Occupational Health and Safety- Chapter 3 and 4

Take-home exposures

A type of exposure where hazardous substances from a workplace are unintentionally brought home on clothes skin or hair contaminating homes and potentially harming family members or pets.

DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane.

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls.

Dioxins

A group of highly toxic persistent organic pollutants formed as byproducts of industrial processes incineration or natural events like wildfires; cause reproductive developmental immune hormonal and cancer-related health problems.

PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances; man-made chemicals used to make products resistant to water heat and stains.

Toxic chemicals

Chemicals harmful to health including gases solvents (VOCs) heavy metals petroleum-based products POPs pesticides and certain pharmaceuticals or flavorings.

Rachel Carson

Marine biologist conservationist and author of Silent Spring (1962) which exposed pesticide dangers and inspired the modern environmental movement and creation of the EPA.

Occupational chemical exposure

Workplace hazard where employees contact harmful substances by inhalation skin absorption ingestion or injection causing acute or chronic health effects.

Bhopal disaster

A 1984 industrial accident in Bhopal India where a pesticide plant released toxic methyl isocyanate gas exposing over 500000 people and causing thousands of deaths; led to major improvements in chemical plant safety worldwide.

Latency

The time period between initial exposure to a harmful agent and the appearance of disease or health effects; can last years or decades without symptoms.

Lethal Dose 50 (LD50)

A measure of acute toxicity representing the dose that kills 50 percent of test animals after a single exposure.

Occupational toxicology

The study of how chemicals biological agents and workplace hazards affect human health identifying and evaluating risks to prevent illness and disease.

Additive effect

When multiple toxins produce an effect equal to the sum of their individual effects.

Synergistic effect

When multiple toxins produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

Antagonistic effect

When the combined effect of multiple toxins is less than the sum of their individual effects.

Occupational epidemiology

The study of how workplace exposures affect the frequency and distribution of diseases and injuries in a population.

Epidemiology

The study and analysis of the distribution patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in defined populations to inform public health actions.

Risk

The likelihood of an adverse health event or disease occurring in a population during a specific period.

Epidemic

A sudden increase in the number of cases of a disease or health condition above what is normally expected in a population.

Pandemic

An epidemic that occurs worldwide or across international boundaries affecting a large number of people.

Endemic

A disease or condition that is consistently present but limited to a particular geographic area; occurs at low steady levels.

Prevalence

The proportion of individuals in a population who have a disease or condition at a specific time.

Incidence

The number of new cases of a disease occurring in a population during a specified time period.

Risk factor

An attribute characteristic or exposure that increases the likelihood of injury illness or adverse health outcome.

Toxicology

The study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms.

Toxin

A toxic substance produced naturally by living organisms such as plants animals or microorganisms.

Dose-response relationship

The correlation between the amount of exposure to a substance and the magnitude of the resulting effect.

Threshold

The lowest dose of a substance at which a particular effect is observed.

Synergism

The combined effect of several exposures that is greater than the sum of individual effects.

John Snow

19th-century London physician known as the founder of epidemiology; identified contaminated water as the source of a cholera outbreak in 1849.

Cholera

A bacterial disease spread through contaminated water and food causing severe diarrhea and dehydration.

Chemical industry

A major global and US economic sector producing chemicals used across industries; employs many workers exposed to chemical hazards.