A/HRC/42/41 translating evidence into concrete measures necessary to protect workers. The various methods by which certain business enterprises have sought to delay the adoption of protective laws and regulations, for example, through targeted campaigns to distort science, are well documented.46 47. Efforts by any actor to hinder the adoption of health-protective laws, exposure standards and improved practices illustrate the contempt for the duties and responsibilities to prevent workers’ exposure to toxics. They go beyond disrespect for human rights, seeking to perpetuate the exploitation of inequalities within and between societies. 48. States must prevent, through legislation or other measures, the deliberate tampering with, obfuscation or distortion of scientific evidence or the manipulation of processes by business enterprises and other third parties to the detriment of workers’ health and safety, while ensuring that such efforts respect the right to freedom of expression. Notably, the protection of public health is a legitimate exception to freedom of expression.47 Perpetrators of such misconduct should be held accountable, including through criminal sanctions where appropriate. Principle 7 – Protecting workers from exposure to toxic substances protects their families, their communities and the environment. Commentary 49. When a worker is exposed to a toxic workplace, the consequences of such exposure stretch far beyond their well-being and violations of their rights. The physical and mental consequences of such exposure are also borne by their families and generally lead to a toxic environment for their communities. For example, air pollutants can not only affect the health of workers directly exposed but also the health of their children and broader communities. Workers engaged in highly toxic livelihoods such as artisanal mining, waste disposal and a range of manufacturing (such as textiles) and agricultural activities often work very close to their homes and communities, sometimes accompanied or helped by their children. 50. Protecting workers from toxic exposures has broader benefits for society. Potential synergies can be realized through stronger cooperation between labour and environmental health efforts at all levels of governance. States should recognize the mutually reinforcing nature of protecting workers from occupational exposures to toxic substances and the protection of the environment. Laws and policies to protect human health from toxic substances should take into account both occupational and environmental exposures, among other factors. States should ensure effective cooperation between authorities with responsibility for labour, public health and the environment. B. Principles regarding information, participation and assembly 51. Everyone, including workers, has the inalienable rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association, including the freedom to join and form trade unions, and the right to information. 52. The rights to information, participation and freedom of expression and association, as well as the rights to unionize and collective bargaining, enable the prevention of violations and abuses of human rights arising from toxic exposures of workers. Furthermore, the full realization of the right to information is necessary to realize the right of workers to an effective remedy for the adverse impacts of such exposures. 46 47 12 David Michaels, ed., Doubt Is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science Threatens Your Health (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2008). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 19 (3) (b).