Employee health surveillance

Emergency procedures must be established, and suitable monitoring and health surveillance procedures adopted. Employers must provide employees with results of employee-health surveillance, as well as with training about risks to health and appropriate precautions. 

If a known adverse health effect can reasonably be anticipated under the circumstances of work — and could readily be observed — some form of health surveillance is appropriate. This may involve a doctor or trained nurse. It may include the checking of employees skin for dermatitis or asking questions relevant to any asthmatic condition where work is with recognized causative agents (e.g. epoxy resin curing agents). 

Health surveillance is required for employees doing the following jobs... 

The goal of employee health monitoring is to ensure that measures to protect the employee from workplace hazards are effective by carrying out medical surveillance programs for the early detection of adverse health effects. The types of chemical or physical hazards encountered determine the nature of the medical surveillance or health monitoring programs. 

Human health biomonitoring using biomarkers and chemical analyses are used in the following applications (1) Health surveillance of persons who are known to have high occupational or environmental exposures to potentially toxic chemicals. This may include those who work with chemicals, radioactive materials, or biohazards as part of their occupation. Examples include factory workers, chemical industry employees, farmers, health care professionals, nuclear plant employees, and veterans of the Gulf War I. This may also consist of those who are involuntarily exposed to such hazards in their everyday surroundings. Some examples are people living near land fills, factories, hazardous waste sites, or environmental catastrophes such as the Chernobyl... 

Health surveillance Where there is a reasonable likelihood that exposure to a chemical hazardous substance under working conditions may cause an identifiable or other adverse health effect, then records must be kept available for at least 40 years employees must be allowed access to their personal health record and records of workplace monitoring must be kept for at least 5 years. 

The employer must provide health surveillance for all employees who are likely to be exposed above the upper exposure action values, or are at risk for any reason, e.g. they already suffer from hearing loss or are particularly sensitive to damage. 

Medical surveillance helps to protect employees health. You are encouraged strongly to participate in the medical surveillance program. 

A second consultant was retained from the department of occupational medicine at the nearby university. The physician suggested a design for a health surveillance program to include cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) for the shoulders, arms, and hands of the employees working in light assembly. The program was designed to utilize employees and other resources already available at the company. 

The company nurse developed procedures for the first aiders to use when administering first aid, CPR, and emergency transfer of injured employees. She also developed procedures that describe the standardized assessment and onsite treatment that she uses for employee illnesses or injuries and for all health surveillance programs. 

The Control of Noise at Work Regulations place a duty on the employer to undertake health surveillance for employees whose exposure regularly exceeds the upper... 

Accident Investigation Report prepared in implementing the requirements Health Surveillance Records in appropriate cases Information provided to employees... 

The assessment involves both identifying the substance present in the workplace assessing the risk it presents in the way it is used and deciding what precautions (and health surveillance) are needed. Where more than four employees are employed the significant findings must be recorded and the steps taken to comply with Regulation 7. 

Employees must present themselves, during working hours at the employer s expense, for appropriate health surveillance. 

Trade union safety representative, or employee representative and the employees concerned, should be consulted before introducing health surveillance. It is important that employees understand that the aim of health surveillance is to protect their hearing. Employers will need their understanding and co-operation if health surveillance is to be effective. 

Employees are on the front lines for exposures. Routine health surveillance may help identify and mitigate possible health risks to employees at the earliest stages. Workplace monitoring programs may be useful for characterizing exposures. New surveillance strategies and tools... 

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