Workplace Hazards Flashcards

What are the main categories of workplace hazard?

Answer: Physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards

Workplace hazards are categorized as: physical (noise, vibration, radiation, temperature extremes, electrical), chemical (dusts, fumes, vapours, liquids, gases), biological (bacteria, viruses, fungi), ergonomic (manual handling, repetitive strain, poor workstation design), and psychosocial (stress, bullying, violence). Comprehensive risk assessment must cover all categories.

What is the most common cause of workplace fatalities globally, according to ILO data?

Answer: Occupational diseases (especially from hazardous substance exposure) cause more deaths than accidents

ILO data consistently shows that occupational diseases kill more workers than accidents — estimated at over 1.9 million deaths annually from occupational diseases versus approximately 0.4 million from injuries. Long-latency diseases from chemical, dust, and carcinogen exposures are the leading cause.

What is 'occupational exposure limit' (OEL) and why is it important?

Answer: A legally or technically defined maximum airborne concentration of a hazardous substance to which workers may be exposed — used to assess adequacy of controls

OELs (WELs in UK, PELs in USA, OELs in Gulf states) are derived from toxicological data to protect worker health. They are typically set as time-weighted average (TWA) concentrations over 8 hours and short-term exposure limits (STEL) over 15 minutes. Monitoring airborne concentrations against OELs determines if controls are adequate.

What does 'COSHH' assessment stand for and what does it require?

Answer: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health — requires identification of hazardous substances, assessment of exposure risk, implementation of controls, and health surveillance where needed

COSHH (UK) and equivalent regulations in Gulf states require employers to identify hazardous substances present, assess the risk to health from exposure, implement controls (hierarchy: elimination to PPE), monitor exposure, conduct health surveillance for certain exposures, and provide information and training to workers.

A worker develops occupational asthma after years of exposure to isocyanates. What type of hazard caused this?

Answer: Chemical hazard — respiratory sensitizer

Isocyanates are powerful respiratory sensitizers — chemical hazards that cause occupational asthma in susceptible individuals after sensitization. Once sensitized, even trace exposures cause severe asthmatic reactions. This is one of the most common causes of occupational lung disease in the Gulf region's manufacturing and construction sectors.

What is 'dust' and why is fine respirable dust particularly hazardous?

Answer: Respirable dust (<10 microns) penetrates deep into lung alveoli where it cannot be cleared and causes lung disease including fibrosis, COPD, and cancer

Respirable dust particles (<10 microns, particularly <4 microns) bypass the upper respiratory tract's defenses and deposit in the alveoli. Silica dust causes silicosis; asbestos causes mesothelioma and asbestosis; coal dust causes pneumoconiosis. The invisible fine particles cause permanent irreversible lung damage.