Chronic exposure to toxic ­substances at the workplace represents a particularly vi­­cious form of exploitation of workers. Over two million workers die every year from occupational diseases, of which nearly one million are due to toxic exposures alone. Solutions to end this abuse of workers’ rights are available, should States choose to com­pel businesses to adopt them. To this end, the UN Human Rights Council’s mandate on human rights and hazardous substances and wastes has de­veloped 15 principles to help States, business enterprises and other stakeholders better pro­tect workers whose rights are infringed by occupational ex­posures to toxic and otherwise hazardous substances.