Occupational ill-health

Before embarking on tests involving the use of solvents or other chemicals, some of which are described in this chapter, it is important to consider the health and safety risks associated with such materials and how to minimize them. In the UK, the use of hazardous materials is regulated by the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (CoSHH). The main objective of the Regulations is to reduce occupational ill health by setting out a simple framework for controlling hazardous substances in the workplace (Health and Safety Executive, 2007). 

Where, at work, an employee is subjected to certain conditions or materials there could be a reaction resulting in ill-health. In many of these cases the hazards are known and the symptoms recognized. This section considers some of the main causes of occupational ill health. 

There are several outputs or indicators of the state of the health and safety culture of an organization. The most important are the numbers of accidents, near misses and occupational ill-health cases occurring within the organization or on the construction site. 

Finally, the positive results of a management commitment to health and safety will be the active involvement of all employees in health and safety, the continuing improvement in health and safety standards and the subsequent reduction in accident and occupational ill-health rates. This will lead, ultimately, to a reduction in the number and size of compensation claims. 

Risk assessment is not only concerned with injuries in the workplace but also needs to consider the possibility of occupational ill-health. Health risks fall into the following four categories ... 

There are two possible health effects of occupational ill-health. 

Comparisons between an organisation and the relevant industry or service sector. Some trade organisations publish aggregated data on accidents for their industry or service sector giving, for example, the average frequency and incidence rates for a particular year. Examples of these sorts of accident data for the UK are published by the HSE annually. The HSE s Epidemiology and Medical Statistics Unit also produces statistics on occupational ill health. 

The basic function of a health and safety committee is to create and maintain an active interest in health and safety with a view to reducing occupational ill-health and accidents. This is achieved by ... 

The way in which injuries, potential injuries ( near-misses ), occupational ill-health exposures and environmental incidents are investigated and the statistics are collected should be written into the organisation s safety policy or equivalent document. This gives the process a mandate from the person in charge, without which no efforts of significance in safety are likely to be successful. 

Dermatitis means inflammation of the skin . It is probably the most common form of occupational ill-health in... 

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