OHS Final

Occupational Health

Area of public health promoting and maintaining the highest degree of physical

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Act)

1970 law establishing federal worker protections and the General Duty Clause requiring safe workplaces

General Duty Clause

Part of OSHA that requires employers to provide a workplace free from recognized hazards that can cause death or serious harm

Clean Air Act

1970 law regulating air pollutants to protect workplace and environmental air quality

Clean Water Act

1972 law regulating discharges into waterways to ensure safe water in workplaces

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

1938 law regulating wages

Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA)

1916 law providing benefits to federal employees injured or ill on the job

Mine Safety and Health Acts

1952–2006 laws protecting coal miners and regulating mining safety

Global Harmonized System (GHS)

2003 system standardizing chemical labeling and safety data sheets (SDS)

Physical Hazards

Workplace risks including noise

Chemical Hazards

Workplace risks including VOCs

Biological Hazards

Workplace risks including viruses

Mechanical/Ergonomic Hazards

Risks from machinery

Coal Mining Hazards

Includes fatalities

Noise Exposure

OSHA requires hearing conservation when 8-hr TWA ≥85 dB

Vibration Exposure

Hand-Arm Vibration or whole-body exposure causing fatigue

Ionizing Radiation

High-energy radiation (X-rays

Non-Ionizing Radiation

Low-energy radiation (microwaves

Epidemic

Sudden increase of cases in a community or region

Pandemic

Epidemic occurring worldwide or over a very wide area

Endemic

Infectious disease habitually present in a geographic area

Latency

Time period between exposure to a harmful agent and manifestation of disease

LD50

Toxicology measure representing dose that kills 50% of test animals

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

1911 NYC fire killing 146 workers due to unsafe conditions and locked doors

Gauley Bridge / Hawk’s Nest Tunnel

1931 US silica dust exposure causing occupational lung disease

Coconut Grove Fire

1942 Boston nightclub fire killing 492 people

Bhopal Disaster

1984 chemical accident in India exposing 500

Bangladesh Factory Collapse

2013 building collapse killing over 1

Chinese Poultry Facility Fire

Industrial fire killing 119 workers

Hippocrates

460–370 BC

Pliny the Elder

23–79 CE

Galen

129–200 CE

Paracelsus

1493–1541

Agricola

1494–1555

Bernardino Ramazzini

1633–1714

Sir Percival Pott

1714–1788

Charles Turner Thackrah

1795–1833

Alice Hamilton

1869–1970

Rachel Carson

1907–1964

WHO (World Health Organization)

Advises on occupational health standards globally

EU-OSHA

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work

US Department of Labor (DOL)

Enforces labor laws

Iceberg Concept

Only a small fraction of occupational injuries/diseases are reported

Take-Home Exposure

Hazardous substances brought home from workplace contaminating family

Child Labor

Use of children in hazardous work

Green Jobs

Jobs in renewable energy

Nanotechnology

Work involving nanoparticles

Cold Weather Hazards

Includes hypothermia

Silica Dust

Crystalline dust ~20x more toxic than coal dust

DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls

Dioxins

Group of highly toxic persistent organic pollutants formed as byproducts of industry

PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

VOCs

Volatile Organic Compounds

Asbestos

Naturally occurring fibrous mineral

Lead

Heavy metal

Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis (CWP)

Lung disease from coal dust inhalation

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic lung disease worsened by coal dust and silica exposure

Hearing Conservation Program

OSHA-required program for noise ≥85 dB including monitoring

Hand-Arm Vibration (HAV)

Vibration exposure from tools causing musculoskeletal and neurological disorders

Whole-Body Vibration

Exposure from vehicles or heavy machinery

Hypothermia

Dangerous drop in body temperature due to cold exposure

Frostbite

Tissue freezing from cold exposure

Trench Foot

Tissue damage from prolonged wet and cold conditions

Latent Occupational Disease

Disease with delayed onset after workplace exposure

Electronic Ink

Example of nanotechnology

Epidemiology

Study of distribution

Risk

Likelihood of an adverse health event or disease in a population

Globalization

Outsourcing and location of work based on cost

Immigrant Workers

Vital to US workforce

Aging Workforce

Older workers in labor force

WHO Occupational Health Services

Provide guidance to employers

LD50

Lethal Dose 50

Cholera

Waterborne bacterial disease studied in epidemiology

John Snow

1849 London cholera outbreak