Risk of injury

Many companies use worker—management teams, suggestion boxes, consultant surveys, suppHer training sessions, and other methods to reduce risk of injuries (see Hazard analysis and risk assessment). The principal regulatory burden falls on wastes and discharges which leave the plant (3,53,54). 

If the probability of worker injury or death because of participation in a given work-related activity can be shown to be much less than the risk of injury or death associated with presently accepted activities under very similar circumstances (e.g., the same type of hazard), then you may feel more comfortable about accepting the status quo. Table 14 illustrates the types of public mortality data available for such comparisons. In the previous example, where the worker risk was calculated as 2 X 10 fatalities... 

Any hazard which land deposition may create requires assessment with regard to the risk of injury or impairment of health to persons or animals, damage to vegetation, pollution of controlled waters including aquifers - eitlier duectly or because of water run-off, and of long-tenu accumulation, e.g. of heavy metals or persistent chemicals. 

There may be well-run facilities in which the operators are doing their best to be careful with facilities or systems that could be redesigned to be inherently safer. These facilities will be inherently safer if designed for operability. Note that inherently safer human factors features can reduce risk of injury to employees (improved personnel safety) and can reduce risk to the process from the worker (improved process safety). 

Determine Risk Potential. The objective is to determine the possibility of significant risk of injury to svcrkers or the public, or risk to the company s good name. It is done by bounding, consequence analyses and approximate frequency estimates, primarily for company protection. ... 

Whenever possible, lifting of excessive weights should be by mechanical means and should only be done manually if there is no practicable method of obtaining access for mechanical equipment. It follows that material must only be moved manually if it is within the capability of the persons involved and that there is no risk of injury. 

CPSA is a significant consumer safety law. It is part of U.S. legislative law and augments the common law and case of product liability. Purpose of the law is (1) to protect the public against unreasonable risks of injury... 

SKELETAL MUSCLE RELAXANTS. These drugs may cause drowsiness. Because of the risk of injury, the nurse evaluates the patient carefully before allowing the patient to ambulate alone. If drowsiness does occur, assistance with ambulatory activities is necessary. If drowsiness is severe, the nurse notifies the primary health care provider before the next dose is due... 

D Risk of Injury related to the development ot intedious disease, hypersensitivity to the immunologic agent... 

TSCATS is an online index to unpublished, nonconfidential studies covering chemical testing results and adverse effects of chemicals on health and ecological systems. The studies are submitted by US industry to EPA under several sections of the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA). There are four types of documents in the database Section 4 chemical testing results, Section 8(d) health and safety studies, Section 8(e) substantial risk of injury to health or the environment notices, and voluntary documents submitted to EPA known as a For Your Information (FYI) notice. 

Most of the provisions of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976 (PL 94-469) rely in some way on risk assessment of chemicals. Under the reporting requirements of the statute, any manufacturer, processor, or distributor of a chemical for commercial purposes must inform the EPA immediately after discovering any information which "reasonably supports the conclusion" that a chemical substance or mixture "presents a substantial risk of injury to health or to the environment" unless the EPA Administrator has been adequately informed already. EPA is mandated to establish regulations for testing new or existing substances when it is determined that there is not enough health or environmental information, that testing is necessary to develop such information and that the chemical or mixture "may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment."... 

Products containing ephedra were used extensively by the American public for weight loss and to enhance athletic performance. Ephedra, a stimulant similar to amphetamine, increases blood pressure and heart rate after only one dose, significantly increasing a person s risk of heart attack, stroke, and death. Because ephedra is a dietary supplement, the FDA did not review its safety or efficacy before it became available to the American public. According to law, the FDA could only prohibit the sale of the dietary supplement if it was proven to present a significant or unreasonable risk of injury. 

Critics have long complained about the ineffectiveness of medical liability law both as a means of reducing the risks of injuries and as a system of compensation for injuries. So far, none of these critiques has led policy makers to jettison our fault-based medical liability system and to replace it with some type of no-fault system as proposed by some scholars. Thus some form of medical liability is going to be a feature of the social and regulatory... 

Box 5.11 Factors that increase the risk of injuries from falling... 

In addition to these informal means for regulating, 5(f) authorizes EPA to seek restrictions upon the production, distribution, use, and disposal of new substances that "present or will present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. To ban a new chemical outright, the Agency must obtain an injunction from a U.S. district court. Any other restrictions... 

The goal of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) is to provide authority to regulate chemical substances which present an unreasonable risk of injury to health or the environment. An important feature of TSCA requires the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to examine such data on existing chemicals and, when it is insufficient, to direct industry to conduct tests. 

Submit notice to EPA of information which reasonably supports the conclusion that a substance or mixture presents a substantial risk of injury to health or the environment. 

The third column of Table 5.1 presents the radius of 50% mortality from the air blast of a nuclear weapon. The blast (or shock wave) travels in all directions from ground zero at approximately the speed of sound. The blast alone can be fatal, but the risk of serious injury or fatality increases significantly because the shock wave picks up any materials in its path (e.g., shards of glass, metal, etc.). At the speed of sound, the air blast plus flying shrapnel travels at a speed of about 1 mile every 5 seconds. Thus, an individual 5 miles from ground zero has about 25 seconds to take cover before the air blast arrives. The same air blast speed applies to almost any size nuclear weapon.2 The risk of injury from the blast drops with increased distance from ground zero. 

Given this erratic behavior, we decided outdoor testing carried a significant risk of injury, even with close supervision. As always, we believed that safety concerns should take precedence over outdoor realism. 

Juvenile Atlantic salmon Salmo salar) and juvenile rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss) that live in kin groups fight less, thus saving energy and reducing the risk of injury (Brown and Brown, 1993). Rainbow trout discriminate unfamiliar kin from non-kin, but not familiar from unfamiliar kin (Brown et ah, 1993). This appears to be an example of phenotype matching kin have matching odors, while kin and non-kin have not. 

CPSC works to save lives and keep families safe by reducing the risk of injuries and deaths associated with consumer products. 

Acute effects often involve the central nervous system, because of the rapid absorption of the solvent from the lungs and direct distribution to the brain. The immediate effects may result in mild impairment of judgment or drowsiness. In most situations these effects are not serious and will end quickly once exposure stops. In some circumstances a slight lapse of judgment could be disastrous. A person responding to a hazardous material spill or perhaps a fire must take appropriate precautions to limit exposure to any solvents that could impair judgment and thus increase risk of injury. 

From a health perspective, there are few redeeming features of solvents except when used as anesthetics. Clearly the simple recommendation is to avoid exposure unless administered for some medical reason. In the workplace, appropriate ventilation and personal safety equipment should be in place at all times. There are numerous national and international regulations on solvent exposure in the workplace. Substitution of less-toxic solvents in processes and products can reduce the risk of injury. 

The patient should protect the eye when it is anaesthetized since there is a risk of injury if small fragments enter the eye or if the patient scratches the eye. 

Most safety, loss prevention, and security (S/LP/S) incidents result from or are intensified by some kind of human failure. Training reduces the risk of injury to people and the loss of property and technology. 

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