Toxicology Occupational Health and Hygiene - Assignment Example

 Toxicology Occupational Health and Hygiene Introduction There is a substantial relationship between work and health in that both go hand in hand and are essential for each other. Work is essential economically, mental health, physical health as well as people’s wellbeing. Likewise, health is significant for work, for fruitful and thriving businesses, successful local societies and the maintainable economic growth of acountry. Hence, a healthy public makesa healthy gain. Nevertheless, the daily work functions we carry out, materials we are exposed to as well as the ecological conditions, can lead to long-term damage to our health. However, thehazards to health can be controlled, and poor health prevented, if every companyembracesvarious easy steps to spot sources of harm and employactions to deal with them. Task 1 Bradycardia is a condition whereby the heart tends to have a slower beating rate than normal. In a normal adult heart at rest, the beats are usually between 60 and 100 times per minute. However, if an individual suffers from bradycardia, his /her heartbeat is lesser than 60 times in a minute. The condition can be considered a fatal problem in instances where the heart does not propel sufficient oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. However, some individuals do not display any symptoms or complication when suffering from the condition. The condition can be caused by many reasons such as changes in the heart that are the effect of growing old. In addition, illnesses that harm the heart’s electrical system including, heart attacks, infections such as myocarditis and endocarditis as well as coronary artery disease. Another cause includes situations that have a potential in slowing the electrical impulses across the heart such as a low thyroid level also known as hypothyroidism. An electrolyte imbalance, for instance, too much potassium in the blood is another condition that can lead to a slow electrical impulse in the heart. Lastly, various medication used while treating high blood pressure or heart conditions such as antiarrhythmic, digoxin and beta-blockers can lead to a slowed heartbeat rate. Although some individuals suffering from the condition exhibit mild to no symptoms at all, a few symptoms are associated with it. The patients usually feel lightheaded or dizzy and have short of breath, which makes them find it difficult to be involved in exercising. In addition, they tend to feel exhausted and experience chest pains or a feeling that their heart is throbbing or flapping. In addition, they tend to sense of confusion or have a hard time concentrating and to some lengths, even faint if the condition results in blood pressure drop. The condition’s treatments include, depending on the causes, being given a pacemaker, which is placed beneath the skin to assist in correcting a slow heartbeat. If caused by an electrolyte imbalance, treating the problem may rectify the heart rate, where medication caused it changing it may deal with the condition. In this scenario, the employee has gotten a pacemaker. Task 2 Since the company specializes on machine production, the process involves a lot of exposure to hazardous materials such as sprays, gasses, fumes, vapours and mists among others. Consequently, inhalation of dangerous such substances at work can put the entire workforce health at risk. Therefore, the management of the company should register with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). COSHH will impose responsibilities on the company to take procedures that control or prevent the exposure. In this case, the company will have the expertise on ways to ensure that the ill employ is no longer be exposed to such threats or any other employee for that matter. Also, the persons in charge of distributing and supervising on works that involve the usage of materials that have labels indicating the corrosive, harmful, irritation or toxic, should ensure that the instructions are well followed. Therefore, the company can introduce some form of protective wear, whereby no employee is allowed into such zones without the necessary outfit. For example, in order to prevent inhalation of hazardous fumes and sprays, the employees could use gas masks at all times they are working in such environments. Introduction of respirators and breathing equipment in the company would be essential. However, it should only be used as the final alternative oncethe company hasadhered to every other practical step to manage the contact, and improved the air quality and aeration at the work area. Therefore, the validation for using the respirators and breathing equipment should be clear in the company’s risk evaluation, which, in this case, will be required to be written since the company has a huge number of employees. On the other hand, for the skin contact prevention, non-corrosive garments should be introduced, whereby, every individual accessing the production zones are mandated to dress into. The rule should include those directly involved in the production processes as well as those who supervise or the sales person like the sick employee. Moreover, it would be advisable if the company ensures enough instruction, training, as well as information is given to anyone using any sort of work equipment. And as a constant reminder, it would be crucial to offer the instructions in writing, and to consider the departments that require more information. Also, refresher exercise would be necessary in varioussituations, to ensure that the users are using the equipment properly. In this case, since the recovered employee has not been working for some time, the possibility of him having had forgotten how to use the gas equipment, the instructions would come in handy. Also, any other new equipment recently introduced during his absence would require him to have information on how to use it. In addition, the company should work towards ensuring the general wellbeing of its employees, to ensure the development of the company as well as its workforce. Work that causes improper obstruction with normal life can harm workers’ physical or mental health and performances and eventually damage both domestic and work competence. Most signs related to the effects of the harm include depression and anxiety, recurrent sickness absence or lateness and deficiency in task performance. The company should, therefore, look for ways that ensure the workforce’s wellbeing. For example, there should not be overworking of employees, the remuneration should be rewarding, the relationship among employees and employee to the seniors should be good. Also, getting employees involved in activities that are of help to their health and revitalization such as having an outdoor sports day can help. Moreover, meetings that allow the contribution of every employee without any discrimination can help in team building and instilling a feeling of belonging by the employees. The company should also see to it that there are adequate safety signs and signals all around the company. It should be so because safety signs and signals tend to be one of the majormethods of communicating safety and health information. They include the use of lit-up signs, spoken communication, hand and acoustic signals such as fire alarms, labelling of pipeline containing harmful materials and spoken communication. Other safety signs that the company should employ include conventional signposts such as warning and prohibition indicators, fire exit indicators, fire action plan notices as well as fire fighting equipment. The major essence should be the understandability and interpretation of such signs and signals. Another important aspect it would be of great essence if the company implemented were health surveillance all workers. Health surveillance enables for early detection of poor health and helps discover any remedial action necessary before deterioration. Health surveillance can at times be a necessity from the government especially if a company’s labour force is exposed to noise or vibration, fumes, solvents, dusts, fumes, biological agents and other materials that prove harmful to health, or work in dense air. After the recovering worker has reported to work, his health progress should be put to surveillance through constant check-ups, whereby, managers in charge of worker’s wellness keep record of his improvement or deterioration. According to the European safety and health legislation, directives that emphasize on particular aspects of health and safety at work as well as the Framework Directive with its broadrange of appliance are its basics.The directivesset outthe least prerequisites and necessary principles such as the principle of stopping and risk evaluation as well as the workforce and employer’s duties. In addition, the guidelines provided in the legislation focus on aiding the execution of the given directives and standards. A directive is a legal act offered in the EU Treaty. It is compulsory in its entirety and compels Member States to invert it into national law within the set time limit. A directive enters into poweras soon as it is available in the Official Journal of the EU. The directives on health and safety at work place have their legal base in Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The article provides the EU the power to pick-up directives in this area. And althoughMember States have the freedom to embrace stricter laws, many have already adopted the set rules. Therefore, the company would need to learn these directives and laws and adopt them in order to avoid any kind of collision with the government. The implementation of safety equipment, regulation of aeration and health surveillance among other are among the aspects mandated by the State laws. Therefore, there will not be any conflicts between the company and the government since the worker would no longer be exposed to harm any longer. Under the directive 89/391/EEC on evaluation to develop health and safety at work, it encourages enhancements in work-related health and safety in every sections of activity, whether public or private. It also endorses employees’ rights to make suggestions relating connecting to safety and health, to petition to the proficient authority and to prevent work in the event of grave harm. Moreover, it seeks to sufficiently protect workers as well as ensure that they go back to their homes in perfect health at the end of each working day. Therefore, according to the state directive, the embracing of the above-mentionedadvice will put the company on the safe side of the law. The Health and Safety Executive has come up with a series of health and safety law implementations. For example, the Health and safety law poster is expected to be put on display on all business properties. There are varieties of versions of the poster, from which a company can choose from the most suitable for their business, relying on where in the UK thecompany is located. Therefore, every employer within the UK is mandated by the law to either display the Health or Safety Executive approved law poster or to offer members of their staff with the corresponding leaflet. Task 3 Since the recovering employee have been issued with a pacemaker as part of his treatment, his functionality can be presumed to go back to normal as he returns back to work and resume in his duties. However, in order to ensure that there are no further complications experienced concerning his health, the company should make sure that the previous guidelines such as health surveillance are keenly followed. In addition, there are many hazardous exposures. The work involves the employees such as toxic gases and sprays used on the machines. The employee should be aware of the harmful materials he is exposed to every time he is at work or in the machine production areas. The information will enable him to be more cautious every time he visits the area and use necessary preventive measures to avoid contact with the harmful products. There is also a higher probability of the employee attentiveness increase on the implication of such exposures if information is well provided. Every detail regarding the work and safety, from the least to the most important, should be provided to the staff, keenly and exhaustively. Hence, the employee would be in a better position to know what caused his condition, what other risks he is exposed to, how to prevent further damage to the current pacemaker and his entire health in general. He should also know that, inas much weight it is the company’s responsibility to ensure his and other staff’s health, he is also obligated to play an even bigger role. It will be mostly by ensuring that he observes the necessary precautions where needed. He should also be made aware of the risks he can pose to himself, hi people as well as the company in general, given instances where he may fail to observe the precautions. For instance, In case his health deteriorates due to ignorance, he, his family as well as the company would be affected directly. Nonetheless, for the first couple of months after resuming work, it would only be fair if the company waivered him from attending the mandatory visits to the manufacturing sites. The step would help him to undergo a quicker recovery as he would have acquired enough time for the pacemaker to adjust to his body and enable good functionality. Alternatively, for individuals who have higher potential of contracting the diseases, like this employee, should be barred from visiting the production rooms. Instead, alternatives like provision of tutorial-like recordings that indicate the ongoing of the production process should be implemented. Finally, the worker can be issued with informative products such as leaflets that had better explain about health and safety issues in a much more detailed format than a person would be important. That way, the worker is given ample time to go through it, even while back at home or with friends who, in one way or another, cannot lack a thing or two to add in order to help him adjust and recover. It would also come in handy, whereby, in cases where he wants to refresh his knowledge about safety precautions, he can always go back to the hand out and refer. Conclusion In conclusion, there are indeed many hazardous exposures at working places that have direct potential of temporarily or permanently affecting the health of company’s staff. Whether physical, mental, or emotional harm caused on them, it affects their competence, resulting to poor outcome for them and the companies they work for. However, with efforts to ensure the safety and good health of these individuals, state law offers a variety of regulations that, if followed, ensure the good functionality, health as well as safety for both the employers and their workforce. Other work ethics that ensure proper functioning is for the employers to value their staff, by applying necessary precautions that ensure their safety and sound health. However, since there are some companies that fail to adhere to rules given by the authorities, hence leaving the labour force vulnerable to dangers, the government should look into that attentively. The authorities should carry out multiple investigations in companies that deal with lethal substances, to ensure there is substantial safety in the company. In addition, in cases where employees tend to be ignorant of the given precaution measures, companies should come up with punishment plans such as fines. Therefore, an individual would be quick to remember an impending fine if they fail to follow instructions. Bibliography 37 Websites Description IOSH Occupational Health Toolkit Creator IOSH URL http://www.iosh.co.uk/information_and_resources/our_oh_toolkit.aspx 38 Databases Description Crooner i-health and safety expert URL http://libraryonline.leedsmet.ac.uk/pages/resources/databases 38 Databases Description OHSIS URL http://libraryonline.leedsmet.ac.uk/pages/resources/databases 38 Databases Description Health and Safety Science Abstracts URL http://libraryonline.leedsmet.ac.uk/pages/resources/databases Read More