Caused by exposure to energies, materials or processes beyond our bodies' tolerance limits e.g. asbestosis, liver damage, chronic back pain caused by continuous lifting, white-finger disease from excessive vibration, occupational overuse syndrome (RSI). Occupational illnesses sometimes take a long time to develop and it is not always easy to lay the blame solely with the employer as many illnesses are caused by more than one event - for example, cancer, loss of sight.