HAZARDS IN WORKPLACE

Scope

 Safety & OSH System

 Responsibilities
 Physical Hazards
 Chemical Hazards
 Biological Hazards
 Machinery Hazards
 Safety

 Safety means free from accidents and injuries as well

as loss of control or loss arising from the accident.
Occupational Safety and Health System

 Occupational safety and health is a human

resource management activities that play an
important roles to protect workers from injuries and
accidents while working.
 Danger

 A source or circumstances that explain or indicate a

condition of risk.
 Hazard

 A source or circumstances that potentially result in

harm to people, property, environment or its affiliates.
 Risk

 A combination of probability and severity of a

hazardous event with a particular period or
circumstances and consequence to a damage and
injury.
 Danger, Hazard and Risk
Vehicle crash /
RISK accident
Vehicle - lorry

Driving while
talking tru
handphone and
smoking
 Responsibilities

Responsibility for safety and health in the

workplace is on those who create the risks
and those who work with risks.

Everyone’s responsibility
 Regulatory Requirement

1. Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994,

Regulations & Orders (Act 514)

2. Factories and Machinery Act 1967, Regulations &

Rules(Act 139)
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH ACT
1994 - SECTION 15

 General duties of employers and self-employed

persons to their employees
OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH
ACT 1994 - SECTION 24

 General duties of employees at work

 FACTORIES & MACHINERY ACT 1967
PART II (SAFETY, HEALTH & WELFARE )

 Ss 20 – Duties of persons employed

 Ss 21 – Duties of occupier
 Workplace Hazards

 Divided into several categories:

1) Physical hazards

2) Biological hazards

3) Chemical hazards

4) Psychological hazards

5) Ergonomics hazards

6) Machinery hazards
 Physical Hazards

Hazards associated with energy:

 Electrical
 Equipment / Machine
 Slip, Trip and Fall
 Ventilation
 Noise
 Vibration
 Emission of Radiation
 Temperature
 Fire
 Physical Hazard – Noise Hazard

 Noise - Sound waves

originated from the vibration of
some object, which is
transported through some
medium (air, water and solid
material).

 Noisy - Any unwanted sound.

 Continue – Noise Hazards

 Components of Noise:
a) frequency (hertz–hz)
b) decibel (dB).
 The frequency
- is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit
time. The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating
event.
 The decibel
- is a unit used to express the intensity of sound wave.
 Frequency

 Frequency is a cycles of wave per second.

 Expressed in hertz - Hz.
 Amplitude

 Amplitude is the measure of the amount of energy in a

sound wave.
 Usually measured in decibel (dB).
Pressure Variation
Sound Pressure Level (SPL)
Sound Wave
 Noise Hazard - Theory

 Wavelength is the distance from the crest of one wave

to the crest of the next.
 If the wave length increases, the frequency decreases.
 1,000 – 4,000 Hz is the critical frequency range.
 Amplitude, or height of a sound wave is a measure of
the amount of energy in the wave.
 The greater the intensity of a sound, the greater the
amplitude.
 Noise Types

 Steady continuous

 Fluctuation

 Intermittent

 Impulse
 Industrial Noise

 Can be divided into three ;

i. Wide band noise – noise that is distributed over a
wide range of frequencies – most manufacturing
machines.
ii. Narrow band noise – confined to a narrow range of
frequencies– power tools.
iii. Impulse noise – consists of transient pulses that can
occur repetitively or non-repetitively – jackhammer
produced repetitively impulse noise.
 Noise Measurement

 Decibel comes in three weighted, namely A, B, C.

However, A- weighted is commonly used in environment
noise, based on the belief that dBA is better correlated
with the relative risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
 Hazard Levels and Risks

 Hazard due to excessive noise is hearing loss. This loss of

hearing is a result of loss of receptors in the inner ear.
 The ear will damage when frequency approaches the
2,400 to 4,800 Hz range.
 Broadband noise can result in deafness, in day-to-day
operations, it can result in reduced worker efficiency
and ineffective communication.
Continue..

The most important factors affect the risk of hearing loss:

 Intensity of the noise (sound pressure level)
 Type of noise - Broadband noise can result in deafness, in
day-to-day operation, it can result in reduced worker
efficiency and ineffective communication
 Total duration of exposure over time
Continue..

 Age of the individual

 Coexisting hearing disease
 Nature of environment in which exposure occurs
 Distance of the individual from the source of the noise
 Position of the ears relative to the sound waves
 Permissible Noise Exposure

Sound Level, dBA Permissible time, hours

80 32
85 16
90 8
95 4
100 2
105 1
110 0.5
115 0.25
120 0.125
125 0.063
130 0.031
 Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL)

Permissible exposure limit:

a) Action level(AL) - 85dB(A)
b) Permission Exposure Limit (PEL)
a. Continuous noise
- for 8 hours: 90 dB (A)
- ceiling level: 115 dB (A)
b. Impulsive noise
- ceiling level: 140 dB (A)
 Effects Of Noise

 Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL)

a) Temporary
b) Permanent

 Acoustic trauma
a) Rupture of ear drum
b) Dislocation of ossicles

 Communication interference
 Annoyance
 Effects of Noise

Other health effects:

 Intrusion of privacy
 Tinnitus
 Increase blood pressure
 Interfere task performances
 Fatigue
 Increase blood sugar
 Increase gastric acid secretions
 Noise Control

1. Engineering controls of noise focus on three ways:

 Reduce the noise level at its source (change the

machine, redesign the machine, maintenance work,
substitute the process.
 Control along its path - isolate the equipment
responsible for the noise by install acoustical materials
on walls, ceilings, and floors is to reduce reverberation
(collection of reflected sounds from the surfaces in an enclosure like an
auditorium).
Continue..

 Control at the receiver level – earplugs reduce noise up

to 30 dBA, earmuffs provide 40 to 50 dBA protection.
Combine earplugs and earmuffs add another 3-5 dBA
reduction. Helmets provide more protection. Or
changing job schedule.
 Noise Control

2. Administrative controls focus on:

a) Health monitoring - historical & background,
audiometric test.
b) Exposure monitoring - by competent person.
c) Exposure management - rotating and limiting
employees exposure to the noisy area.
d) Education are the options within the administrative
means.
e) Safe work practise.
 Noise Control

3. The personnel in the area can wear hearing protection:

a) Earplugs – all frequencies up to sound pressure levels

of 110 dB or more

b) Earmuffs – attenuate noises to 125 dB above 600 Hz

and up to 115 dB below this frequency
 Physical Hazard – Vibration Hazard

 Closely related to noise hazards.

 Extensive use of tools or machinery which vibrate at high
frequencies such as pneumatic hammers, concrete
breakers, drills and chipping hammers
 Can lead to an injury called 'vibration white finger'.
 Two types of injuries:
a) Motion sickness to spinal injury when operating heavily
vibrating equipment.
b) Hand-arm vibration syndrome – use of vibrating power
tools.
 Symptoms of Vibration Hazards

• Tingling and numbness in the fingers, even after the

machinery has been switched off.
• One fingertip temporarily turns white and may start to
ache.
• The finger turns white with increasing frequency.
• Other fingers (though not usually the thumb) begin
turning white. After several fingers turn white, the disease
is probably irreversible.
• Increasingly frequent, painful attacks occur at any time.
 Vibration Hazards

 Injury prevention strategies:

• Use or purchase low vibration tools.
• Limit employee exposure – 4 hrs per day and 2 days
per week.
• Change employee work habits – wearing absorb
vibration gloves, taking periodic break (10 mins per hr),
using loose grip on tools and holding away from
body, tools properly maintenance, keeping warm,
using vibration-absorbing floor.
 PHYSICAL HAZARDS
IONISING AND NON-IONISING RADIATION
HAZARDS
 NON-IONISING RADIATION (NIR)

 A series of energy waves composed of oscillating

electric and magnetic fields traveling at the speed
of light.
 Includes the spectrum of ultraviolet (UV), visible
light, infrared (IR), microwave (MW), radio
frequency (RF), and extremely low frequency (ELF).
 Lasers commonly operate in the UV, visible, and IR
frequencies.
Source of NIR
 Source of ionizing radiation

 Natural radiation:
• cosmic radiation - comes from the sun and outer
space and consists of positively charged particles.
• sources in the earth's crust (terrestrial radiation) -
natural sources of radiation in the ground, rocks,
building materials and drinking water supplies
• sources in the human body (internal sources) - our
bodies also contain natural radionuclide.
Continue..

 Man-made radiation:
• Medical radiation sources
• Consumer products
• Atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons
• Industrial uses
Effect of NIR exposures
 PHYSICAL HAZARDS
- SLIP, TRIP AND FALL HAZARDS
 Slip, trip and fall

Commonly results from:

 Wet or contaminated floors

 Uneven walking surfaces, holes, changes in level,

broken or loose floor tiles, defective or wrinkled
carpet or uneven steps/thresholds.

 Mats or rugs not laying flat on the floor.

Continue..

 Obstructions and accumulation of objects in

walkways (e.g. hoses, cords, cables, debris, etc.).

 Unguarded platforms, walkways, and work areas 30

inches above ground.

 Inadequate illumination.
 Hazard Control Measures

a) Good housekeeping
b) Safe Work Practice
c) Floor mats and other floor/surface treatments
d) Slip-resistance footwear
e) Floor maintenance
f) Trainings
Physical Hazards – Fire Hazards
 Fire and Explosion Hazards

 Flammable solvents
 Pyrophorics
 Spontaneous combustion
 Biological Hazard

 Usually associated with living things.

 Due to the air conditioning system

 'Building Sickness Syndrome‘

 Pathogenic organisms: bacteria / virus

 HIV, hepatitis, H1N1 etc.

 Insects, mosquitoes etc.

 Biohazards

 Blood borne pathogens

 AIDS, HIV, Hepatitis, clinical chemistry labs

 Recombinant DNA
 Genetic engineering, cloning

 Work with animals

 Zoonosis
 Chemical Hazards

 Dust - dust from furniture, carpets, old files

 Gas fumes
- Solvent correction (solvent)
- Equipment copier & laser printer
(generating ozone gas - heated toner)
- Second-hand smoke
- New furniture (formaldehyde emission)
 Chemical Toxicity

 Acute (short term, poisons, asthmagenis)

 Cyanide, strychnine

 Chronic (long term, carcinogens, reproductive)

 Vinyl chloride (liver cancer)
 Asbestos (mesothelioma, lung cancer)
 Thalidomide (developmental birth defects)
Chemical Toxicity
Exposure to Substances
 PSYCHOLOGICAL HAZARDS

 Related to the psychology of employees and their

responses to social stress.
 Mental stress:
i. Workload
ii. Working conditions are not compatible
iii. Communication / problem colleague
iv. The needs of employers
v. Urging the household / family
Effects of stress
 Ergonomic Hazard

 Related human mismatch with his environment.

 Usually as a result of mistake or design weaknesses
or work process.
 Physical stress:
- Typing long
- The use of tools such as machines,
computers, desks, chairs that do not fit
- Lifting load
 Ergonomic Effects

 Poor ergonomics leads to a number of serious

physical problems:
• Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs)
• Raynaud's syndrome (white finger)
• Cumulative trauma disorders
• Back injury
• and others
“
Thank you for your attention