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Exposed to Contaminants

Work context · O*NET

Exposed to Contaminants is a work-context dimension in the O*NET database — one of the standardized conditions O*NET uses to describe the environment a job is done in , grouped under Physical Work Conditions. O*NET defines it by asking workers: "How often does this job require working exposed to contaminants (such as pollutants, gases, dust or odors)?." It is rated for 894 occupations, which average 2.72 out of 5 (moderate relative to other context dimensions).

How it's measured

O*NET rates each occupation on this dimension on a 1–5 context-importance scale (the CX scale), where higher means the condition is a more frequent or more central part of the work. The figures on this page are those occupation-level ratings — a description of working conditions as workers report them, not a judgment about pay, difficulty, or whether a job is "good."

Economy-wide average 2.72 / 5 Mean across all 894 rated occupations
Range across occupations 1.00–5.00 Lowest to highest occupation rating (spread 4.00)
Intensity vs. other dimensions 46th pct Where this dimension's average ranks among all O*NET work-context dimensions

Occupations where it's highest

The occupations that rate this condition strongest on the 1–5 scale.

Occupation Rating Score
Automotive Body and Related Repairers 5.00
Continuous Mining Machine Operators 5.00
Refractory Materials Repairers, Except Brickmasons 5.00
Wellhead Pumpers 5.00
Derrick Operators, Oil and Gas 4.99
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing 4.99
Motorcycle Mechanics 4.98
Roof Bolters, Mining 4.98
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders 4.95
Floor Sanders and Finishers 4.90
Chemical Technicians 4.89
Foundry Mold and Coremakers 4.88
Chemical Plant and System Operators 4.85
Pump Operators, Except Wellhead Pumpers 4.85
Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics 4.83
Biofuels Processing Technicians 4.82
Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists 4.80
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers 4.79
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders 4.78
Loading and Moving Machine Operators, Underground Mining 4.78
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment 4.77
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood 4.77
Service Unit Operators, Oil and Gas 4.77
Medical Equipment Preparers 4.76
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic 4.74

Occupations where it's lowest

The occupations that rate this condition weakest — where it is rarely part of the work.

Occupation Rating Score
Business Intelligence Analysts 1.00
Financial Quantitative Analysts 1.00
Political Scientists 1.00
Search Marketing Strategists 1.00
Survey Researchers 1.00
Talent Directors 1.00
Video Game Designers 1.00
Budget Analysts 1.02
Paralegals and Legal Assistants 1.02
Art Directors 1.03
Insurance Claims and Policy Processing Clerks 1.03
Technical Writers 1.03
Actuaries 1.04
Biostatisticians 1.04
Clinical Neuropsychologists 1.04
Directors, Religious Activities and Education 1.04
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 1.04
Genetic Counselors 1.04
Software Developers 1.04
Treasurers and Controllers 1.04
Compensation and Benefits Managers 1.05
Credit Analysts 1.05
Computer Programmers 1.07
Insurance Underwriters 1.07
School Psychologists 1.07

How AI is used by roles where exposed to contaminants is central

A working condition is not itself "being automated" — but we can look at the occupations where it is most central and ask how those people actually use AI. This rolls the Anthropic Economic Index per-role signal up across the roles that rate this condition 3 or higher (CX-rating-weighted). 40.1% of the 362 occupations where this condition is present carry observed AI-usage data (145 roles).

Across those roles, 31.5% of AI conversations are people working with AI and 33.4% hand a task to AI , with an average autonomy of 3.41 / 5.

Collaboration pattern Share What it means
directive 28.1% AI does it; you give the instruction
learning 20.4% you ask AI to explain or teach
task iteration 10.0% you and AI go back and forth
feedback loop 5.3% AI does it, then adjusts from your feedback
validation 1.2% you do it; AI checks your work

Roles behind this signal

The occupations where this condition is most central and that also have the most AEI data. "Works with AI" is the role's share of conversations that augment rather than automate.

Occupation Condition (1–5) Works with AI Autonomy
Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary 3.3 66.0% 4.0/5
Computer, Automated Teller, and Office Machine Repairers 3.2 33.4% 4.0/5
Reservation and Transportation Ticket Agents and Travel Clerks 3.0 42.8% 3.0/5
Chemists 3.1 61.8% 4.0/5
Chemical Technicians 4.9 53.9% 4.0/5
Correctional Officers and Jailers 3.0 52.7% 3.0/5
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 3.0 54.8% 3.0/5
Counter and Rental Clerks 3.4 55.5% 3.5/5
Microbiologists 3.9 56.2% 4.0/5
Clinical Nurse Specialists 3.1 55.2% 4.0/5
Dietetic Technicians 3.1 48.8% 4.0/5
Patternmakers, Wood 4.0 30.1% 2.5/5

Source: Anthropic Economic Index (2026-01-15-v4-plus-2025-03-27-v2) over a sample of Claude.ai Free and Pro conversations — not all AI tools and not the whole workforce. This is a role-weighted projection from AEI-linked occupations where this condition is central, not a direct measurement of AI use for the condition itself. Shares are weighted by how central the condition is to each role; some conversations are left unclassified by Anthropic's taxonomy, so shares need not sum to 100.

Sources for this page

Every figure above traces to a named public dataset and the exact release below — not hand-written opinion. See the full methodology for what each measure does and does not mean.

Data compiled June 2, 2026. Figures are estimates, not advice.

Cite this page
Plain

Singulariki. "Exposed to Contaminants." Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Built from O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026. https://singulariki.com/work-context/exposed-to-contaminants

APA

Singulariki. (2026). Exposed to Contaminants. Singulariki: a source-backed encyclopedia of work. Retrieved June 7, 2026, from https://singulariki.com/work-context/exposed-to-contaminants

BibTeX
@misc{singulariki-exposed-to-contaminants,
  title  = {Exposed to Contaminants},
  author = {{Singulariki}},
  year   = {2026},
  note   = {O*NET 30.3; Anthropic Economic Index v4 (2026-01-15) + v2 (2025-03-27). Accessed June 7, 2026},
  url    = {https://singulariki.com/work-context/exposed-to-contaminants}
}

Citations name the underlying public dataset releases — they reflect what this page is built from, not just the URL.