OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

ORIENTAL INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT. HEMANT TANAJI SONAWANE. Roll No. 8119

3/31/2011

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INDEX:

1 Introduction

2 Occupational Safety and Health Act

3 Most Common Occupational Health Hazards

4 Different Types of Occupational Health and Safety Jobs

NE INTRODUCTION: Occupational hazards are dangers to human health and well being which are associated with specific occupations. While efforts are made to reduce hazards, these hazards remain present in the workplace by nature of the profession. For a telephone lineperson, for example, falls from height are an occupational hazard because members of telephone crews need to work at heights to do their work. Recognizing occupational hazards is the first step in working on risk reduction programs for the workplace to keep work as safe and healthy as possible. Some jobs are, by their very nature, extremely hazardous. Jobs with numerous occupational hazards often provide better pay for their employees, in recognition of the danger, and they are also usually charged higher rates for insurance, because underwriters recognize that the chance of paying out on that insurance is much higher. For example, insuring professional firefighters is more expensive than providing basic disability insurance for a small office, because the assumption is that firefighting is dangerous. Occupational hazards may lead to illness, injury, or death. They can include physical risks like falls and exposures to heavy machinery, along with psychological ones such as stress. Occupational hazards like exposure to chemical, biological, and radiological agents are also a concern. In people who work in jobs with at recognized occupational safety hazard, special training is often provided so that people are made aware of the hazard. Given that these hazards cannot be eliminated, workplaces take steps to address them. For example, people who are exposed to radiation are expected to wear radiation badges to monitor their exposure so that if their exposure level becomes dangerous, they can be treated. Likewise, people who work at heights wear safety harnesses so that if they fall, they are less likely to be injured. Emergency response plans are also in place to handle workplace injuries and accidents quickly and efficiently. The Occupational Safety and Health Act, also known as OSHA, is a United States' federal law regulating the protection of workers from on-the-job hazards. A landmark piece of legislation, the 1970 Occupational Safety and Health Act was one of the first pieces of US legislation to emphasize the importance of worker safety over business profitability. Among many provisions, OSHA required employers to provide a safe working environment, and granted the Secretary of Labor jurisdiction over the creation of standards and policy regarding occupational safety regulations.

Occupational Safety and Health Act The mid-20th century was a boom time for American business and commercial enterprise. Extraordinary technological developments led to extensive changes in factory and workplace life, including the integration of mass producing machines, and the use of chemical products. The downside to this innovation was that new products and ideas were often put into use without any regard to worker safety or health. A growing list of workplace deaths, chemically-induced illnesses, and horrifying injuries led to calls from union leaders and workers to enact federal legislation to protect workers. Thanks to heavy business lobbying, a similar act put forth by President Lyndon B. Johnson in the early 1960s failed to pass, but President Nixon and the US legislature successfully passed a compromised version of the bill in 1970, creating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.

One of the major functions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act was to create a government agency, based out of the Department of Labor, charged with monitoring, standardizing, and enforcing safety laws. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, commonly known as OSHA, also gained the ability to conduct inspections of workplaces, enforce sanctions against violators, and assist certain businesses with updating to meet current standards. Another organization, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), was created to handle safety-related research. While the practical effect of the Occupational Safety and Health Act created a government mechanism to manage workplace safety standards, the philosophical impact of the bill may have had an even greater effect. Since the industrial revolution, many industrial countries struggled with the sometimes contrary issues of business profitability and worker safety. While earlier pieces of legislation had limited working hours and created wage standards, few laws assumed the duty of the employer to provide for worker's safety while on the job. By insisting on the importance of this duty, the passage of the OSH act heralded a new era in workplace safety.

Most Common Occupational Health Hazards Occupational health hazards refer to the potential risks to health and safety for those who work outside the home. According to the World Health Organization, this represents about 70 percent of adult men and up to 60 percent of adult women throughout the world. In addition, an estimated additional 40 million adults enter the global workforce each year. Of course, the specific occupational health hazards faced by this large and growing number of people depends on the region and its economic standing. However, the following are some of the most common occupational health hazards faced by workers worldwide. Topping the list of occupational health hazards internationally are structural failures and mechanical accidents. This includes structures vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, moving and/or unprotected parts of machinery, or general equipment failure. These occupational health hazards exist fairly equally in developed and undeveloped countries, regardless of industry. One of the most common work-related injuries to occur globally is the development of musculoskeletal disorders caused by heavy lifting and performing tasks that require repetitive motions. These occupational health hazards are also responsible for the most incidents of disability claims, whether temporary, long-term, or permanent. Muscle injuries due to physical stress most often occur in occupations such as construction and farming, while repetitive motion injuries are most often sustained in environments related to services that typically involve heavy typing and data entry. Also grouped into this category of occupational health hazards are ergonomically poor working conditions and equipment. Hearing loss is another hazard encountered by those who work in industries such as construction and manufacturing. In fact, hearing loss ranks with mechanical hazards in terms of being one of the most common occupational health hazards in both developed and developing countries. Typically, hearing loss occurs over time from chronic exposure to noisy machinery without the use of earmuffs design to protecting hearing. Even long-term exposure to vibrations can contribute to hearing loss.

Different Types of Occupational Health and Safety Jobs Occupational and environmental health is the multidisciplinary approach to the identification, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention and control of disease, injuries, and other adverse health conditions resulting from hazardous environment exposures in the workplace, the home, or the community. It is an integral part of many disciplines as well as a part of public health to assure that the conditions in which we live and work are healthy and in good condition. A relationship between occupational health and environment health has been well-recognized. In addition, occupational health hazards can affect communities, and environmental health problems often originate in workplaces. With these issues, work-related risks, environmental degradation, poverty, and social injustice are often are also interrelated. In general, occupational and environment health and safety hazards can be categorized in the following manner: First, safety hazards. It is anything that can have an adverse impact on your safety that result in injury through the uncontrolled transfer of energy to a vulnerable recipient from sources like electrical, thermal, kinetic, chemical, or radiation energy. Safety hazards can result in due to various reasons such as unsafe playground equipment, loaded firearms in the home, auto or bicycle accident, vulnerable electrical sources, working at heights without fall safety, working near unguarded moving equipments etc. Different health hazards that result in environmental or occupational illness also includes: 1. Chemical hazards: These include heavy metals, like lead and mercury; pesticides; organic solvents and many other chemicals. 2. Physical hazards: Noise above irritating level, vibration, extremes of temperature and pressure, and ionizing and non-ionizing radiation 3. Biomechanical hazards: These comprise heavy lifting and repetitive, discomfited, or vigorous movements that result in musculoskeletal disorders, like carpal tunnel syndrome and many cases of low back pain syndrome 4. Biological hazards: HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses, the tuberclebacillus (TB), and many other bacteria, viruses come under this category. Also, other microorganisms that may be transmitted through air, water, food, or direct contact 5. Psychosocial stress: This mostly occurs at workplace. The responsible factors include stressful work environments, excessive work and unrealistic demands from workers and other conflicts at workplace. Stress and hostility also result from urban congestion, such as road rage. Unemployment is a major

stressor. To prevent these hazards, information alone will not avert occupational and environmental diseases and injuries. It also depends, in part, on formulating the accepted and political will to sustain it and to execute specific preventive measures.

Careers in Safety and Health

I believe that no matter what type of business interests youentertainment, financial services, transportation, utilities, etc.Safety and Health professionals can make a difference. Michael Murray, Director of Technical Services, Casualty Risk Control for Aon Risk Services, Inc. and ASSE member.

What does it take to pursue a career in safety science and engineering? Many colleges offer safety science degrees which include coursework in biology, chemistry, physics, business, math, computers, engineering, economics, law, government and psychology. Go to www.asse.org for a list of schools on the Professional Affairs page.

Where the jobs are: Safety and health professionals work in a wide range of sectors including: Manufacturing Transportation Government agencies Schools Hospitals

Examples of companies that employ safety and health engineers: Disney NASA Hasbro Kraft Microsoft Madison Square Garden

 Nike Revlon Smithsonian Institute Starbucks CBS Television Bell Helicopter BP Virginia Beach School District

Safety and Health Engineers: Design equipment, processes and facilities in high-tech industries Analyze operations to help companies run efficiently and profitably Monitor, analyze and correct industrial processes that might be hazardous for employees and for people in near-by communities Ensure worker safety at demolition and building sites Develop fire safety and prevention programs Consult on vehicle design and transportation systems Investigate and analyze accidents

American Society of Safety Engineers

Founded in 1911, ASSE is the oldest and largest safety society with more than 30,000 occupational safety, health and environmental professional members worldwide. For more information and a copy of our free Important Workplace Safety Guide for Young Workers brochure visit www.asse.org or contact customer service at 847-699-2929 or e-mail customerservice@asse.org