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Occupational health and safety is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. The goal of all occupational health and safety programs is to foster a safe work environment.^[1] As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment. It may involve interactions among many subject areas, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, chemistry, health physics, ergonomics, toxicology, epidemiology, environmental health, industrial relations, public policy, industrial sociology, medical sociology, social law, labour law and occupational health psychology.

[edit] Definition

Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a common definition of occupational health. It was adopted by the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its first session in 1950 and revised at its twelfth session in 1995. The definition reads: "Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job."

[edit] Relationship to occupational health psychology

Occupational health psychology (OHP), a related discipline, is a relatively new field that combines elements of occupational health and safety, industrial/organizational psychology, and health psychology.^[2] The field is concerned with identifying work-related psychosocial factors that adversely affect the health of people who work. OHP is also concerned with developing ways to effect change in workplaces for the purpose of improving the health of people who work. For more detail on OHP, see the section on occupational health psychology.

[edit] Reasons for Occupational health and safety

The reasons for establishing good occupational health and safety standards are frequently identified as:

• Moral - An employee should not have to risk injury or death at work, nor should others associated with the work environment.
• Economic - many governments realize that poor occupational health and safety performance results in cost to the State (e.g. through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the "employability" of the worker). Employing organizations also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work (such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, from customers and from the wider community).
• Legal - Occupational requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law; it is accepted that without the extra "encouragement" of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organisations would not act upon their implied moral obligations.

[edit] National implementing legislation

Different states take different approaches to legislation, regulation, and enforcement.

In the European Union, member states have enforcing authorities to ensure that the basic legal requirements relating to occupational health and safety are met. In many EU countries, there is strong cooperation between employer and worker organisations (e.g. Unions) to ensure good OSH performance as it is recognized this has benefits for both the worker (through maintenance of health) and the enterprise (through improved productivity and quality). In 1996 the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was founded.

Member states of the European Union have all transposed into their national legislation a series of directives that establish minimum standards on occupational health and safety. These directives (of which there are about 20 on a variety of topics) follow a similar structure requiring the employer to assess the workplace risks and put in place preventive measures based on a hierarchy of control. This hierarchy starts with elimination of the hazard and ends with personal protective equipment.

In the UK, health and safety legislation is drawn up and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities (the local council) under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Increasingly in the UK the regulatory trend is away from prescriptive rules, and towards risk assessment. Recent major changes to the laws governing asbestos and fire safety management embrace the concept of risk assessment.

In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created both the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).^[3] OSHA, in the U.S. Department of Labor, is responsible for developing and enforcing workplace safety and health regulations. NIOSH, in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is focused on research, information, education, and training in occupational safety and health.^[4]

OSHA have been regulating occupational safety and health since 1971. Occupational safety and health regulation of a limited number of specifically defined industries was in place for several decades before that, and broad regulations by some individual states was in place for many years prior to the establishment of OSHA.

In Canada, workers are covered by provincial or federal labour codes depending on the sector in which they work. Workers covered by federal legislation (including those in mining, transportation, and federal employment) are covered by the Canada Labour Code; all other workers are covered by the health and safety legislation of the province they work in. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), an agency of the Government of Canada, was created in 1978 by an Act of Parliament. The act was based on the belief that all Canadians had "...a fundamental right to a healthy and safe working environment." CCOHS is mandated to promote safe and healthy workplaces to help prevent work-related injuries and illnesses.

In Malaysia, the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) under the Ministry of Human Resource is responsible to ensure that the safety, health and welfare of workers in both the public and private sector is upheld. DOSH is responsible to enforce the Factory and Machinery Act 1969 and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

In the People's Republic of China, the Department of Health is responsible for occupational disease prevention. On the provincial and municiple level, there are Occupational Disease Prevention hospital^[5]. The "Occupational Disease Prevention Law of PRC" came into force on May 1, 2002. ^[6] The prevention of occupational disease is still in its initial stage compared with industried countries, such as US or UK.

[edit] Identifing Safety and Health Hazards

[edit] Hazards, risks, outcomes

The terminology used in OSH varies between states, but generally speaking:

• A hazard is something that can cause harm if not controlled.
• The outcome is the harm that results from an uncontrolled hazard.
• A risk is a combination of the probability that a particular outcome will occur and the severity of the harm involved.

“Hazard”, “risk”, and “outcome” are used in other fields to describe e.g. environmental damage, or damage to equipment. However, in the context of OSH, “harm” generally describes the direct or indirect degradation, temporary or permanent, of the physical, mental, or social well-being of workers. For example, repetitively carrying out manual handling of heavy objects is a hazard. The outcome could be a musculoskeletal disorder (MSD) or an acute back or joint injury. The risk can be expressed numerically (e.g. a 0.5 or 50/50 chance of the outcome occurring during a year), in relative terms (e.g. "high/medium/low"), or with a multi-dimensional classification scheme (e.g. situation-specific risks).

[edit] Hazard Assessment

Hazard analysis or hazard assessment is a process in which individual hazards of the workplace are identified, assessed and controlled/eliminated as close to source (location of the hazard) as reasonable and possible. As technology, resources, social expectation or regulatory requirements change, hazard analysis focuses controls more closely toward the source of the hazard. Thus hazard control is a dynamic program of prevention. Hazard-based programs also have the advantage of not assigning or impling there are "acceptable risks" in the workplace. A hazard-based program may not be able to eliminate all risks, but neither does it accept "satisfactory" -- but still risky—outcomes. And as those who calculate and manage the risk are usually managers while those exposed to the risks are a different group, workers, a hazard-based approach can by-pass conflict inherent in a risk-based approach.

[edit] Risk assessment

Modern occupational safety and health legislation usually demands that a risk assessment be carried out prior to making an intervention. It should be kept in mind that risk management requires risk to be managed to a level which is as low as is reasonably practical.

This assessment should:

• Identify the hazards
• Identify all affected by the hazard and how
• Evaluate the risk
• Identify and prioritize appropriate control measures

The calculation of risk is based on the likelihood or probability of the harm being realized and the severity of the consequences. This can be expressed mathematically as a quantitative assessment (by assigning low, medium and high likelihood and severity with integers and multiplying them to obtain a risk factor, or qualitatively as a description of the circumstances by which the harm could arise.

The assessment should be recorded and reviewed periodically and whenever there is a significant change to work practices. The assessment should include practical recommendations to control the risk. Once recommended controls are implemented, the risk should be re-calculated to determine of it has been lowered to an acceptable level. Generally speaking, newly introduced controls should lower risk by one level, i.e, from high to medium or from medium to low.

[edit] Common workplace hazard groups

Mechanical hazards include: By type of agent: Impact force Collisions Falls from height Struck by objects Confined space Slips and trips Falling on a pointed object Compressed air/high pressure fluids (such as cutting fluid) Entanglement Equipment-related injury By type of damage: Crushing Cutting Friction and abrasion Shearing Stabbing and puncture Other physical hazards: Noise Vibration Lighting Barotrauma (hypobaric/hyperbaric pressure) Ionizing radiation Electricity Asphyxiation Cold stress (hypothermia) Heat stress (hyperthermia) Dehydration (due to sweating) Biological hazards include: Bacteria Virus Fungi Mold Blood-borne pathogens Tuberculosis

Harry McShane, age 16, 1908. Pulled into machinery in a factory in Cincinnati. His arm was ripped off at the shoulder and his leg broken. No compensation paid. Photograph by Lewis Hine. Chemical hazards include: Acids Bases Heavy metals Lead Solvents Petroleum Particulates Asbestos and other fine dust/fibrous materials Silica Fumes (noxious gases/vapors) Highly-reactive chemicals Fire, conflagration and explosion hazards: Explosion Deflagration Detonation Conflagration Psychosocial issues include: Work-related stress, whose causal factors include excessive working time and overwork Violence from outside the organisation Bullying, which may include emotional, verbal, and sexual harassment Mobbing Burnout Exposure to unhealthy elements during meetings with business associates, e.g. tobacco, uncontrolled alcohol Musculoskeletal disorders, avoided by the employment of good ergonomic design

Fire prevention (fire protection/fire safety) often comes within the remit of health and safety professionals as well.

In Canada, Hazards are typically categorized into one of six groups:

1. Safety (moving machinery, working at heights, slippery surfaces, mobile equipment, etc.) 2. Ergonomic (material handling, environment, work organization, etc.) 3. Chemical Agents 4. Biological Agents 5. Physical Agents(noise, lighting, radiation, etc.) 6. Psychosocial(stress, violence, etc.)

[edit] Future developments

Occupational health and safety has come a long way from its beginnings in the heavy industry sector. It now has an impact on every worker, in every work place, and those charged with managing health and safety are having more and more tasks added to their portfolio. The most significant responsibility is environmental protection. The skills required to manage occupational health and safety are compatible with environmental protection, which is why these responsibilities are so often bolted onto the workplace health and safety professional.

[edit] See also

Organized labour portal

[edit] General

• ANSI Z10
• Environment, Health and Safety - EHS, SHE or HES
• Material safety data sheet - MSDS
• NIOSH Mountain + Plains Education and Research Center - MAP ERC
• Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems - OHSMS
• Occupational Medicine Specialists of Canada
• OHSAS 18001
• Public safety

[edit] Government organizations

• Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (Canada)
• Congressional Office of Compliance (US)
• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU)
• Government & Educational OHS Resources (Australia)
• Health and Safety Executive (UK)
• Health for Work Adviceline for small businesses (UK)
• Information Center of Occupational Safety and Health (Israel)
• Institute of Occupational Safety_and_Health[http://www.labourdept.gov.lk
• International Labour Organisation (United Nations)
• KOSHA:Korea Occupational Safety and Health Agency (South Korea)
• National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US)
• National Institute of Occupational Health (India)
• National Institute of Occupational Health (Norway)
• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Malaysia)
• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (Sri Lanka)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (US)
• Safe Work Australia (Australia)
• Work Safe BC formerly Workers' Compensation Board of BC (WCB) (British Columbia, Canada)
• Workplace Safety & Health Council (Singapore)
• Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (Ontario, Canada)
• WorkSafe Victoria, Australia

[edit] Laws

• Health and Safety at Work Act (UK)
• Indonesian Act No.1/1970 about Occupational Safety at Work 1970 (Indonesia)
• Occupational Safety and Health Act (US)
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (Australia)
• Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (Malaysia)
• Timeline of major U.S. environmental and occupational health regulation
• Workplace Safety and Health Act (Singapore)

[edit] Lawsuits

• Castillo v. Case Farms of Ohio

[edit] Related fields

• Construction safety
• Epidemiology
• Ergonomics, Participatory Ergonomics
• Hazard analysis
• Hazard prevention
• Hazop
• Industrial hygiene
• Infection control
• Mine safety
• Occupational health psychology
• Process Safety Management
• Psychology
• Public health
• Toxicology

[edit] Workplace environmental standards

• ISO 8518
• ISO 8672
• ISO 8760 - ISO 8762
• ISO 9486 - ISO 9487
• ISO 11041
• ISO 11174
• ISO 15202
• ISO 15767
• ISO 16107
• ISO 16200
• ISO 16702
• ISO 16740
• ISO 17733 - ISO 17734
• ISO 17737
• ISO 20552

[edit] Other

• Active Agenda is a free and open source project to reduce workplace risk.
• Advocates for Injured Workers (AIW)
• Asbestosis - Compensation and Liability Disputes
• Disability Management
• Examinetics - mobile occupational health screening
• Hazards a UK-based, independent, union-friendly health and safety magazine
• Juliana Mateo Foundation for Disabled Farmworkers
• NIOSH Power Tools Database
• Occupational hygiene
• Occupational illness
• Occupational rehabilitation
• Occupational risk assessment
• Occupational therapy
• Institute of Occupational Medicine
• Prevention through design
• Safe-In-Sound Award Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award
• Safeguard (magazine) (in New Zealand)
• Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
• Workers' compensation

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• CDC page on Workplace Safety & Health
• European Academy of Occupational Health Psychology
• ILO International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre
• Occubus - an Occupational Medicine and Health wiki
• Society for Occupational Health Psychology
• UK Health & Safety Executive - Getting started for Small Business
• Workers Health and Safety Centre - Leading Canadian workplace health and safety training organization
• Mountain + Plains Education + Research Center - A NIOSH Education and Research Center for Occupational + Environmental Health + Safety

[edit] Further reading

• Koester, Frank (April 1912). "Our Stupendous Yearly Waste: The Death Toll of Industry". The World's Work: A History of Our Time XXIII: 713–715. 
• Ladou, Joseph (2006). Current Occupational & Environmental Medicine (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill Professional. ISBN 0-07-144313-4. 
• Roughton, James (2002). Developing an Effective Safety Culture: A Leadership Approach (1st ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-7411-3. 
• OHSAS 18000 series: (derived from a British Standard, OHSAS is intended to be compatible with ISO 9000 and 14000 series standards, but is not itself an ISO standard)

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Occupational safety and health".