Occupational and Industrial Health

NipinKalal
ccupational industrial and healrhis a crossdisciplinary area concernedwith protecting the safety, health and welfare of people e n g a g e di n w o r k o r e m p l o y m e n t .T h e g o a l s o f occupational safetvanclhcalthproerolnntts: in!.lLrde fbsterins sufcancl a healthrri ork environntent. il.,r it alsoprotect co-uorkers. ianrilr ntentber:. entplrr\er\. customers. manr others,,rhomight be aitectedbr and the workplaceenvironment. Occupationalhealth has been tlescribedas the 'promotion and ntaintenance physical and mental of well-being of all staff', a descriptionreinfbrcedby the Health and Safety Executive by concentr-ating the on provision of a safe and healthy workplace where the welfare of staff is a major factor. work-related injury in the UnitedStates, with2}million workersexposed hazardous to noiselevelsat work and Workplacehazards an estimated $242 million spentannuallyon worker's Physical and mechanicul hazards compensation hearinglossdisability. for Physicalhazardsare a common sourceof injuries in Oc:cupcttional hearing /oss..exposureto chemicals many industries. They areperhaps unavoidable many in such as aromatic solventsand metals including lead, industries suchasconstruction mining,but overtime and arsenic.and mercury can also causehearingloss. peoplehave developedsafetymethodsand procedures Heat .ytress can cause heat stroke, exhaustion. to manage risksof physicaldanger theworkplace. the in cramps.andrashes. Heat can alsofog up safetyglasses Falls are A common causeof occupationalinjuries or cause sweaty palmsor dizziness, of which increase all and fatalities,especiallyin construction, extraction. the risk of other injuries.Workersnearhot surfaces or transpoftation, healthcare,and building cleaning ancl steamalso iire at risk fbr burns.Dehydrationmay also maintenance. resultf}om overexposure heat.Cold stress to alsoposes The National Instituteof Occupational Saf'ety and a danger to many workers. Overexposure to cold Health defines "conflned space" as having limited conditions or extreme cold can lead to hypothermia, openingsfor entry and exit and unfhvourablenatural frostbite.trenchfoot, or chilblains. ventilation,and which is not intendedfor con'.inuous E l e c t r i c ' i t t , p o s e sa d a n g e r t o m a n y w o r k e r s . employee occupancy. Thesekinds of spaces include can Electricalinjuries can be divided into four types:fatal storage tanks,shipcompartments, sewers, pipelines. and electrocution, electricshock,burns,and falls caused by Confinedspaces pose ahazardnot just to workers, can contactwith electric energy. but also to people who try to rescuethem. Vibrating machinery lighting, andairpressure also can Noise also presentsa fairly common workplace causework-relatedillness and injury. Asphyxiationis hazard:occupational hearingloss is the most common anotherpotential work hazardin certain situations.
HealthAction a October20.12

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Occupationalsafety health industry and by Construction one of the most is Specificoccupational safetyandhealthconceffrs vary dangerous occupations the world, in greatly by ssctor and industry. Constructionworkers incurringmoreoccupational fatalitiesthan mightbe particularly risk of f alls.for instance, at whereas any other sectorin both the United States fishermen might be parlicularlyat risk of drowning.The and in the European Union. In 2009,the United StatesBureauof Labor Statisticsidentifiesthe fishing, aviation. lumber, metalworking, agriculture, fatal occupational injury rateamong mining and transporlation industriesas amongsomeof workersin the UnitedStates the more dangerous workers. construction fbr was nearlythreetimesthat fbr all ll'orkers. Cortstntctiott Falls are one of the most commoncauses Construction oneof themostdangerous is occupations in theu trrld.incurrinsluoreoccupational latalities than of fatal andnon-fatalinjuriesamong any'other sectorin both thr-' Untted States aud in the construction workers. Propersafety European Union. In 1009.thetataloccupational injury equipmentsuchas harnesses and rate amongconstruction norkers in the United States guardrailsand procedures suchas was nearly three times that for all workers. Falls are one of the most common causes fatal and non-tatal of securing laddersand inspecting injuries among constructionworkers. Proper safety scaffoldingcan curtail the risk of equipment such as harnesses and guardrails and occupational injuriesin the construction proceduressuch as securingladdersand inspecting industrv. scaffbldingcan curlail the risk of occupational injuries
in the construction industry. M u s c u l o s k e l e t a d i s o r d e r sa r e a v o i d e d b y t h e l :mploymentof good ergonomicdesignandthereduction rf repeated strenuous movementsor lifts. Agriculture Agricultureworkersareoften at risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearingloss.skin disease. well as ceftain cancersrelatedto chemical as Eiological hazards useor prolongedsunexposure. industrialized On farms, r Bacteria,Virus, Fungi, Mold, Blood-bornepathogens, injuries frequentlyinvolve the use of agricultural machinery. mostcommoncause f'atal The of agricultural and Tuberculosis injuriesin the UnitedStates tractorrollovers, is which Chemical hazsrds can be preventedb1 the use of roll over protection r A c i d s , B a s e s ,H e a v y m e t a l s , L e a d , S o l v e n t s , u structures hich linrit the risk of injury in case tractor a Petroleum. Parliculates rolls orer.!61 Pesticides otherchemicals and usedin D Asbestosandotherfine dust/fibrousmaterials,Silica, fannine can also be hazardous worker health, and to Fumes (noxious gases/vapours), Highly-reactive workerserposedto pesticides may experience illnesses chemicals or birrh defects. r Fire, conflagrationandexplosionhazards Explosion, ( Deflagration, Detonation, Conflagration) r Psychological and socialissues r Work-related stress.whose causal factors include excessive working time and overwork r Violencefrom outsidethe organisation r Bullying, which may include emotionaland verbal abuse r Sexual harassment r Mobbing o Burnout I Exposureto unhealthyelements during meetingswith business associates, tobacco, e.g. uncontrolled alcohol
{ e a l l hA c t i o n. O c t o b e r 0 1 2 2

Health check assessments needed for the (if iob concerned) Sen,ice sector 'The main influenceon the Dutch law on thejob of As the number of servicesectorjobs has risen in the safety professional is through the requirement developed countries. nroreandmorejobs havebeconte on each emplorer to use the servicesof a certified s e d e n t a r r p r e s e n t i n u d i f f e r e n t a r r a v o i h e a l t h rr orking . a conditions serr.ice advisethem on health to problems thanthose associated ith manuf.rcturing u anti a n d : a f e I r ' . - { ' c e r t i f i e d s e r v i c e ' m u s t e m p l o y thepnmarl'sector. Contemporan,problems asrhe suftrcienr such numbers four typesof certifiedexperts oi growing rateof obesityand issues relatingto srress and to co\er rhe risks in the orsanizations which usethe overwork in many countrieshave further complicated service: the interaction between work and health. r A safety professional

As the numberof servicesectorjobs has risenin developed countries, more and morejobs have becomesedentary, presenting differentarcay health a of problemsthan thoseassociated with manufacturingand the primary sector. Contemporaryproblems such as the growing rate of obesityand issues relating to stress and overworkin many countries havefurthercomplicated interaction the betweenwork andhealth.

a Systematicevaluationsof the working environment a Endorsing preventativemeasures which eliminate

reasons illnesses the work place for in o Gir ing infbrmation thesubject employees,health in of o G i r i n _ si n f o r m a r i o n o n o c c u p a t i o n a h y g i e n e . l ergonomics alsoenr.ironmental safetyrisks and and in the work place. In the Netherlands, required tasks for health and safety staff are only summarily defined, and include: . Voluntary medical examinations . r A consulting room on the work environment for the workers

Occupational Safetyand Health Management Systems

International In 2001, the International Labour Organization (ILO) publishedILO-OSH 2001, also titled ,,Guidelines on occupationalsafety and health management systems,, t o a s s i s t o r g a n i z a t i o n sw i t h i n t r o d u c i n g O S H management systems.[24] Theseguidelinesencourage continual improvement in employee health and safety, achieved a constant via process ofpolicy, organization, planning & implementation, evaluation, and actionfor improvement. all supportedby constant auditins to determinethe success OSH actions. of

o An occupationalhygienist o An occupational physician Risk assessment Modern occupationalsafety and health legislation usually demandsthat a risk assessment carried be out prior to making an intervention. It should be kept in mind that risk managementrequires risk to be managedto a level which is as low as is reasonablv practical. This assessment should: o Identify the hazards o Identify all affected by the hazardand how o Evaluatethe risk o Identify and prioritize appropriatecontrol measures. The calculation risk is basedon the likelihood or of probability of the harm being realizedand the severiry o f t h e c o n s e q u e n c e sT h i s c a n b e e x p r e s s e d . mathematicallyas a quantitativeassessment (by assigning low, mediumandhigh likelihood andseverity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor), or qualitatively as a description of the circumstances which the harm could arise.I by
(Principal, J.R. Institute of Nursing, Sagwara, ,;:,f;:#:,

of loles and Responsibilities Occupational Healthand Safetyprofessionals

The roles and responsibilities OSH professionals of vary regionally,but may include evaluatingworking environments, developing,endorsingand encouraging measures that might prevent injuries and illnesses, providing OSH informationto employers,employees, and the public, providing medical examinations. and assessing success worker health programs. the of The main required tasks of an OccupationalHealth and SafetyPractitioner include:
HealthAction . October2012