OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

Why do we need to study occupational hazards?1) To make the students aware of the dangers of

most kinds of jobs or professions2) To see if the student can cope with the hazards of

a career3) To help students make wise career choices

Global Burden of Occupational Injury and Disease/Year

Injuries Diseases Total

Fatal 100,000 700,000 800,000

Non-Fatal 99,000,000 10,300,000 109,300,000

100,000,000 11,000,000 111,000,000

*From Leigh, et al., Epidemiology 10(5):626-31, September 2011

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OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS

I. Physical hazards

II. Chemical hazards

III. Biological hazards

IV. Mechanical

hazards

V. Psychological hazards

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OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES

I. Physical Hazards due to A)Heat ( Hyperthermia) 1) Heatstroke – death because of prolonged exposure to the sun or heat

2) Heat Exhaustion Symptoms are headache, fatigue, muscle weakness, etc.

3) Heat syncope ( fainting)

Falling unconscious because of too much exposure to high temperatures

4) Heat crampsMuscle spasm that result from lack of salt and water due to rigorous activities

5) BurnsBurns can be caused by direct fire or electrocution

6) Miliaria or prickly heat (sweat rash) is a skin disease marked by small and itchy rashes. Miliaria is a common ailment in hot and humid conditions

7) Occupations prone to Heat illnesses Agricultural workers : rice, corn, strawberry, etc. field workers, orchard workers, nursery workers, vineyard workers, dairy workers, fire fighters, carpenters, civil engineers, factory workers, street sweepers, athletes, bakers, cooks, soldiers, industrial engineers electricians, electrical engineers, traffic policemen, truck drivers, welders, car racers, motocross racers, oil refinery workers,

8) Preventive Measuresa) Wear proper clothing,protective gadgets, use proper

equipment(the employer must make sure

employees do this)b) Have regular medical check-ups,

make sure the workers are fit for the job (employer’s job)

c) Have careful and proper training. Workers should never start work until they know all the procedures and hazards of the job

d) There should be a regular check-up of all equipment,

electrical wirings, parts of the building, air conditioning, water supply, make sure all the

workers follow the SOP’s or Standard Operating Procedures

e) Constantly check the temperature in the work place. There is an ideal temperature for every factory or bakery

f) Make sure you bring a lot of water and other liquids

g) Proper time management farm workers should work early in the

morning and take a break when the sun is too hot, resume work in the late afternoon

h) Poor health conditions make it easy to be a victim or heat illnesses. Workers have to be healthy and fit.

i) The employer should give fire drills, or earthquake drills. Make sure all fire exits are functional and fire extinguishers are available

B) Cold 1) trench foot- is a medical condition caused by prolonged exposure of the feet to damp, unsanitary, and cold conditions. It is one of many immersion foot syndromes.

2) frostbite

is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to freezing.

3) chilbains are small, itchy, painful lumps that develop on the skin. They develop as an abnormal response to cold

4) Who usually get cold stress?

Workers in places that have winter, fishermen, people working in the grocery minding the frozen food, road construction workers, market vendors(fish market, meat market) , miners, ditch-diggers, soldiers during the war, ice factory workers, snow shovellers, foresters

5) Preventive Measuresa) Use proper clothing and

safety gear( mittens, ear cuffs, scarf, bonnets, hats, etc

-should not be too tight to allow ventillation

b) Temperature in the workplace must be closely monitored

c) Have regular medical check-ups

d) Employees should be properly trained

e) Make sure shoes, socks and boots are cleaned regularly

f) Always have hot beverage available

g) Eat enough protein and fats in your dieth) Boots should be

waterproof i) Avoid touching cold

metals with bare skinj) Bring a thermometerk) Bring blankets and sheets

in case someone gets too cold

l) Use gas or electrical heaters

C) Light 1) Occupational cataractUsually in people working withradiation and x-rays (radiologists)

2) Miner’s nystagmusAn occupational disease that occurs among coal miners, usually those of middle age or elderly, who have worked for a period of 25 to 30 years underground. Its physical symptoms consist of difficulty of seeing in the dark or in poor light, excessive sensitivity to and intolerance of glare, and a rhythmic oscillation of the eyeballs. As a result of these oscillations, there may be apparent movement of the objects looked at and defective vision. Associated with these ocular symptoms are other general disorders, such as headaches and dizziness, particularly after stooping or bending, and the development of psychoneurotic symptoms is common in the later stages of the disease. If the disease is not checked, the nervous disorders may become so severe as to render the miner totally disabled.

D ) Pressure1) Caisson disease is better known as decompression sickness. It is a condition that is caused from the precipitation of dissolved gases into bubbles inside the body. This disease refers to a specific type of scuba diving hazard. It can also be caused from spacewalking, but would more likely be caused from scuba diving. It is not a common event, but scuba divers can prevent it by using dive tables or dive computers to set limits to their exposure to pressure.At risk are marine biologists, fishermen,marine photographers, synchronized swimmers, astronauts

2) Air embolism or gas embolism or pulmonary barotrauma

Air bubbles can enter the bloodstream as a result of gross trauma to the lining of the lung following a rapid ascent while holding the breath; the air held within the lung expands to the point where the tissues tear(pulmonary barotrauma). This is easy to do as the lungs give little warning through pain until they do burst. The diver will usually arrive at the surface in pain and distress and may froth or spit blood

a) Symptoms: headache, fatigue, rash, pain in the joints, tingling in the arms and legs, muscle weakness

b) Administer oxygen by mask, drink plenty of fluids, first aid if unconsious. c) At the Hospital:

the diver is placed inside a decompression chamber and the pressure is increased to correspond to the pressure found 18 meters underwater. The divers breathe in pure oxygen through a mask. The pressure in the chamber is slowly decreased slowly until the diver reaches surface pressure again.

Texas explosion: up to 15 feared dead in fertiliser plant disasterApocalyptic scenes near Waco, Texas, as deadly fireball engulfs fertiliser plant and razes dozens of homes April 18, 2013

E) Explosions or blast overpressure or BOP a) Explosions due to negligence or unattended equipment that can are pressurized, incompetence, defective or destroyed equipment, wrong instructions or wrong understanding of instructions, lack of training of workers, carelessness, violation of rules like no smoking, wearing proper clothing and gear, anomalies,cheap materials, wrong temperature

b) Who can be affected by explosions?

chemical factory workers, chemical engineers, industrial factory workers, industrial engineers, biochemists, every one working in a chemical factory are at risk like the janitors, security guards, cooks, clerks etc.

F) Noise: Occupational Deafnessa) Occupational Deafness is a kind of sensorineural hearing loss. It is caused by prolonged exposure to noise at work which results in the damage of the nerve cells of the inner ear.

b) Who are at risk? Farmers, civil engineers, construction workers, factory workers, miners, mining engineers, musicians and music teachers, airline workers, police, soldiers, pilots

6) Preventive Measures and Treatment

a) The best thing to do is to change your jobb) Wear protective ear plugs or ear muffsc) Use hearing aids

G) Radiationa) Refers to ionizing radiation ( x-rays and Gamma rays) b) Exposure to high doses cause damage to living tissue, skin burns and deathc) Low exposure causes cancer and genetic damage

b) Who are at risk?

Those working in manufacturing factories (electonic gadgets) , researchers/scientists, nuclear power industry, nuclear engineers, physicians and some health workers, professors,

H) Mechanical Factorsa) The mechanical hazards in industry centre round machinery, protruding and moving parts and the like. About 10% of accidents in industry are said to be due to mechanical causes.

b) Who are at risk? 1) agricultural workers 2) business

establishments workers

3) construction workers 4) transport workers

C) Common injuries due to trips, slips or falls, mishandling and lifting of equipment

1) sprains and strains 2) back injuries 3) head injuries 4) neck injuries 5) appendage injuries

Hand of vibrating pneumatic hand-tool operator in later stage of irreversible Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome 1

I) VibrationWho are at risk?Hammer drill operators, chain saw operators, sanders,Bulldozer drivers, loader drivers, pile drivers, people working pumps, compressors and generators

J) Ergonomic Factors In essence it is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body and its cognitive abilities.is a multidisciplinary field incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, biomechanics, mechanobiology, industrial design, graphic design,statistics, operations research and anthropometryExample: The height of the chair, the table, the distance of the computer from the use, the angle of the computer with the eyes are all important to prevent work-related injuries like back pain, eyestrain, arm fatigue, etc.

II. Chemical HazardsA) Physical hazards of chemicals : gases, aerosols, solids and liquids can cause

explosions and leaks which can have serious physical damages even deathB) Mutagens: Chemicals that can cause mutation in the genes of the workers Ex: x-rays, radiation, uranium exposure, lead exposure,

Since 1984, 20,000 people lost their lives in Bhopal, India after a chemical gas spill from a pesticide factory (Union Carbide). More than 40 tons of methyl isocynate (MIC) gas created a dense cloud over a resident population of more than half a million people.People woke in their homes to fits of coughing, their lungs filling with fluid. More than 8,000 people were killed in just the first few days following the leak, mainly from cardiac and respiratory arrest.More than 20,000 people still live in the vicinity of the factory and are exposed to toxic chemicals through groundwater and soil contamination. A whole new generation continues to get sick, from cancer and birth defects to everyday impacts of aches and pains, rashes, fevers, eruptions of boils, headaches, nausea, lack of appetite, dizziness, and constant exhaustion..

C) Reproductive Toxins: affect fertility of workers and cause birth defects Examples: arsenic, chloroform, carbon monoxide, lead, mercuryWho are at risk? Manufacturing factory workers of soap, shampoo, paint, fertilizers, home cleaning products, ink( photocopy) etc.

D) Carcinogens: cancer causing elements1) Natural carcinogens: a) Alfatoxin B1: growing in stored peanuts, grains and peanut

butter, b) tobacco smoke; c) asbestos ( a fire resistant chemical used for insulation of wires and roofs) d) formaldehyde in making plastics, e) vinyl chloride in making PVC pipes f) industrial

smoke g) grilled food h) acrylamide found in fried or overheated carbohydrates such as potato chips and French fries

2) Night shift work is related to breast cancer: exposure to night light suppresses the production of melatonin which protects the body from cancer

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E) Biological Hazards 1) Anthrax- A disease caused by herbivores inhaling or ingesting anthrax spores while grazing . The spores can be lethal and can survive harsh conditions for decades or centuries. People whose occupation is to mind animals like cows, sheep are at risk. A vaccine was discovered by Luis Pasteur in the 19th century. These spores are also used as biological weapons of war.

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VIRUSES FUNGI

BACTERIA PARASITES

BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

HIVHuman

Immunodeficiency disease= the virus that causes AIDS

AIDSAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome=serious and usually fatal

condition in which the body’s immune system is severely weakened and cannot fight off infection.

Who are at risk? Nurses, doctors, health

personnel, waste disposal workers sex trade workers and their children

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TETANUS• A neurological disorder

characterized by increased muscle tone and spasms, that is caused by tetanospasmin, a protein toxin elaborated by the organism Clostridium tetani.

• It arises from the contamination of wounds with Clostridium spores.

• Who are at risk? Animal control officer, waste

disposal personnel, construction workers

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TETANUS• Clinical Manifestations– Increased tone in the

masseter muscle (lockjaw)– Sustained contraction of

the facial muscles (risus sardonicus) and back muscles (opisthotonus)

• Prevention– Active immunization with

tetanus toxoid– Careful wound

management

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TUBERCULOSIS• caused by the bacteria,

Mycobacterium tuberculosis • caused by droplet nuclei

released when sneezing and coughing

• Symptoms: weight loss, low grade afternoon fever, persistent cough and sometimes, blood-streaked expectoration or hemoptysis

• Who are at risk?: drivers, animal control officers, veterinarians, some factory workers inhaling some fumes and smoke, miners, traffic enforcers

Biological Hazards

• Biological hazards come in various forms. If it originates from an animal or has been near an animal, then it is biological waste. Ex: animal parts and manure, hospital waste, city sewage...

• Biological hazards contain bacteria or viruses likely to make people sick.

• Handle with gloves and other safety precautions dependant on substance.

• Treat before releasing into the environment:

• (ex: incineration, carbon filtering, distilling, bleaching, settling etc… unique to each substance)