Occupational health is a multidisciplinary activity aimed at:
the defense and enhancement of the welfare of employees by avoiding and
managing workplace diseases and injuries and by removing workplace factors and
circumstances that are harmful to health and safety at work;
Developing and promoting healthy and safe work , work environments and work
organization;
Improvement of the physical , emotional and social well-being of staff and
encouragement for the growth and preservation of their job ability, as well as
personal and social advancement at job;
Allowing workers to have socially and economically prosperous lifestyles and to
make a meaningful difference to sustainable growth.
Interaction between Work and Health
The social and economic value of employment attracts tremendous consideration,
since the primary role of labor in every community is the development and delivery of
products and services. Employment is a dynamic influence that forms a person's sense of
identity
Positive Health Effects of Work
Two-way interaction
The workplace can have a positive or negative effect on the wellbeing of a person,
and performance, in addition, is affected by the physical and mental well-being of an
individual. Positive in terms of well-adjusted and efficient, could be a significant element in
the advancement of wellbeing.
Health hazards
If employment is combined with risks, it can promote workplace sickness, be one of
the primary causes of disease, or may worsen current non-occupational ill-health. Across
emerging nations, where labor is rapidly mechanized, a variety of job processes have been
created that view employees as means of development, placing their safety and lives at risk
Unemployment
Loss of employment can negatively affect the physiological and mental health of
workers. If unemployment remains, the health of the person continues to decline and
chronic illnesses may appear. Mental and financial trauma induced by employment loss will
extend to other family members. Both feelings of job insecurity and knowledge of
impending job loss have been associated with mental and physical health complaints.
Health, Workplace, Economy and Sustainable Development
A steady economy, excellent quality goods or services and long-term efficiency are
impossible to maintain under unsafe working environments where employees are
vulnerable to health and safety risks.
“Human beings are the center of concern for sustainable development. They have a
right to a healthy and profitable career in harmony with nature. Sustainable development is
defined as a strategy to “meet the needs of the world's existing population without having a
harmful impact on the health and the ecosystem and without destroying or endangering the
global resource base, and thus without sacrificing the capacity of future generations to meet
their needs."
Work as a Factor in Health Promotion
Health is characterized as the condition of full physical, mental and social well-
being. Health evolves and tends to evolve by association with the genotype and the general
climate.
Health promotion – the method of encouraging individuals to enhance control over
and develop their wellness. In order to achieve a level of full physical, mental and social
well- being, a person or community should be able to recognize and realize goals, fulfill
expectations and alter or cope with the climate.
Health Protection and Promotion Activities in the Workplace
National government
Governments are responsible for establishing and maintaining safe working
conditions and ensuring, through legislation, that occupational health services are provided
for all workers in all branches of economic activity, including those in the public sector.
Management
“Healthy workers are essential for optimal productivity”.
Workers
The employee/workers benefits from wellness protection services by providing a
clean and stable work atmosphere. Screening and health care opportunities are available.
Workers representatives and unions
The task of employees' associations, groups and unions is to collaborate with the
administration to guarantee that adequate health services are enforced and that an
acceptable arrangement is achieved between the different health initiatives.
Communities
The Community, through its key community staff and public health practitioners,
has specific responsibility for individual and group health awareness as a way of improving
wellness.
Occupational health professionals
Occupational doctors and nurses qualified to inspect, ask or examine workers
conditions. May include physiotherapist for muscuskeletal treatments, councilors for stress
personnel’s at work.
OCCUPATIONAL HYGEINE
It is the task of determining and managing external causes and pressures occurring
in or out of the workplace that may trigger injuries, sickness, compromised safety and well-
being or serious distress and inefficiency among employees or among the members of the
society.
RECOGNITION OF HEALTH HAZARDS
Inspection
First step in the process leading to evaluation and control and entails the
identification of materials and processes that have the potential to cause harm to workers.
Potential health hazards
Chemical hazards
Harmful chemical substances in the nature of solids, liquids, oils, mists, smoke, particles
and vapors have harmful consequences either by inhalation, close interaction with the skin,
or through ingestion.
Biological hazards
These occur through exposures to microbes, viruses, fungi and other living species that
can cause acute and chronic infections by reaching the body either directly or by breaks in
the skin.
Physical hazards
Those involve abnormal amounts of pressure, vibration, light and temperature, and
electromagnetic radiation.
Ergonomic hazards
The theory of ergonomics examines and tests a broad variety of activities, including,
though not restricted to, carrying, holding, moving, walking and reaching.
Psychosocial factors
These may include boring, repetitive tasks, production pressure, stress, low pay and
lack of recognition.
EVALUATION OF HEALTH HAZARDS
Evaluation of health hazards within a plant includes measurement of exposures
(and potential exposures), comparison of those exposures to existing standards and
recommendation of control if needed.
Exposure measurements techniques
These techniques are based on the nature of hazards and the routes of environmental
contact with the worker, ex.
Air analysis can indicate the concentration of harmful substances, gasses and fumes
that personnel could inhale.
Body wipes can be used to assess the degree of body interaction with harmful
materials that can enter the skin.
Monitor and automatically incorporate noise level in the office to assess overall
average exposure.
1. Selection and calibration of instruments
2. Establishing proper analytical methods
3. Strategy of sampling and measurement
Interpretation of findings
A great deal of judgement must be used in interpretation and reporting the results.
The investigators must have the following facts:
Nature of substance or physical agents
Intensity( concentration) of exposure
Duration of exposure.
Recommended exposure limits
Many standards have been recommended by different national and international
agencies. The most popular and comprehensive however are the list of threshold limit
values (TLVs) for chemical substances and physical agents and biological exposure indices
(BEIs) issued by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH).
There are three categories of TLV:
Time-weighted average (TWA): average exposure of an employee in an 8 hour work
a day of a 40 hours work of the week, which should not exceed.
Short-term exposure limit (STEL): The 15-minute TWA duration of the employee
shall not be extended at any point during the working day unless a further time
period is stated in the parenthetical notation below the mark. When a further time
span is
defined, TWA access within the time limit shall not be extended at any point during
the working day.
Ceiling-C: Exposure of the employee, which is not reached at every portion of the
working day. If simultaneous control is not practicable, the ceiling shall be
measured as a 15-minute TWA period, which shall not be reached at any point on a
working day.
CONTROLLING HAZARDS
These are steps necessary to protect workers from exposure to a substance or
system, the training and the procedures required to monitor worker exposure and their
health to hazards such as chemicals, materials or substance, or other types of hazards such
as noise and vibration. Workplace / Industrial hygienists understand that technologies,
workplace procedures and internal processes are the key ways of growing employee
vulnerability to occupational hazards.
Different types of controls
• Elimination (substitution): removal or substitution/replacement hazardous
materials or machines.
• Engineering Controls: designs or modifications to plants, equipment, ventilation
systems, and processes that reduce the source of exposure.
• Administrative Controls: (managerial controls) work schedule, rules and
regulations in the workplace (including training, housekeeping, and equipment
maintenance, and personal hygiene practices).
Personal Protective
HAZARD PREVENTION AND CONTROL
Efficient measures protect employees from environmental hazards; help to prevent
injuries, diseases and incidents; reduce or remove protection and health risks; and help
employers provide staff with secure and stable working environments.
Action item 1: Identify control options
There is a variety of resources available to help workers consider ways to monitor
known hazards. Before considering any control methods, it is important to seek feedback
from staff on their viability and efficacy.
Action item 2: Select controls
Employers must choose the measures that are more practical, reliable and
sustainable.
Action item 3: Develop and update a hazard control plan
The hazard control plan explains how the specified control systems will be carried
out. The efficient plan should address major risks in the first place. Immediate term
measures could be necessary, but the overall objective is to enable sustainable and long-term
control of hazards. It is necessary to monitor progress towards completion of the control
plan and regularly (at least annually and as circumstances, procedures or equipment change)
to insure that controls stay successful.
Action item 4: Choose controls to secure employees during non-routine procedures
and emergency circumstances.
The hazard control plan would provide measures to protect staff during non-routine
procedures and expected emergencies. Based in the work environment, these may involve
fires, explosions, product leaks, toxic substance spills, unplanned machinery shutdowns,
regular repair operations, environmental and weather hazards, occupational abuse,
extremist or criminal threats, outbreaks of illness (e.g. pandemic influenza) or medical
emergencies. Non-routine jobs, or activities not usually undertaken by staff, should be
handled with special care. Before initiating any task, check the JSAs / JHAs for all staff
concerned and notify them of the complexity of the task, the work plan and any required
safeguards.
Action item 5: Implement identified measures at the workplace
Once risk prevention and control measures are being verified, they must be established in
accordance with the hazard control plan.
Action item 6: Follow up to check the efficacy of the controls
Employers can monitor progress in introducing controls, review and assess controls
after they are implemented, and adopt regular proactive maintenance procedures to insure
that control mechanisms are and stay efficient.
