[Female workers health: the case of a laundry at a sodium chlorate factory]

This article presents a case study on working and health conditions of female workers and former workers in the laundry at a sodium chlorate plant. The women's main function was to wash uniforms of workmen who handled metallic mercury during production and maintenance. The aim of this study is to show the health effects of this work process by analyzing workplace conditions, evaluating clinical aspects in the women, and performing individual interviews in order to obtain more precise information based on their personal experience. The authors demonstrate how harmful this type of work is to the women workers' health, posing a serious risk for them in particular and workers' conditions in general in the factory. They also point out that most of what is known about women's occupational activity (in terms of its contents and risks), in addition to their specific problems and different diseases, may be disguised by gender relationships.