controlling health hazards
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Health Science
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Jan 9, 2024
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Controlling Health Hazards
Autumn Smock
Waldorf University
12/12/2022
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Being able to recognize, evaluate and control health hazards at their core is a very important responsibility to all safety professionals. Although it may be a difficult task at times, it is crucial to be able to identify any hazards that may be on the jobsite. After identifying the issue,
safety personnel are responsible for evaluating the hazard and the risk it poses to employees. Following this, they must eliminate the issue or create safety protocols to avoid employee risk of exposure to the hazard. Two areas of concern for example, confined space and noise within Waldorf Widget Factory. To begin with, “A confined space is any area with limited means of entry and exit that is large enough for a person to fit into but is not designed for occupancy (Goetsch, 422)”. With that being said, confined spaces bring multiple hazards to attention in regard to confined space entry. In order to identify health hazards when assessing confined spaces, it is important for all safety professionals to be knowledgeable of the OSHA Confined Space Standard (29 CFR 1910.146). The confined space standard not only gives information on confined space but identifies standards that eliminate many hazards. Not only can confined spaces contain toxic chemicals, but they can also pose a physical threat to employees who are working within them. In order to identify whether or not there is a physical or chemical threat to employees, safety personnel should use equipment to monitor the air within the space and verify that daily inspections are done in the confined space. After identifying the active hazard within the confined space, it is important to evaluate the hazard and the risk it poses to employees. For example, if the hazard identified was the stability of the confined space upon entry, it would be a huge risk to employees’ safety and the space would need to be closed off. Lastly, control measures would be implemented following the evaluation of the identified hazards level of risk to employees. In continuation of the previous hazard example, stability of the confined space
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upon entry, control measures must be implemented to eliminate the hazard or reduce the risk of exposure to the hazard. In order to control the stability of the confined space, all interior walls must be stable and support beams must be in place. In addition, the confined space must be inspected daily to ensure the space is stable and a safe working environment. Another area of concern within the Waldorf Widget Factory, is the noise within the factory. Hazardous noise is “any sound for which any combination of frequency, intensity, or duration is capable of causing permanent hearing loss in a specified population (Goetsch,456).” The health hazard most often associated with noise is hearing loss, so that will be used as an example. In order to identify whether or not the noise of the factory is at a hazardous level or not to employees, tests must be conducted to measure the factory’s sound level. Employees also need
to be assessed to identify whether or not they have a low noise tolerance. Following identification, the risk of the hazardous noise needs to be evaluated. If the sound level within the factory is above employees’ tolerance, safety measures must be out in place to protect employees
hearing. On the other hand, if a specific employee is found to have a low noise tolerance, they should be moved to another area of the factory or be given extra PPE to protect their hearing. In conclusion, it is recommended that the factory conduct noise surveys to keep record of the noise level within the factory and require all employees to wear proper PPE to protect themselves from
exposure to the noise.
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Reference
Goetsch, D. L. (2018). Basics of Occupational Safety (3rd ed.). Pearson Education (US).
https://online.vitalsource.com/books/9780134701776