Risk factors, workplaces

Sieiniatycki, j. (Fcl.) (1991). Risk Factors for Cancer in the Workplace, CRC Press, Boca Raroii, FI,. 

Siematycki, J., ed. (1991) Risk Factors for Cancer in the Workplace, Boca Raton, FL, CRC Press Simmon, V.F. (1979) In vitro assays for recombinogenic activity of chemical carcinogens and related compounds with Saccharomyces cerevisiae D3. J. natl Cancer Inst., 62,... 

The selection of performance impairment test systems should also include a thorough consideration of the reliability and validity of the systems. Reliability refers to the consistency of results on the test across repeated testing, and validity refers to the effectiveness with which the test accomplishes its intended purpose, be that identification of the effects of risk factors or the detection of individuals who are at risk for reduced safety and/or productivity in the workplace. 

What potential risk factor is considered the increased risks brought about by the moral and legal issues of the interaction of information technology and the safety and health hazards information technology poses to employees in the workplace ... 

In exposures where smoking is a risk factor for occupational asthma, education and other measures to control smoking should reduce disease risk by reducing the number of smokers. It may also suggest that exposure to chemical irritants should be controlled in the workplace. Knowledge of the genetics of chemical-induced occupational asthma is so limited at present that no useful measures can be taken to identify susceptible workers and remove them from exposure. 

Observe the employees performing the job to identify which of the physiced work activities, workplace conditions, and ergonomic risk factors are present. 

A second point needs to be made about the scope of this chapter the role of checklists. As will be seen, checldists have assumed importance as techniques for conducting human factors audits. They can also be used alone as evaluation devices, in applications as diverse as VDT workplaces (Ctikir et al. 1980), and risk factor assessment (Keyserfing et al. 1992). Hence, the structure tuid use of checklists will be covered in some detail independently of their use as an auditing technique. 

The three primary risk factors that contribute to MSDs, explains Budnick, are posture, force and repetition. One of these, or a combination of two or all of them—is at the root of most problems in the workplace, whether it s health, production, or quality. 

An injury or illness of soft tissues of the fingers, upper arms, shoulders and neck, lower back, or legs that is primarily caused or exacerbated by workplace risk factors such as sustained and repeated exertions or awkward postures and manipulations. Administrative controls for MSD hazards include employee rotation, job task enlargement, alternative tasks, and employer-authorized changes in work pace. Work practice controls for MSD hazards include use of neutral postures to perform tasks (straight wrists, lifting close to the body), use of two-person lift teams, and observance of micro breaks. See also Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI). 

When there is less fear of blame and punishment, people become more open to discussing errors and near misses (Barach and Small 2000). Near misses are an important source of information as they are accidents that almost happened. Since they differ only slightly from accidents, they can teach us a lot about causes of error in a workplace. This is described by (Reason 1990) in his Swiss cheese model seen in Figure 3.2. There are a variety of factors that affect whether or not an accident occurs. The factors influencing a situation are likened to slices of Swiss cheese which contain a number of holes. These holes represent weaknesses which could lead to errors. Accidents occur when the holes in each slice (or variable) align, while near misses occur when most, but not all, of the factors necessary for an accident are present. In this way, near misses can provide cracial information about imidentified risk factors. 

All hospitals should develop a comprehensive violence prevention plan. No universal strategy exists to prevent violence. The risk factors vary from hospital to hospital and from unit to unit. Hospitals should form multidisciplinary committees that include direct care staff as well as union representatives (if available) to identify risk factors in spedtic work scenarios and to develop strategies for reducing them. All hospital workers should be alert and cautious when interacting with patients and visitors. They should actively participate in safety training and be familiar with their employers policies, procedures, and materials on violence prevention. The NIOSH defines workplace violence as violent acts (including physical assaults and threats of assaults) directed toward persons at woik or on duty. This includes terrorism as illustrated by the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001,... 

NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin 57. 1996. Violence in the Workplace Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies. 

Substances/products in the workplace known as allergic or irritant risk factors... 

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