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Questions and Answers
What is the term used to describe unwanted or unpleasant sound?
What is the term used to describe the distance between the successive peaks of sound waves?
What is the term used to describe the speed at which sound waves propagate through the medium?
What is the term used to describe the rate at which sound waves pass a given point?
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What is the term used to describe the magnitude of sound waves?
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What is the result of pressure changes in a medium due to a vibrating object?
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What is the primary factor influencing risk in a given situation?
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What is the mathematical relationship between risk, hazard, and exposure?
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What would be the result of replacing a hazardous material with a non-hazardous one?
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Who is credited with the quote 'All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison'?
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What is the earliest recorded observation of an occupational disease attributed to?
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Why were mercury mines considered too unhealthy for Roman citizens?
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What was the primary focus of Georgius Agricola's detailed study?
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In what century did the Roman scholar Pliny describe mercury poisoning as a disease of slaves?
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What is the minimum sound pressure level in pascals that can be perceived by the human ear?
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What is the sound pressure level in decibels of an office environment?
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What is the name of the membrane that vibrates when sound waves enter the outer ear?
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What is the name of the structure that sends nerve impulses to the brain?
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What is the health effect of prolonged exposure to loud noises?
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What is the maximum sound pressure level in pascals that can be tolerated by the human ear without causing pain?
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What is the term for the process by which the ear transforms sound vibrations into nerve impulses?
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What is the name of the window in the cochlea where the stapes bone transmits sound vibrations?
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What is the primary focus of hazard identification by work analysis?
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What type of work activities is the work analysis method better suited for?
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What is a major limitation of the work analysis approach?
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What is the first step in the process of hazard identification by work analysis?
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What is the primary focus of hazard identification by process?
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What is used to build up a profile of hazards and the occupations and tasks they apply to?
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What is the second step in the process of hazard identification by work analysis?
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What type of work is hazard identification by work analysis applicable to?
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What is the range of wavelengths of microwaves?
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What is a potential health effect of long-term exposure to microwaves?
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What is the primary source of concern for Extremely Low Frequency Fields (ELF)?
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What is the defining characteristic of ionizing radiation?
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What are the primary types of ionizing radiation?
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What can be a source of alpha and beta particles and gamma rays?
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Study Notes
Risk and Hazard
- Risk is a function of consequence or severity and likelihood
- Likelihood is related to the extent of exposure, with greater exposures more likely to result in injury or disease
- RISK is proportional to HAZARD × EXPOSURE or R ∝ H × E
- If exposure is zero (exposure is controlled), then risk will also be zero and risk is controlled
- All substances are poisons; there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy (Paracelsus)
Historical Overview of Health and Safety at Work
- The first recorded observation of an occupational disease was a case of severe lead colic suffered by a worker who extracted metals (described in the third book of Epidemics, attributed to Hippocrates, the Greek physician of the 4th century BC)
- Mercury poisoning was described as a disease of slaves because mines contaminated by mercury vapor were considered too unhealthy for Roman citizens and thus were worked only by slaves (by the Roman scholar Pliny, in the 1st century)
- During the middle Ages, the rise of metalliferous mining in central Europe inspired the German mineralogist Georgius Agricola to make a detailed study of gold-and silver-mining operations
Hazard Identification
- Hazard identification can be done by work analysis, which involves identifying the different occupations involved and the work people carry out, and then the hazards they face doing that work
- This method is better suited for those work activities where there is a considerable degree of scope for the worker to decide how the task is carried out (e.g. trades people, construction, forestry operations)
- The process of hazard identification involves identifying all the tasks people carry out, working out the steps or stages involved in doing the task, asking those involved what they consider the hazards to be, and using existing resources such as guidelines, codes of practice
Physical Hazards
- Noise is an unwanted or unpleasant sound that is a side effect of most production processes in workplaces
- Physical agents in the workplace include noise, microwaves, extremely low frequency fields (ELF), and ionizing radiation
- Health effects of noise exposure depend on the level of the noise and the length of the exposure, and can include noise-induced temporary threshold shift, noise-induced permanent threshold shift (Noise Induced Hearing Loss), acoustic trauma, and tinnitus
- Microwaves have a wavelength ranging from 1mm to 30cm and can cause localized burns or affect the whole body, and may cause cancer from long-term exposure
- Extremely low frequency fields (ELF) from power lines, TV, radio transmitters, and computer terminals have been a cause of concern, although evidence of health effects is inconclusive and ongoing study is needed
- Ionizing radiation includes alpha and beta particles, gamma rays, and x rays, which can come from natural sources or be technologically produced, and can penetrate into living tissue
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Description
Learn about risk as a function of consequence and likelihood, including exposure and its effects on injury or disease.
