The Quiet Sickness
A Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America
The American Industrial Hygiene Association is pleased to present a book of photographs by Earl Dotter
From the Foreword by Dr. Robert Coles
The Quiet Sickness: A Photographic Chronicle of Hazardous Work in America will serve as testimony to those “men and women whose labor enables the rest of us to keep warm or eat well or be sheltered, or have a place to work, or drive a car. ... [Dotter’s] camera has asked us to consider others as well as ourselves — such as the miner ... who once pointed out: ‘some of us have no choice but to get hurt slowly so we can bring in a paycheck every week; otherwise, your family gets hurt real fast.’”
In this book, renowned photographer Earl Dotter chronicles the pervasive consequences of hazardous work in the United States, where individual tragedies are largely unseen by the public. His photos emphasize the dignity, skills, and satisfactions of these workers, as well as their dangerous and dehumanizing aspects. In his own words, “When I experience tragedy in the workplace I use the camera to explore not just the person or event, but my own reaction to it. If I am successful, the viewer will be able to stand before the photograph and feel the intensity of the moment as I myself felt it.”
“As I walk through a mine or a mill, there are individuals who project an inner dignity, even under the most difficult conditions.”
— Earl Dotter
Arranged according to subject category, such as health care; construction/maintenance trades; agriculture/food production; and job satisfaction, these photographs provide a comprehensive and evocative look at life on the job and in the community.
Earl Dotter’s photographs have been used extensively in textbooks, health and safety manuals, national magazines, and by OSHA and NIOSH. As Dotter says, “When I walk through a mine, mill, or factory, I find myself drawn to those subjects who emanate a sense of personal worth and belonging to the human family. When I experience tragedy in the workplace I use the camera to explore not just the person or event, but my own reaction to it. If I am successful, then the viewer will be better able to stand before the photograph and feel the intensity of the moment as I myself felt it.”