Employee Health and Safety: Outlining Hazards in the Workplace - Report Example

Employee Health and Safety: Outlining Hazards in the workplace Name Tutor Course Date Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Preliminary Approaches 3 Hazard Absorption and Metabolism 5 Heat 5 Absorption 5 Metabolism 6 Asbestos 6 Absorption and metabolism 7 Noise 7 Absorption and Metabolism 8 Solar Ultra Violet Radiation 8 Absorption and Metabolism 9 Short-Term Exposure Limits 9 Hazard Measurement 11 Control Recommendations 12 Bibliography 14 Introduction In addressing employee safety in the workplace, the employer saves a lot of money and resources in the process. Occupational injuries have been seen to interfere with company expenditures and thus reducing the profits that a company makes. This therefore means that when workers are healthy, the company spends less on insurance cists, there are reduced medical expenditures and eventually this leads to high productivity. Protecting employees at the workplace therefore remains one of the best interests of every employer. Safety and health has been confirmed to ass value to a business as well as lives of many. Preliminary Approaches A hazard is something that can be assumed to be a source of potential harm. It can also be termed as a situation with possibility to cause damage or infirmity. In outlining the various hazards that are prevalent in a workplace, various strategies are employed. In any workplace, there are tools that are used for work and an environment in which these workers interact and produce goods and services. There are various hazards that are present in any workplace. In this respect, this paper seeks to outline various hazards that include heat, asbestos, noise and Solar Ultra Violet Radiation. In outlining the various hazards, information has to be collected for analysis. Specifically, the effects of these hazards to the employee’s body as well as the effect to the environment have to be outlined first. Before collecting data about workplace hazards, hazard identification is the first step towards the control process. This procedure relies on the experience of the person carrying out the hazard analysis. The scope of the hazard review would involve the various processes that are carried out in the workplace and the existing measures that deal with workplace risks. This preliminary step will involve various elements such as preparation, hazard identification, consultation and research. In this process, one has to identify the boundaries within which the information will be gathered from. This will also include the scope and design of the analysis. Checklists from the workplace would be obtained to help in preparing to hazard identification. When identifying the hazards, a list of potential hazards would be availed so that the hazards can be recorded. The checklist would involve the nature of structures that are in the workplace, the systems or activities that are carried out in the workplace as well as the environment surrounding the workplace. Ana analysis of how emergency response can be hindered has to be done in order to determine what hazard in controllable. This way, the hazard will have been identified as well as the possibilities of emergency response. Upon identification, the preliminary approach would also involve consultation with various stakeholders to make certain that potential hazards have been identified adequately. In certain cases, professional help could be crucial in ensuring competency in dealing with hazards. Before any sampling, a research has to be carried out to ensure a clear understanding of the hazards. This would involve getting information from similar hazards, examining records of various companies, consulting health and safety employees if any and getting information about various products and services that are used in various workplaces. This way, the preliminary procedures will be accomplished and that the outline can be carried out. Samples would the be collected in order to determine the scope and magnitude of these hazards and their harm to the employees and the general environment. Hazard Absorption and Metabolism In this hazard analysis, four hazards have been identified. These include heat, asbestos, noise and Solar Ultra Violet Radiation. In outlining various ways that these hazards will be harmful to the workforce, there has to be an analysis of how they are absorbed and metabolized in the human body. There has to be a relationship between the hazard and health effects in the human body. Heat Heat can be defined as energy that is broadcasted from one organism to another by thermal contact (Callen, 1985). In a workplace, various variations in temperature affect employees differently. In various circles, a minimum and maximum temperature should be maintained. However, in the health safety and welfare regulations, there is no provision that employers should provide heating on cooling system those results in fumes and gas. If this occurs, then the employee will have been exposed to the risk of injury and offensive substances such as smoke and fire. Workplaces that are made of steel roofing can accumulate heat and later become discomfort to the employees. Limited mechanical ventilation in various equipments in the workplace may lead to the build up of heat. This heat can lead to dehydration as well as other heat related problems. Absorption Heat gets into the human body through the skin. When a hotter body meets a colder body, the hotter body tends to lose heat to the cooler body. This the means that the human body absorbs heat through the skin. This heat gets into the body and causes various changes. These changes may be adverse if the heat is too much. In many cases, the heat that exists in various workplaces affects the employees in various ways (Guyton, 1976). This heat may either lead to dehydration and other heath related problems. Metabolism The human body has various mechanisms of generating heat that is used for various purposes. This heat is maintained at a certain level to allow normal functioning of various processes. Metabolism refers to all biochemical processes in the body of a living organism. Thus, this is the breaking down of substances in the body. A healthy human being maintains a body temperature of 37.00. This may vary from one individual to another depending on the status of their health. When the temperatures of a workplace are higher than the normal room or atmospheric temperatures, the employees begin to complain too much heat (Kelly, 2007). When it is hot, they would start sweating and a result, there would be great discomfort in the side of the employee. Hot weather poses great risk to workers’ health and this becomes a hazard that needs control. Asbestos Asbestos are naturally occurring silicate minerals that are used in various chemical processes for desired gain (Castleman, 1996). These minerals are used in construction, where they are said to strengthen cement for better construction results. They are also used in ceiling and floor tiles as well as brake systems for vehicles. This therefore means that they are fully exposed ton human beings in any environment as workplace. They occur in six different states. There has been a reported reduction in the use of asbestos due to the health hazards that are accompanied with the minerals. When people in the workplace are exposed to asbestos, the tiny dust released from the asbestos may be taken into the body through breath and then are trapped in the lungs where they remain for a very long period (O’Reilly, McLaughlin, & Beckett, 2007). Asbestos have been confirmed to cause cancer and thus are referred to as carcinogens. Various studies have revealed that exposure to too much of the asbestos may lead to lung cancer. Asbestos can also cause asbestosis, which is an inflammatory effect in the lungs that eventually leads to shortness of breath and severe lung damage (Herbert, Moline, & Skloot, 2006). Therefore, everyone in the workplace is exposed to risk and that the employer may ensure there is very little use of asbestos in the workplace premises to avoid the consequences of the hazard. Absorption and metabolism Asbestos are taken into the human body through respiration. In the workplace, if the workers are involved in constructive work, there are chances that asbestos are involved. However, if the workplace is not construction oriented, the employees could be exposed to asbestos through the material that was used to construct various structures. Overall, anyone is exposed to asbestos at any time and the effects if the hazard are very adverse (Tweedale, 2001). In the human body, the asbestos are passed through the lungs where they are absorbed and some amounts remain in the lungs. Eventually, the respiratory tract may be compromised due to the high concentration of the asbestos. Eventually, difficulty in breathing may be the initial consequence of these asbestos in the reparatory tract. With time, cancer builds up and the entire respiratory system may be compromised (O’Reilly, et al., 2007). Noise Noise can generally be defined as sound that is loud, obnoxious, unforeseen or undesired (Schwartz, 2011). Excessive noise has been associated with loss of hearing from many people. Noise in the workplace has been said to cause damage to people’s hearing among other effects. Noise has various health risks to the employees of any workplace. Exposure to too much noise may cause a number of physiological and psychological hazards besides hearing loss. These include annoyance and speech interference, fatigue and aggression, heart disease and reduced immunize response. In adjusting to noise the body increases heart rate, raises blood pressure, and eventually releases hormones (adrenalin and cortisol). A noise assessment is necessary when dealing with the consequences of noise to the employees. This will help in identifying the sources of noise in the workplace so that preventive measures can be taken. Absorption and Metabolism Noise is absorbed through the ear and transmitted to the brain through the auditory nerve. The noise is then interpreted and a desired response is given through various parts of the body. When the noise is too much, it may cause damage to the hearing system of the human being. Once the noise enters the body through the ear and brain, it leads to many other processes that interfere with the hormonal balance in the body. This may lead to a significant release of hormones as adrenalin to deal with the sudden sound that has been detected (Schwartz, 2011). Solar Ultra Violet Radiation The sun has been seen as the sole developer of life on earth. The sun warms the human body and the eyes respond to variations in the light that come from the sun (Holman, Gibson, Stephenson, & Armstrong, 1983). Human exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation has various health connotations. Evidence of damage caused by exposure to sola UV has been seen in many surveys. Skin cancer is among the adverse effects that have been identified. Everyone is exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation and thus human beings are at risk. The magnitude of risk may differ from one person ton another depending on the degree of exposure (Kaidbey & Kligman, 1978). In the workplace, everyone is exposed, but the degree of exposure varies from a person to another. Employers should ensure that employees are not exposed to too much of this radiation. The hazard causes irreversible medical conditions that are a discomfort to people over a lifetime. Absorption and Metabolism Solar ultraviolet radiation enters the body through the skin and causes various reactions within the various layers of the skin. With time, as the skin is exposed to the radiation, various changes may occur. Depending on the concentration of atmospheric ozone, the skin may respond differently to radiation. Skin pigmentation may differ and therefore the magnitude of the risk may differ (Kaidbey, et al., 1978). Short-Term Exposure Limits In toxicology, STEL limits refer to the legal limit that an employee can be exposed to a hazard or chemical substance. Below is a table showing possible STEL limits for the hazards outlined. These limits are outlined in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard STEL limits Heat There are no STEL limits for Heat Asbestos 2 fibers per cc of air, having a maximum ceiling of 10 fibers at any given time Noise t = 480 / 2(L - 85)/3         (1) where t = maximum exposure duration (seconds) L = exposure level (dBA) 3 = exchange rate (dB) 85 = Recommended Exposure Limit - REL Solar UV Radiation Eyes - should not exceed 30 J m2- Skin - should not exceed 30 J m2- Hazard Measurement There are various ways of measuring a hazard. Some people use numbers while others use descriptions of the hazard. Heat can be measured using a thermometer that is calibrated in figures with the SI unit degrees (o). In many cases, the heat that exists in various workplaces affects the employees in various ways. Body temperature is usually 370 and any slight change becomes a hazard. When measuring heat, the body temperature of the human body and then the room temperature are taken to provide a basis of comparison. In measuring temperature, not much time is needed because temperature changes are measured in one day. When measuring asbestos, the air in a suspected area is trapped through a filter in order to capture asbestos fibers. They are measured using a phase contrast microscope. Microscopy does not need much time since the fibers are trapped and measured immediately. Thus the sample taken represents the entire workplace. Measurement of noise can be done using A-weighting and ITU-R 468. These methods include weighting curves that include hearing sensitivity. These measurements do not correlate to what is heard. This requires time and the sample required for this measurement is the workplace environment and the experience from the workers themselves. These workers will be able to specify which kind of noise irritates them and the causes of such noise. Measuring Solar Ultraviolet Radiation may require advanced electronic equipment that can be obtained from various suppliers. The time required for measuring UV radiation is relatively little and it does not require any subjects for the results to be obtained. Spectrometers are used in measuring solar radiation and these machines are calibrated to show the amount of solar radiation that enters the earth’s surface. Control Recommendations Having outlined the various hazards that may exist in the workplace, there is needed to suggest control measures that can be taken in order to reduce the amount of risk and consequences to the employees. If these hazards are not well controlled, they may lead to very high expenditures on the company in hiring employees to replace those leaving due to being incapacitated to work. Heat can be controlled in the workplace by use of various equipment such as fans and other temperature regulators (thermo regulators). Other than thermo regulators, heat can be controlled by proper ventilation as well as proper construction of work premises (Callen, 1985). Employees are supposed to be provided with cold water when it very hot in order to cope with the heat. Noise can be controlled in the workplace through the purchase of quieter tools of work and in cases where it is inevitable, the workers would be provided with earmuffs to help protect their hearing (Schwartz, 2011). Earmuffs in the construction industry are able to protect workers from potential harm by covering their ears and reducing the risk of hearing damage. Asbestos have been seen to give way to various types of cancer. In order to successfully control asbestos, they should be substituted with other alternatives that may provide the same service as the asbestos. These asbestos should be made illegal and any person using them should be prosecuted for endangering people’s lives. Companies should draft an asbestos management plan in order to successfully curb the problems of cancer in the workplace. In controlling solar UV radiation, workers that are exposed o the radiation should be given certain preventive outfit (Kaidbey & Kligman, 1978). This will reduce the risk and help the workforce greatly. Workers would wear long-sleeved outfit so that much of the skin is covered from the solar UV radiation. Workers would also make use of natural shades so that they do not expose themselves too much to the sun. Bibliography Callen, H. (1985). Thermodynamics and an Introduction to Thermostatistics, (1st edition 1960) 2nd edition 1985. Wiley, New York. Castleman, B. I. (1996). Asbestos: Medical and Legal Aspects, 4th edition. NJ: Aspen Law and Business, Englewood Cliffs. Guyton, A. C. (1976). Textbook of Medical Physiology. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders. Herbert, R., Moline, J., & Skloot, G. (2006). The World Trade Center disaster and the health of workers: five-year assessment of a unique medical screening program . Environmental Health Perspectives , 1853–1858. Holman, Gibson, Stephenson, & Armstrong. (1983). Ultraviolet irradiation of human body sites in relation to occupation and outdoor activity: field studies using personal UVR dosimeters . Clin. Exp. Dermatol , 269-77. Kaidbey, K. H., & Kligman, A. M. (1978). Sunburn protection by longwave ultraviolet radiation-induced pigmentation . Arch. Dermatol. 114 , 46-8. Kelly, G. (2007). Body temperature variability (Part 2): masking influences of body temperature variability and a review of body temperature variability in disease. Altern Med Rev 12 , 49–62. O’Reilly, K., McLaughlin, A., & Beckett, W. (2007). Asbestos-related lung disease. American Family Physician 75 , 683–688. Schwartz, H. (2011). Making Noise: From Babel to the Big Bang & Beyond. New York: Zone Books. Tweedale, G. (2001). Magic Mineral to Killer Dust, Turner & Newall and the Asbestos Hazard. Oxford University Press. Read More