BOSH

Occupational Safety & Health

generally   defined   as   the   science   of   the anticipation, recognition, evaluation and control of hazards arising in or from the workplace that could impair the health and well-being of workers, taking into account the possible impact on the surrounding communities and the general environment.

three major fields of Occupational Safety and Health

•Occupational Safety

•Occupational Health

•Industrial Hygiene

Occupational Safety

deals with understanding the causes of accidents at work and ways to prevent unsafe acts and unsafe conditions in any workplace

Occupational Health

is a broad concept which explains how the different hazards and risks at work may cause an illness and emphasizes that health programs are essential in controlling work-related and/or occupational diseases

Industrial hygiene

discusses the identification, evaluation, and control of physical, chemical, biological and ergonomic hazards.

Hazard

a source or situation with a potential to cause harm in terms of injury, ill health, damage to property, damage to the environment or a combination of these.

Risk

a combination of the likelihood of an occurrence of a hazardous event with specified period or in specified circumstances and the severity of injury or damage to the health of people, property, environment or any combination of these caused by the event.

Riskk

the probability that a person will be harmed or experience an adverse health effect if exposed to a hazard. It may also apply to situations with property or equipment loss, or harmful effects on the environment

Accident

an unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage, injury or death

Disaster

the serious disruption of the functioning of society, causing widespread human, material or environmental losses, which exceed the ability of the affected people to cope using their own resources.

Vulnerability

is a condition or sets of conditions that reduces people’s ability to prepare for, withstand or respond to a hazard.

Capacity

those positive conditions or abilities which increase a community’s ability to deal with hazards.

Prevention

measures taken to avert a disaster from occurring, if possible (to impede a hazard so that it does not have any harmful effects).

Mitigation

measures taken prior to the impact of a disaster to minimize its effects (sometimes referred to as structural and non-structural measures).

Preparedness

measures taken in anticipation of a disaster to ensure that appropriate and effective actions are taken in the aftermath.

Occupational Accident

an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence arising out of or in connection with work which results in one or more workers incurring a personal injury, disease or death. It can occur outside the usual workplace/premises of the establishment while the worker is on business on behalf of his/her employer, i.e., in another establishment or while on travel, transport or in road traffic.

Occupational Injury

an injury which results from a work-related event or a single instantaneous exposure in the work environment (occupational accident). Where more than one person is injured in a single accident, each case of occupational injury should be counted separately. If one person is injured in more than one occupational accident during the reference period, each case of injury to that person should be counted separately. Recurrent absences due to an injury resulting from a single occupational accident should be treated as the continuation of the same case of occupational injury not as a new case.

Temporary incapacity

case where an injured person was absent from work for at least one day, excluding the day of the accident, and 1) was able to perform again the normal duties of the job or position occupied at the time of the occupational accident or 2) will be able to perform the same job but his/her total absence from work is expected not to exceed a year starting the day after the accident, or 3) did not return to the same job but the reason for changing the job is not related to his/her inability to perform the job at the time of the occupational accident.

Permanent incapacity

case where an injured person was absent from work for at least one day, excluding the day of the accident, and 1) was never able to perform again the normal duties of the job or position occupied at the time of the occupational accident, or 2) will be able to perform the same job but his/her total absence from work is expected to exceed a year starting the day after the accident.

Fatal Case

case where a person is fatally injured as a result of occupational accident whether death occurs immediately after the accident or within the same reference year as the accident.

Hazard Identification

identify hazards and risk factors that have the potential to cause harm. Equipment products, environment, organization, human

Safety Hazards

may result to injury

Health Hazards

may result to illness

Risk Analysis

analyze and evaluate the risk associated with that hazard

Engineering Control

take appropriate action to reduce or eliminate those hazards and its risks

ESEAP

Elimination, Substitution, Engineering Controls, Administration Controls, PPE

Unsafe/Unhealthy Conditions

is characterized by a physical or chemical property of a material, machine or the environment which could possibly cause injury to people, damage to property, and other losses

Unsafe/Unhealthy Act

is any human action that violates a commonly accepted safe work procedure or standard operating procedure

RA NO.11058

An Act Strengthening Compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Standards and Providing Penalties for Violations

Industrial Hygiene?

“the science and art devoted to the recognition, evaluation and control of environmental factors or stresses arising in or from the workplace, which may cause sickness, impaired health and well-being, or significant discomfort and inefficiency among workers or citizens of the community.

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS

refers to the process of dealing with the effects of hazard exposure such as damage to human health, prescribing medicines for treatment and prevention, and conducting pre-employment, along with periodic, medical examinations. Ultimately, OHS aims to assess potential occupational diseases so that continuous healthcare assistance can be provided to workers.

Industrial Hygiene

aims to reduce or remove work hazard exposure by implementing a series of controls and programs toward keeping the workplace clean, free from environmental stressors, and hygienic

5 PRINCIPLES OF INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE

ARECC - ANTICIPATION, RECOGNITION, EVALUATION, CONTROL, CONFIRMATION

ANTICIPATE HAZARDS

RECOGNIZING THAT PREVENTION IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE APPROACH TO MANAGING OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS

RECOGNITION OF HEALTH HAZARDS

EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF RECOGNIZING AND UNDERSTANDING THE POTENTIAL HAZARDS OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT, INTERNAL PROCESSES, AND JOB TASKS, INCLUDING CHEMICAL AND PHYSICAL HAZARDS AT A WORKPLACE

EVALUATION OF EXPOSURE

AFTER ANTICIPATING AND RECOGNIZING YOUR HEALTH HAZARDS, IT’S TIME TO EVALUATE THE RISK OF EXPOSURE THROUGH AN OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT.

INDUSTRIAL HYGIENE MONITORING

CAPTURES THE EXPOSURE LEVEL OF A CERTAIN POPULATION OF WORKERS DURING THEIR WORK ACTIVITIES AT A CERTAIN TIM

CONTROL OVER WORKER EXPOSURE

REFERS TO THE CONCEPT OF IMPLEMENTING MEASURES TO MINIMIZE OR ELIMINATE WORKERS’ EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES IN THE WORKPLACE WHEN HAZARDOUS EXPOSURE IS DETERMINED TO BE UNACCEPTABLE

CONFIRMATION OF CONTROL MEASURES

THIS STEP HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPORTANCE OF ASSESSING THE PERFORMANCE OF HAZARD CONTROL MEASURES AND SUBSEQUENT WORKER EXPOSURES

Industrial Hygienists

highly trained professionals who specialize in the science of ANTICIPATING, RECOGNIZING, EVALUATING, CONTROLLING and CONFIRMING PROTECTION from HAZARDOUS WORKPLACE CONDITIONS that may cause workers INJURY or ILLNESS

ENGINEERING CONTROL

Design or modifications to plants, equipments, systems and processes to reduce the source of exposure.

ADMINISTRATIVE & WORK PRACTICE CONTROL

Establishing policies, procedures and work practices designed to reduce a worker's exposure to a risk. It can also include the provision of trainings and supervision

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT CONTROL

Covering and protecting a worker's body from hazards. IH’s would have to provide training for workers required to use it, and the employee would have a responsibility to implement it strictly

Occupational Health Hazards

is any workplace condition that causes a risk to employee health. It is the factors that can have negative impacts on our short- or long- term health. Exposure can occur through touch, inhalation, and ingestion.

OSHA

government organization in charge of keeping workers safe, has defined six main categories of occupational hazards : SAFETY, CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, PHYSICAL, ERGONOMIC, and WORK ORGANIZATION HAZARD

Industrial hygiene

one of the disciplines necessary in the implementation of safety and health in the workplace.

Chemical.Hazard

are hazardous substances that can cause harm. These hazards can result in both health and physical impacts, such as skin irritation, respiratory system irritation, blindness, corrosion and explosion.

Chemical Hazards

arise from inhaling chemical agents in the form of vapors, gases, dusts, fumes, and mists, or by skin contact with these materials. The degree of risk of handling a given substance depends on the magnitude and duration of exposure.

Gases

are substances in gaseous state are airborne at room temperature.

Examples are chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, phosgene and formaldehyde.

Vapor

Gases formed when liquid evaporates

results when substances that are liquid at room temperature evaporate.

Examples are the components of organic solvents such as benzene, toluene, acetone, and xylene.

Mist

Suspended liquid droplets when vapor condenses back to liquid

a fine particles of a liquid float in air (particle size of 5 to 100 um approximately.

Examples: nitric acid and sulfuric acid.

Dust

Refers to the suspension of solid particles in air

is a solid harmful substances are ground, cut or crushed by mechanical actions and fine particles float in air (particle size of about 1 to 150 um). Examples are metal dusts and asbestos.

Fume

is a gas (such as metal vapor) condensed in air, chemically changed and becomes fine solid particles which float in air (particles size of about 0.1 to 1 um).

Examples are oxides generated from molten metal such as cadmium oxide, beryllium oxide, etc.

PHYSICAL HAZARDS

These are environmental factors that can harm an employee without necessarily touching them. Problems relating to such things as extremes of temperature, heat stress, vibration, radiation, abnormal air pressure, illumination, noise, and vibration are physical stresses.

It is important that the employer, supervisor, and those responsible for safety and health are on guard to these hazards due to the possible immediate or cumulative effects on the health of the employees

Extreme temperature

affect the amount of work that people can do and the manner in which they do it. In industry, the problem is more often high temperatures rather than low temperatures.

Heat Stress

may be experienced by workers exposed to excessive heat arising from work. Workers at risk of heat stress include outdoor workers and workers in hot environments such as firefighters, bakery workers, farmers, construction workers, miners, boiler room workers, factory workers, etc. workers aged 65 and older, those with heart disease, hypertension or those taking medications are at a greater risk for heat stress.

Air Temperature

known as the ambient room temperature.

Air Humidity

the amount of water vapor or moisture content of the air.

Air Velocity

the rate at which air moves and is important in heat exchange between the human body and the environment. because of its role in convective and evaporative heat transfer.

Air movement

cools the body by convection, the moving air removes the air film or the saturated air (which is formed very rapidly by evaporation of sweat) and replaces it with a fresh air layer, capable of accepting more moisture from the skin.

Radiant Temperature

the thermal load of solar and infrared radiation in the human body.

Clothing

working clothes style/design/mode and the type of fabric can affect the body heat temperature.

Physical Workload

may be categorized as light, moderate, or heavy depending on the task or job activity carried out by the worker.

Cold stress

Workers exposed to extreme cold or work in cold environments such as those in ice plants or refrigerated workplaces may be at risk of cold stress.

NOISE

UNWANTED SOUND IS A FORM OF VIBRATION CONDUCTED THROUGH SOLIDS, LIQUIDS, OR GASES.

Continuous noise

a steady state noise with negligible level fluctuations during the period of observation

Intermittent noise

levels shift significantly during observation

Impact noise

consists of one or more bursts of sound energy, each lasting less than one second

VIBRATION

USUALLY REFERS TO THE INAUDIBLE ACOUSTIC PHENOMENA, WHICH ARE RECOGNIZED BY THROUGH TOUCH AND FEELING. IT IS A VECTOR QUANTITY DESCRIBED B

RADIATION

IT IS THE EMISSION OR TRANSMISSION OF ENERGY AS WAVES OR MOVING PARTICLES

Electromagnetic waves / radiation

are produced by the motion of electrically charged particles. they radiate from the electrically charged particles.

INADEQUATE ILLUMINATION

THE MEASURE OF THE STREAM OF LIGHT FALLING ON A SURFACE IS KNOWN AS ILLUMINATION

Lux

unit of measurement.

Luminance

measure of light coming from a source

Reflectance

ability of a surface to return light.

Glare

is caused by bright light sources which can be seen by looking in the range from straight-ahead to 450 above the horizontal. There are two types of glare: direct and reflected.

Direct Glare

produced when light is positioned at the surface. It can be prevented by correct installation of lighting fittings, installing louvers below the light source, enclosing the lamps in bowl reflectors, and opaque or prismatic shades.

Reflected Glare

produced when light is reflected off a shiny surface. It may be addressed by providing indirect lighting.

Daylight

also called natural light depends on the availability at the location and weather condition.

Electric Light

can come from: Incandescent lamps or bulbs Fluorescent lamps or tubes * High intensity discharge or mercury

General lighting

illuminating the entire premises

Local lighting

directing light on a particular object that you are working with.

Nature of work

more light will be required if one is working with small objects.

Environment

the ability of the surrounding surfaces to reflect light.

Eyesight of the workers

the ability of the eye to adjust rapidly to different distances declines as people grow older.

Biological Hazards.

any virus, bacteria, fungus, parasite, or living organism that can cause a disease in human beings. They can be a part of the total environment or associated with certain occupations such as medical professions, food preparation and handling, livestock raising, etc.

MICROBIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

micro organisms that can contaminate any products.

MACRO BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

include parasites and worms that are single-celled organisms. Human beings may be infected with single-celled parasites (e.g. Giardia lamblia) through consumption of contaminated water and foods like raw vegetables.

ERGONOMIC HAZARDS

refers to any physical condition or factor found in the workplace that can cause injury or health hazards and concerns, both in the short and long term.

CONFINED SPACE

AN ENCLOSED OR A PARTIALLY ENCLOSED SPACE. IT HAS RESTRICTED ENTRANCE AND EXIT

Walk-through/ocular inspection

this is necessary in identifying the potential hazards and determining the critical conditions in the workplace. It will be good to make a checklist for inspection.

Review of the process involved

The identity of the chemical intermediates formed in the course of an industrial process and the toxicological properties of these intermediates may be difficult to establish. Undesirable chemical by-products such as carbon monoxide resulting from the incomplete combustion of organic material may be formed.

Knowing the raw materials, by-products and finished products

Knowing about the ________________ and the nature of the products manufactured will help you determine the specific contaminants to which workers are actually exposed. Possible impurities in raw materials such as benzene in some solvents should be considered.

Gathering workers’ complaints

the actual chemicals or substances handled may be determined by interviewing the workers. More so, their complaints can also be gathered and assessed in the clinic record.

Safety Data Sheet

summary of important health, safety and toxicological information on the chemical or the mixture ingredients. It should contain.

GLOBALLY HARMONIZED SYSTEM

international standard for classifying chemicals and communicating its hazards.

It is a basis for establishing a comprehensive national chemical safety program, and a comprehensive approach to defining and classifying hazards and communicating information on labels and safety data sheets

Physical hazards

explosives, flammable gases/aerosols, oxidizing gases, corrosive to metal, substances and mixtures which, in contact with water, emit flammable gases, and others.

Health hazards

acute toxicity, skin corrosion/ irritation, serious eye damage/eye irritation, respiratory or skin sensitization, carcinogenicity, reproductive toxicity, aspiration hazards, and others.

Environmental hazards

hazardous to aquatic environment, hazardous to the ozone layer, and others.

Personal Monitoring

the measurement of a particular employee’s exposure to airborne contaminants.