USEFUL TERMS IN SAFETY

ACCIDENT- Any unplanned events that results in injury

or ill health to people, or damage or loss to
property,plant, materials or the environment.
BIODEGRADABLE- Capable of being broken down by
living organisms into inorganic compounds. Ideally all
waste should be biodegradable.
CLIMATE- is the long term average condition of the
weather in a given area.
CONFINED SPACE - A space which by design and/or
configuration has limited openings for entry and exit,
unfavorable natural ventilation, which could contain or
produce hazardous substances, and not intended for
continuous employee occupancy.
COMBUSTION- is a chemical reaction
that occurs
between a fuel and an oxidizing agent that produces
energy, usually in the form of heat and light.
COMPETENT PERSON - One who is capable of
identifying existing and predictable hazards in the
surroundings,
or
working
conditions
which
are
unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and
who has authorization to take prompt corrective
measures to eliminate them.

CONTAMINANT- is any physical, chemical, biological, or

radiological substance or matter that has an adverse
effect on air, water, or soil. Anything that is unwanted
not supposed to be there. Any biological, chemical,
physical or radiological substance that has an negative
effect on air, soil or water.
CORRECTIVE ACTION- is a change implemented to
address a weakness identified in a management system.
Normally corrective actions are implemented in response
to a customer complaint, abnormal levels of internal
nonconformity, nonconformities identified during an
internal audit
CURRENT-Current is a flow of electrical charge carriers,

usually electrons or electron-deficient atoms with ampere

as the standard unit.
DEMOLITION is the tearing-down of buildings and
other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition
contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a
building apart while carefully preserving valuable
elements for re-use.
ECOLOGY-is the relationship of living things to one
another and their environment, or the study of such
relationships.
ECOSYSTEM- A dynamic and complex system of plant,
animal and microorganism communities and their non-

living environment all interacting as a functional unit

within a defined physical location.
EMERGENCY-A serious situation or occurrence that
happens unexpectedly and demands immediate action.
ENVIRONMENT - is the surroundings in which an
organisation operates, including air, water, land, natural
resources, flora, fauna, humans & their interaction.
EXCAVATION- is any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or
depression in an earth surface, formed by earth removal.
FATALITY-Death due to work related injury / illness.
FATALITY RATE (FR)-Number of fatalities per 1000
employees.
FLASHPOINT- is the lowest temperature at which the
vapor of a combustible liquid can be ignited in air.
FLASH OVER - is an abrupt transition from the burning
of a small number of items in the room, or a small
portion of the room, to full-room involvement in a fire.
Room fire flashover is in essence a state in which all the
combustible contents of the room experience a nearly
simultaneous ignition. Most fires never reach flashover,
because they are detected and extinguished before this
can occur.
FIRST AID-Emergency treatment administered to an
injured or sick person before professional medical care is
available.

FIRE- is a rapid chemical reaction resulting from the

union of the fire triangle which is fuel, oxygen and heat.
FIRE EXTINGUISHER- is an active fire protection device
used to extinguish or control small fires, often in
emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an
out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the
ceiling, endangers the user.
FIRE DETECTORS-A temperature-sensing device
designed to sound an alarm, to turn on a sprinkler
system, or to activate some other fire preventive
measure at the first signs of fire.
FIRE FIGHTING- is the act of extinguishing destructive
fires. A firefighter fights these fires to prevent destruction
of life, property and the environment.
GLOBAL WARMING- refers
to the natural warming
trend that the Earth has experienced all through its
history. However, the term usually refers to the gradual
rise in the Earth's temperatures that could result from
the accumulated gases that are trapped in the
atmosphere.
GREEN HOUSE GASES- Those gaseous constituents of
the atmosphere, both natural and artificial, that absorb
and reemit infrared radiation and that are responsible for
global warming. The most potent greenhouse gas, carbon

dioxide, is rapidly accumulating in the atmosphere due to

human activities.
HAZARD- is anything that has potential to cause harm or
damage to person, environment, companys property and
equipment.
HAZARDOUS ATMOSPHERE - An atmosphere which by
reason of being explosive, flammable, poisonous,
corrosive, oxidizing, irritating, oxygen deficient, toxic, or
otherwise harmful, may cause death, illness, or injury.
HEALTH- is the protection of the bodies and minds of
people from illness resulting from the materials,processes
or procedures used in the workplace.
HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY- sets out the companys
general approach, objectives and the arrangements to be
put in place for managing health and safety in the
business. It is a unique document that says who does
what, when and how. Legally, if you have five or more
employees, you must write your policy down.
HEALTH SURVEILLANCE- is a monitoring tool, which
checks out the effectiveness of health and safety control
measures by detecting the early signs of work related ill
health amongst staff and students who are exposed to
certain types of risks.
HOT WORK PERMIT SYSTEM- is intended to assure
that the individuals involved in construction, renovation,
repairs and maintenance of facilities are aware of the

hazards associated with hot work and welding and that

they implement control measures to help mitigate them.
HUMIDITY- is the amount of moisture in the air. It can
be measured in various ways, but the most usual is to
describe it as 'relative' humidity. This is expressed as a
percentage. A relative humidity of 100% means the
moisture content of the air is the maximum possible at
any particular temperature. The hotter the air, the more
moisture it can hold.
INCIDENT -is an unwanted, unplanned event that had
the potential to result in a loss.
INDUCTION is the initial discussion or imparting of
basic information of a new member of a team , his role,
task involve and the hazards that he may face.
INJURY FREQUENCY (IF)-Number
million man hours worked.

of injuries per

INJURY RATE (IR)Number of injuries per one hundred

employees.
INJURY SEVERITY RATE (ISR)Number of days lost per
one million man hours worked.
LADDER-a framework consisting of two parallel
sidepieces connected by a series of rungs or crosspieces
on which a person steps in climbing up or down
LIFTING EQUIPMENT-Any work equipment for lifting or
lowering loads and includes its attachments used for

anchoring, fixing or supporting it and an accessory for

lifting.
LOST TIME INJURY (LTI)Any work related injury or
illness which prevents that person from doing any work
day after accident.
MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET (MSDS)- is a
detailed informational document prepared by the
manufacturer or importer of a hazardous chemical which
describes the physical and chemical properties of the
product. Information included in a Material Safety Data
Sheet aids in the selection of safe products, helps you
understand the potential health and physical hazards of a
chemical and describes how to respond effectively to
exposure situations.
METHOD STATEMENT- is a sequence of steps taken to
complete a work task in a safe manner. The method
statement should be written by a person that is
competent in the task.When a method statement is
prepared, the risks are identified during the work
sequence. Steps taken to reduce the risk are then
determined.
OCCUPATIONAL OR WORK RELATED ILL-HEALTH:
Illness or physical and mental disorders that are either
caused or triggered by workplace activities.
OXIDATION-is a common form of chemical reaction
which is the combining of oxygen with various elements

and compounds. The corrosion of metals is a form of

oxidation, rust on iron for example is iron oxide.
OXYGEN
DEFICIENT
ATMOSPHEREis
any
atmosphere containing oxygen at a concentration below
19.5% at sea level provides an adequate amount of
oxygen for most work assignments and includes a safety
factor. The safety factor is needed because oxygendeficient atmospheres offer little warning of the danger,
and the continuous measurement of an oxygen-deficient
atmosphere is difficult.
OXYGEN ENRICHED ATMOSPHERE -An atmosphere
that contains an oxygen concentration greater than 22%
by volume.
PERMISSIBLE EXPOSURE LEVEL-Concentration of a
substance to which an individual may be exposed
repeatedly without adverse effect.
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT(PPE) - Any
devices or clothing worn by the worker to protect against
hazards in the environment. Examples are respirators,
gloves, and chemical splash goggles.
PERMIT TO WORK SYSTEM- is a formal written
system used to control certain types of work that are
potentially hazardous. A permit-to-work is a document
which specifies the work to be done and the precautions
to be taken.

RESIDUAL CURRENT DEVICE

- is a device that
protects users of electrical equipment from electric shock
by interrupting the electricity supply if a short circuit or
current
leakage
occurs.
It contains coils carrying current to and from the
electrical equipment. If a fault occurs, the currents
become unbalanced and the residual current trips a
switch.
RISK - Is the chance, high or low, that somebody could
be harmed by the existing hazards, together with an
indication of how serious the harm could be.
RISK ASSESSMENT- A careful examination of what, in
your workplace could cause harm to people (property,
environment and equipment), for the purpose of knowing
whether we have had taken enough precautions or
should do more to prevent the harm.
SAFETY- The protection of people from physical injury.
The borderline health & safety is ill-defined and the two
words are normally used together to indicate concern for
the physical and mental well being of the individual at the
place of work.
SAFETY CULTURE- is the shared beliefs and values of
staff working in an organisation that determines their
commitment
and quality of its health and safety
management.

SCAFFOLD- A temporary platform, either supported

from below or suspended from above, on which workers
sit or stand when performing tasks at heights above the
ground.
TARGET ORGAN -an organ intended to receive the
greatest concentration or effect from the exposure from a
given substance or chemical.
TOOL BOX TALK- is another term for a safety meeting.
The term Toolbox Talk was originally used as a means
to encourage building workers to have a documented
regular safety meeting, the best time to do this was
considered to be when they stood around the tool box in
the morning before starting work so the term Toolbox
Talk was born.Today the Toolbox Talk has been widely
accepted as a common means ensuring consultation
occurs between workers and is a practical way to raise
workers awareness of specific problems on site and help
to remind workers that health and safety are an
important part of the working day.
TRENCH means a narrow excavation (in relation to its
length) made below the surface of the ground.
In
general, the depth is greater than the width, but the
width of a trench (measured at the bottom) is not greater
than 15 feet (4.6 meters).

WASTE ANALYSIS PLAN (WAP)- A plan that outlines

the procedures necessary to ensure proper treatment,
storage, or disposal of hazardous waste.
Compiled by :
RICO CARDONIGA
Batch 5
CSUNY
Mobile:0505854836