Workplace safety

Product and Process Performance Standards. Performance standards involve the broad area of product safety, workplace standards and environmental quality. Here we find OSHA, EPA,... 

Finally it should be mentioned that an increasing number of corporations have continued to expand their corporate policies toward the knowledge and perceptions of health emd environmental concerns. For example, many company policies relate, in a comprehensive way, to product safety, workplace health ajid safety, and to disposal of chemicals. 

Any situation, process, materiaL or condition that, on the basis of applicable data, can cause a fire or explosion or provide a ready fuel supply to augment the spread or intensity of a fire or explosion and that poses a threat to life, property, continued business operation, or the enviromnent. The relative degree of hazard can be evaluated and appropriate safeguards provided. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Charts, 1992-2007, fires and explosions accounted for 3 percent of workplace fatalities in 2007. See also Fire Safety, Workplace. 

If safety programs have stalled on a plateau of acceptance, professionals should zero in on the causes of most work fatalities motor vehicle safety, truck fleet safety, workplace violence prevention, and fire and explosion protection (fatal work injuries resulting from fires and explosions rose from 113 in 2009 to 187 in 2010, an increase of 65 percent, according to the BLS. 

It may well be that fire safety inspections are included as part of a general health and safety workplace inspection programme. It is likely that a safety inspection form will be produced to ensure that key elements are covered by the inspection and to ensure consistency of approach. There are a number of key headings which are likely to be found on a fire safety inspection record, whichever recording mechanism is used. These following items are should be included as a minimum ... 

As has previously been discussed, the mechanisms for analysing the findings may take a number of forms that may also include statistical analysis, if numerical scales have been utilised, which is often the case when undertaking general health and safety workplace inspections. 

The history of the safety field goes back to 1868, when a patent for a barrier safeguard was awarded in the United States [5]. In 1893, the U.S. Congress passed the Railway Safety Act. Today, the field of safety has branched out into specialized areas such as system safety, workplace safety, and patient safety. A detailed history of the safety field is given in Dhillon [6]. 

Continuous monitoring for the presence of fluorine gas in the workplace may be accompHshed using detectors available from Mine Safety Apphances (Pittsburgh, Pa.) or FIT (Exton, Pa.). 

Industrial hygienists work closely with members of several other professions concerned with workplace health and safety, eg, occupational medicine, occupational health nursing, and safety engineering. AH of these groups are involved in the implementation of the laws that regulate workplace health and safety. In the United States the principal law is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) (1) enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. 

A partial Hst of the hazards or conditions arising from the workplace (see also Plant safety) and with which industrial hygienists are concerned includes... 

Health and Safety Factors. Malononitrile is usually available as a soHdifted melt in plastic-Hned dmms. Remelting has to be done carefully because spontaneous decomposition can occur at elevated temperatures, particularly above 100°C, in the presence of impurities such as alkaHes, ammonium, and 2inc salts. Melting should be carried out by means of a water bath and only shordy before use. Occupational exposure to malononitrile mainly occurs by inhalation of vapors and absorption through the skin. Malononitrile has a recommended workplace exposure limit of 8 mg/m, an LD q (oral, rats) of 13.9 mg/kg, and is classified as slight irritant (skin irritation, rabbits). Transport classification RID/ADR 61, IMDG-Code 6.1, lATA/ICAO 6.1. 

Safety ia the P/M industry workplace is also a concern regarding the operation of compacting presses. Guarding devices are required by OSHA to prevent injuries. Those devices applying specifically to metal powder compacting presses are described in a standard issued by the Metal Powder Industries Federation. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates the exposure to chemicals ia the workplace. From the poiat of view of the inorganic pigments iadustry, the limits estabUshed for lead and cadmium exposure are particularly important. A comprehensive lead standard adopted by OSHA ia 1978 has been successful ia reduciag the potential for lead contamination ia the workplace. 

A more recent OSHA development has been the availabihty of personnel from OSHA and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) for consultation to identify, evaluate, and correct workplace ha2ards (20). 

Flammable Hquids used in indoor workplaces and laboratories should be contained in approved safety cans having self-closing spouts and flash... 

Managing Workplace Safety andHealth The Case of Contract Eabor in the U.S. Petrochemical Industry, Appen. 1-A, John Gray Institute, Beaumont, Tex.,... 

The principal function of OSHA is the protection of people, eg, employees, visitors, and temporary help, in the workplace. Regional offices are in the same areas as those of the EPA (see Table 1). The principal law covered by OSHA is the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). 

Talc is considered a nuisance dust and subject to regulation in the workplace by both the Occupational Health and Safety Administration and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Eight-hour exposure limits for talc dust are two milligrams of talc per cubic meter. 

Toxicity Data on Af- Vinyl-2-Pyrrolidinone. Results of a chronic inhalation study in rats warrant a review of industrial hygiene practices to assure that VP vapor concentrations are maintained at a safe level. One of the manufacturers, ISP, recommends that an appropriate workplace exposure limit be set at 0.1 ppm (vapor) (9). Additionally, normal hygienic practices and precautions are recommended, such as prompt removal from skin and avoidance of ingestion. In case of accidental eye contact, immediately flush with water for at least 15 minutes and seek medical attention. Refer to the manufacturers Material Safety Data Sheets for more detailed information. Table 3 provides some toxicity data. 

The handling of arsenic in the workplace should be in compliance with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations the maximum permissible exposure limit for arsenic in the workplace is 10 p-g/m of air as deterrnined as an average over an 8-h period (33). 

Safe Exposure Levels. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has adopted workplace exposure limits designed to keep airborne concentrations weU below the levels known to cause health problems (35) including ( ) daUy time-weighted average (TWA) exposure over an eight-hour day is not to exceed beryUium concentrations of 2 lg/m of air and (2) short-term exposure should not exceed beryUium concentrations of 25... 

Workplace. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OHSA) has estabUshed workplace permissible exposure limits (PEL) for chromium metal and three forms of chromium compounds. OSHA s PEL for chromic acid and chromates is 0.1 mg/m 3 both a ceiling, ie, no exposure above this concentration is allowed, and an 8-h time-weighted average (TWA). Chromium metal and insoluble chromium salts have an 8-h TWA PEL of 1.0 mg/m Cr, and the same standard is 0.5 mg/m Cr for soluble Cr(III) and Cr(II) compounds (144). 

NFPA 70E Standard for Electrical Safety Requirements for Employee Workplaces. 

Regulatory and advisory bodies publish methods for ambient air analysis sueh as those issued by the British Standards Institute and the US Environment Proteetion Ageney (Tables 10.24 and 10.25, respeetively). Methods for assessment of workplace air are published by the Health and Safety Exeeutive. Some of these are generie methods (Table 10.26) whilst others are eompound speeifie (Table 10.27). Examples of other offieial methods for monitoring workplaee air quality are those published by the British Standards Institute (Table 10.28), and the US National Institute of Oeeupational Safety and Health (Table 10.29). Table 10.30 provides additional guidanee on analytieal teehniques for a seleetion of substanees. 

Eirst-aid needs m your workplace your questions answered. Revised 1994 General guidance for inclusion m first-aid boxes The Gas Regulations for everybody s safety Hot work on tanks and drums... 

L 24 Workplace health, safety and welfare. Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations) 1992. Approved... 

Cover means of communicating health and safety information m all workplaces. Include illuminated signs, alarms, verbal communication, fire safety signs, marking of pipework, etc. 

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