Principles of prevention

The principles of prevention now enshrined in the Management of Health and Safety at Work (MHSW) Regulations 1999 need to be used jointly with the hierarchy of control methods which give the preferred order of approach to risk control. 

When risks have been analysed and assessed, decisions can be made about workplace precautions. 

All final decisions about risk control methods must take into account the relevant legal requirements, which establish minimum levels of risk preverttion or control. Some of the duties imposed by the HSW Act and the relevant statutory provisions are absolute and must be complied with. Many requirements are, however, qualified by the words, so far as is reasonably practicable, or so far as is practicable. These require an assessment of cost, along with information about relative costs, effectiveness and reliability of different control measures. Further guidance on the meaning of these three expressions is provided in Chapter 1. 

This chapter concerns the principles that should be adopted when deciding on suitable measures to 

The MHSW Regulations 1999 Schedule 1 specifies the general principles of prevention which are set out 

The fundamental principles of prevention that are included in both the RRFSO and the MHSW are supported by a range of additional legislation, approved codes of practice and guidance each providing assistance when considering the control measures that may be required to reduce the risks to the lowest level reasonably practicable. 

A responsible person (under the RRFSO) and/or employer (under the MHSW) are legally required to apply the principles of prevention . These are principles that have been adopted throughout the European Community and are contained in both the RRFSO and the MHSW. The principles state that  

This additional principle of prevention contained within the MHSW does not directly relate to fire however, it can be seen that individual human errors that result in a fire in the workplace may well reflect a monotonous work pattern and/or poor working relationships. 

Once the nature and magnitude of the fire risk is known the responsible person must consider applying the other principles of prevention. 

There follows some more examples of how the principles of prevention may be understood and applied  

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Preventive Explosion Protection The principle of preventive explosion protection comprises the reliable exclusion of one of the requirements necessary for the development of an explosion. In pictorial terms, therefore, at least one of the sides of the hazard triangle shown in Figure 26-33 will be broken open. 

FIG. 26-33 Hazard triangle principle of preventive explosion protection. 

At present, the development of adequate monitoring strategies is one of the focal points. Because of the complex nature of pollutants and influencing parameters the link between pollutant concentrations detected and the risk potential on objects is not yet known and fully understood. Therefore, easily applicable directives as basic principles of preventive conservation are in the foreground (avoid-block-detect-respond-recover/treat) (Tetreault, 2003 Grzywacz,... 

Statistical process control (SPC) is used in accordance with the principle of prevention instead of detection by measuring variables and attributes on a real-time basis. 

MRLs are intended only to serve as a screening tool to help public health professionals decide where to look more closely. They may also be viewed as a mechanism to identify those hazardous waste sites that are not expected to cause adverse health effects. Most MRLs contain a degree of uncertainty because of the lack of precise toxicological information on the people who might be most sensitive (e.g., infants, elderly, nutritionally or immunologically compromised) to the effects of hazardous substances. ATSDR uses a conservative (i.e., protective) approach to address this uncertainty consistent with the public health principle of prevention. Although human data are preferred, MRLs often must be based on animal studies because relevant human studies are lacking. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, ATSDR assumes that humans are more sensitive to the effects of hazardous substance than animals and that certain persons may be particularly sensitive. 

Environmental impact assessment has already shown its value for implementing and strengthening sustainable development, as it combines the precautionary principle of preventing environmental damage and also arranges for public participation. EIA has also become the major tool for an integrated approach to the protection of the environment since it requires a comprehensive assessment of the impacts of an activity on the environment, contrary to the traditional sectoral approach. Moreover, EIA requires the formulation of alternatives to the proposed activity and brings facts and information on environmental impacts to the attention of the decision-makers and the public. 

Sallcras, L. Le basi scientifiche della medicina prevent va. (The scientific principles of preventive medicine). Riv. Ital. Med. Comun. 1986, 4, 5 11. 

General principles of prevention of occupational asthma, rhinoconjimctivitis and dermatitis (e.g. hand eczema or contact dermatitis) should be published by national regulatory and advisory bodies. 

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