Workplace individual

Once responsibilities have been allocated throughout the workplace, individuals or work teams become accountable for meeting the expectations these responsibilities errtail. 

With all the downsizing, right sizing, and reengineering going on within the workplace, individuals believe that they can help and have an impact on their continued employment and the survival of the company, if only asked and given the chance. To do this successfully, it is imperative that they have access to the information needed to solve issues facing them and their employer. 

Beryllium, beryllium-containing aUoys, and beryUium oxide ceramic in soHd or massive form present no hazard whatsoever (31). SoHd shapes may be safely handled with bare hands (32) however, care must be taken in the fabrication and processing of beryUium products to avoid inhalation of airborne beryUium particulate matter such as dusts, mists, or fumes in excess of the prescribed workplace exposure limits. Inhalation of fine airborne beryUium may cause chronic beryUium disease, a serious lung disease in certain sensitive individuals. However, the vast majority of people, perhaps as many as 99%, do not react to beryUium exposure at any level (33). The biomedical and environmental aspects of beryUium have been summarized (34). 

Control of individual workplace exposures in a manner that minimizes adverse health effects [3]... 

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been classified as human carcinogens because they induce cancers in experimental animals and because smoking and exposure to mixtures of chemicals containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the workplace increase the risk of lung cancer in exposed individuals. In experimental animals, benzo(a)pyrene induces cancer in different organs depending on the route of administration.Furthermore, exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons commonly occurs in occupations related to traffic (use of diesel engines in transportation and railways). 

This implies, for example, that measurements taken over a given period of time may give insufficient data to integrate workplace factors in the series of activities in the period under consideration in such a way as to permit assessment of the likely maximum risk to which the individual workers are exposed. 

Walk-through survey An examination or inspection of a workplace involving a review of hazardous materials present and/or used, observation of work practices, and consversations with individuals to identify all of the actual or potential chemical, physical, biological, and ergonomic hazards. 

From the traditional HF/E perspective, error is seen as a consequence of a mismatch between the demands of a task and the physical and mental capabilities of an individual or an operating team. An extended version of this perspective was described in Chapter 1, Section 1.7. The basic approach of HF/E is to reduce the likelihood of error by the application of design principles and standards to match human capabilities and task demands. These encompass the physical environment (e.g., heat, lighting, vibration), and the design of the workplace together with display and control elements of the human-machine interface. Examples of the approach are given in Wilson and Corlett (1990) and Salvendy (1987). 

The Information Contained in Procedures Is Correct, but It Is Not Cast in a Form Usable by the Individual at His or Her Workplace. 

Higher incomes, higher automobile ownership, and a decline in the population and workplaces that can be sciwcd by mass transit has lead to the declining mass transit demand. Criticism of this shift toward the private automobile comes mainly because the individual driver receives the short-term benefits (privacy, comfort, speed, and convenience), while the negative social consequences (air pollution, traffic jams, and resource depletion) are shared by all. Moreover, if people drove less, and drove more-fuel-efficient vehicles, the positive national goal of less dependence on imported oil would be achieved. 

Note that the following procedures only provide a framework in which specific health and safety procedures for the individual works or premises may be prepared. A senior member of the company or the person nominated as responsible for health and safety in the organization should write the foreword to a company s procedure. To emphasize its importance it should also include a part of the company s health and safety statement. It should be followed by an instruction such as You are required to read the following procedures carefully and comply with the sections relevant to your workplace . 

Muscles are capable of contracting for very long periods of time when the exercise intensity is below 60% VO2 max. For example, endurance times of 3—5 hours at 50% and over eight hours at or below 40% VO2 max are reported. There are many instances in the workplace where individuals work at intensities averaging 20-40% VO2 max for an eight hour shift. 

Biological exposure indices (BEI) published by the ACGIH are given in Table 4.35. BEIs represent the levels of determinant which are most likely to be observed in specimens collected from a healthy worker who has been exposed to chemicals to the same extent as a worker with inhalation exposure to the TLV. Due to biological variability it is possible for an individual s measurements to exceed the BEI without incurring increased health risk. If, however, levels in specimens obtained from a worker on different occasions persistently exceed the BEI, or if the majority of levels in specimens obtained from a group of workers at the same workplace exceed the BEI, the cause of the excessive values must be investigated and proper action taken to reduce the exposure. 

In contrast, three European studies have found slight but statistically significant increases in cancer in workers exposed to trichloroethylene. A survey of Finnish workers exposed to primarily trichloroethylene found an association of limited statistical significance between exposure and incidence of stomach, liver, prostate, and lymphohematopoietic cancers (Antilla et al. 1995). However, the study did not reliably separate the effects of individual solvents, so attributing these cancers to trichloroethylene exposure alone was not possible. A significant association between workplace exposure to trichloroethylene and kidney cancer was found in a retrospective cohort study of German cardboard factory workers (Henschler et al. 1995). The... 

Exposure to trichloroethylene can occur via the inhalation, oral, and dermal routes in people living in areas surrounding hazardous waste sites if evaporation occurs from contaminated soils or spill sites, or if contaminated water is ingested or used in bathing. Individuals who work in the vicinity of industries that use this substance may breathe trichloroethylene vapors or come into physical contact with spilled trichloroethylene. The group with the greatest likelihood for substantial exposure to trichloroethylene consists of those exposed to trichloroethylene in the workplace. 

The federal government has developed regulations and advisories to protect individuals from the potential health effects of acrylonitrile in the environment. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends that acrylonitrile levels in water not exceed 0.058 ppb. Any release to the environment of more than 100 lb must be reported to the federal government. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has established a legally enforceable maximum limit of 2 ppm in workplace air for an 8-hour exposure over a 40-hour work week. 

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