Occupational health basics

Occupational health anticipates and prevents health problems that are caused by the work which people do. In some circumstances the work may aggravate a pre-existing medical condition, and stopping this is also the role of occupational health. Health hazards often reveal their effects on the body only after the passage of time many have cumulative effects, and in some cases the way this happens is still not fully understood. Because the effects are often not immediately apparent, it can be difficult to understand and persuade others that there is a need for caution and control. Good occupational hygiene practice encompasses the following ideas  

Recognition of the hazards or potential hazards Quantification of the extent of the hazard, usually by measuring physical/chemical factors and their duration, and relating them to known or required standards 

The effect a substance will have on the body cannot always be predicted with accuracy, or explained solely on the basis of physical and chemical laws. The influence of the following factors combine to produce the effective dose  

Health hazards can be divided into four broad categories physical, chemical, biological and ergonomic. Examples of the categories are  

Physical hazards are the most obvious, while chemical, biological and ergonomic hazards are often more subtle in their effects, which can also take longer to build up. To understand something of the chemical category it is necessary to have an understanding of the basic terms involved. 

---

The category risks to personnel and plant consists of two parts environmental abuse potential and occupational health/safety hazards and, here again, points are subtracted from a basic score for environmental/safety hazards. 

Tordoir, W. and Maroni, M. (1994) Basic concepts in the occupational health management of pesticide workers, in Health Surveillance of Pesticide Workers A Manual for Occupational Health Professionals, W. Tordoir, M. Maroni, and F. He (Eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 5-14. 

The thickness of the platelets can be adjusted by controlling the reaction conditions to produce interference colors. The pigment crystals are mechanically sensitive and show a fast sedimentation behavior because of the high density (6.4gcm 3). Agglomeration tendency and occupational health (toxicity) risks are the reason why Pb(OH)2 2PbC03 is not produced in powder form, but is flushed from the aqueous phase into suitable organic solvents or resins and handled as stabilized dispersions. Today, the application of basic lead carbonate is limited to artificial pearls, buttons, and bijouterie. 

The UK Chemicals Strategy focusses on production, marketing and use it does not include aspects relating to occupational health or pollution control [353]. Basically, the strategy proposes a seven-step process for the risk assessment and management of existing chemicals ... 

This text covers basic information on occupational medicine and related areas. This text is suitable for occupational health practitioners and is readable enough for practitioners in other medical disciplines. 

Worker health and safety are among the basic considerations in a ground-water investigation of chemicals with harmful properties. However, most instances of pesticide contamination other than losses of free product, involve ground-water and soil concentrations much lower than those posing an immediate occupational health threat. 

As its title implies, this is a general reference covering the basics of environmental chemistry. Contents indude general chemistry (matter, atoms, elements), chemical reactions and equations, water pollution and treatment, geochemistry, agricultural chemistry, treatment and disposal of hazardous substances, toxicology and occupational health, and nuclear chemistry. 

A Basic Guide to Industrial Ventilation, published by Canadian Center for Occupational Health and Safety, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 1H6, Pub. No. 88-7E. 

Students are required to acquire ten core competencies and undertake a number of specified specialist/optional units of competence. Core units of competence are common to all sectors in the food processing industry, e.g. dairy processing, flour and stock feed milling, general foods, pet food, and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Such core competencies include application of basic mathematical concepts, basic quality assurance practices, communication in the workplace, the collection, presentation and application of workplace information, and the implementation of occupational health and safety principles and procedures. 

I. Health hazard information. The health hazards section of Table IV-4 focuses primarily on the basic hazards associated with possible inhalation of or skin exposure to chemicals in a workplace. It Is based almost entirely on the occupational health literature. Most of our understanding of the potential effects of chemicals on human health is derived from occupational exposures, the levels of which are typically many times greater than those of environmental exposures. Moreover, the information in Table IV-4 unavoidably emphasizes acute health effects. Much more is known about the acute effects of chemicals on human health than about their chronic effects. The rapid onset of symptoms after exposure makes the causal association more readily apparent for acute health effects. 

The temporal sequence of events In the real world progresses through Figure 1 from left-to-rlght and If one were to make real-time decisions based on a known residue, then one would use Equations 1 to 4 In the same order as shown. However, from the point of view of a reentry policy and setting reentry Intervals, one must proceed from rlght-to-left, and from Equation 4 to 1. In either case, one of the basic elements In an occupational health decision Is establishing an acceptable level of response In this case, an acceptable AAChE. 

The purpose of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is to promote health and quality of life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability. The CDC provides limited information on occupational safety and health. For example, their web page has information about accident causes and prevention, back belts, cancer—occupational exposure, effects of workplace hazards on male reproductive health, latex allergies, needle stick, occupational injiuies, teen workers, and violence in the workplace (see website http //www.cdc.gov). The Center for Health Statistics is located within CDC and provides basic health statistics on the U.S. population. This information is used to identify potential occupational health risks by occupational health researchers (see website http / / WWW.cdc.gov/nchs). 

A good guideline for what elements a safety management system should contain is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), ANSI/AIHA ZlO-2005 American National Standard Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. A similar standard exists for the construction and demolition industry ANSI/ASSE AlO.38-2000 (R2007) Basic Elements of an Employer s Program to Provide a Safe and Healthful Work Environment. 

The Multidisciplinary Approach. At one time, the company physician and occupational health nurse bore the primary responsibility for the health and safety of workers in their workplace. Although that physician-nurse team has expanded to include other disciplines, clinical services are stiU an important part of occupational health and safety programs. Some of the services provided by health care professionals include preemployment physicals, health assessments, and health surveillance through intermittent medical examinations and basic laboratory testing. Health education and counsehng usually falls to occupational health professionals, as do treatment, rehabilitation, and referral. 

Occupational health nurses are registered nurses employed to prevent work-related illness and injury, to provide emergency care at the workplace, and to implement health and safety regulations and standards. Basic nursing training can be in the form of an associate s or bachelor s degree. Most occupational... 

The Agency s standards in the field of radiation protection - the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the SafeQr of Radiation Sources (BSS) -have been co-sponsored by a number of international organizations and a consensus was reached by the audience they r resent. This is particularly important for obvious reasons. For example, tihe co-sponsorship of the ILO means that these Standards will apply to the conv tion on occupational health the co-sponsorship of WHO means a de facto endorsement of many medical instimtions etc. The BSS co-sponsorship therefore has far-reaching inq>lications. 

The same transformation shifted to America and is still in progress today in countries such as China. It was accompanied by moves by workers away from the land and towards industrial cities. Basic city sanitation was initially very poor in Europe and so envirorunental health problems overlay occupational health and safety issues. 

Before a detailed discussion of health and safety issues can take place, some basic occupational health and safety definitions are required ... 

A check that the following basic safety and occupational health areas have been appropriately addressed ... 

---