What happens if hazards are not controlled

These are sometimes included under the category of physical hazards. For example, a poor workstation setup in an office, poor posture and manual handling. For example, sexual harassment, victimisation, stress and workplace violence.

Examples of Workplace Hazards Below you will find a non-exhaustive list of hazards that can be found in a range of work environments.

Biological Hazards Biological hazards include viruses, bacteria, insects, animals, etc. Some biological hazards include: Blood-borne diseases, including HIV, hepatitis B and C, and malaria Blood-borne diseases are viruses or bacteria that can be transmitted through contact with infected blood or bodily fluids.

Bacteria, moulds and fungi Improperly managed work environments can make your work premises the ideal environment for bacteria, moulds and fungi to thrive, such as Legionella bacteria. Flour, milk powder or grain dusts Exposure to organic dusts can result in severe health impacts, including respiratory irritation and occupational asthma. Other organic dusts The deterioration of building materials, as well as building, construction and agricultural activities, can expose workers to a range of organic dusts, moulds and bacteria — including clay and straw dust.

Exposure to animals and vegetation For example, those working in agriculture or horticulture, people working in zoos or as dog handlers, are at risk of encountering bacteria, fungi, viruses and mites off the animals and vegetation they work around. Examples of substances that pose a chemical hazard include: Cleaning chemicals Cleaning chemicals are used in almost every workplace to maintain good hygiene standards. Hair dye, shampoos, conditioners and henna products These are all substances that we safely use at home without considering the risks.

Nail glue, nail polish remover, primers and artificial nails, etc Incorrect use and storage of these substances can result in a range of serious health and safety risks.

Welding fumes Welding activities pose many hazards , including exposure to invisible gaseous fumes. Examples of physical hazards include: Electricity Exposure to electrical live parts can result in serious injuries and fatalities, including electric shocks, burns, explosions and falls from height.

Fires Every workplace is at risk of fire. Confined spaces Working in confined spaces poses serious hazards to employees. Extreme temperatures Exposure to freezing or extreme cold conditions can result in serious health impacts, including hypothermia, reduced mental alertness, chilblains, trench foot and reduced dexterity. For example, safety hazards include: Trailing power cords, loose or frayed carpets and rugs, spills, ice, etc.

These could all cause a slip, trip or fall in the workplace, and result in physical and mental impacts on an injured employee. Unguarded machinery. Unguarded moving machinery parts pose a safety hazard as employees can sustain serious injury and fatalities if they were to accidentally come into contact with them.

For example, clothes, lanyards, hair or body parts could become entangled in unguarded machinery and can result in bruising, broken bones, loss of limbs, head injuries and death.

Frayed and faulty cords, wiring or cables. These could pose a risk of electric shock, burns and fires. Exposure to live electricity can also result in a fall from height. For example, if an employee sustained an electric shock while using a ladder. Types of ergonomic hazards include: Manual handling. You should also consider how many people are exposed to the hazards, and remember that everyone is different.

A hazard may pose more risk to some people than others because of differences in physical strength, experience and training. You should always aim to remove a hazard completely from your workplace.

Some problems may be fixed easily and straight away, while others will need more effort and planning. Concentrate on the most urgent hazards without neglecting the simpler ones that could be easily and immediately fixed. Some solutions are more effective than others. Make sure your solution does not introduce new hazards.

Use the hierarchy of controls to remove or reduce risk in your workplace. You must use the highest-ranked control that is practical for controlling the risk. Only use lower-ranked controls as a last resort or until a more effective way of controlling risk can be used. Sometimes using more than one control measure could be the most effective way to reduce the exposure to hazards. Remove it completely from your workplace. For example: repair damaged equipment; outsource processes involving hazardous chemicals or equipment to a company set up to manage them safely.

If this is not practical, then…. Replace it with a safer alternative. For example: use a less toxic chemical; lift smaller packages. Keep it away from workers as much as possible. For example: relocate photocopiers to separate, ventilated rooms; install barriers to restrict access to hazardous work areas.

Adapt tools or equipment to reduce the risk. Monitoring should be done before and as well as after the change is implemented to make sure the changes did, in fact, control the hazard. An enclosure keeps a selected hazard "physically" away from the worker. Enclosed equipment, for example, is tightly sealed and it is typically only opened for cleaning or maintenance. Other examples include "glove boxes" where a chemical is in a ventilated and enclosed space and the employee works with the material by using gloves that are built in , abrasive blasting cabinets, or remote control devices.

Care must be taken when the enclosure is opened for maintenance as exposure could occur if adequate precautions are not taken. The enclosure itself must be well maintained to prevent leaks.

Isolation places the hazardous process "geographically" away from the majority of the workers. Common isolation techniques are to create a contaminant-free or noise-free booth either around the equipment or around the employee workstations.

Ventilation is a method of control that strategically "adds" and "removes" air in the work environment. Ventilation can remove or dilute an air contaminant if designed properly. Local exhaust ventilation is very adaptable to almost all chemicals and operations. It removes the contaminant at the source so it cannot disperse into the work space and it generally uses lower exhaust rates than general ventilation general ventilation usually exchanges air in the entire room.

Local exhaust ventilation is an effective means of controlling hazardous exposures but should be used when other methods such as elimination or substitution are not possible.

The design of a ventilation system is very important and must match the particular process and chemical or contaminant in use. Expert guidance should be sought. It is a very effective control measure but only if it is designed, tested, and maintained properly. Because contaminants are exhausted to the outdoors, you should also check with your local environment ministry or municipality for any environmental air regulations or bylaws that may apply in your area. Systems that increase awareness are methods that help the worker to detect if a hazard is present.

Examples of these hazard controls include warning systems, visual or audible alarms, warning signs, or other indicators that alert the worker to a situation.

Administrative controls limit workers' exposures by scheduling shorter work times in contaminant areas or by implementing other "rules". These control measures have many limitations because the hazard itself is not actually removed or reduced. Administrative controls are not generally favoured because they can be difficult to implement, maintain and are not a reliable way to reduce exposure.

When necessary, methods of administrative control include:. Work practices are also a form of administrative controls. In most workplaces, even if there are well designed and well maintained engineering controls present, safe work practices are very important. Some elements of safe work practices include:. Employee education and training on how to conduct their work safely helps to minimize the risk of exposure and is a critical element of any complete workplace health and safety program.

Training must cover not only how to do the job safely but it must also ensure that workers understand the hazards and risks of their job. It must also provide them with information on how to protect themselves and co-workers.

Good housekeeping is essential to prevent the accumulation of hazardous or toxic materials e. Being prepare for emergencies means making sure that the necessary equipment and supplies are readily available and that employees know what to do when something unplanned happens such as a release, spill, fire or injury. These procedures should be written and employees should have the opportunity to practice their emergency response skills regularly.

Please see the OSH Answers document on emergency planning for more information. Personal hygiene practices are another effective way to reduce the amount of a hazardous material absorbed, ingested or inhaled by a worker.

They are particularly effective if the contaminant s can accumulate on the skin, clothing or hair. Personal protective equipment PPE includes items such as respirators, protective clothing such as gloves, face shields, eye protection, and footwear that serve to provide a barrier between the wearer and the chemical or material.

Main elements of the OSH management system. The OSH manager is tasked with ensuring a safe workplace and is held accountable by management to achieve this and this has been communicated to workers.

The employer uses chemical products in their manufacturing process and risk assessments have been conducted on their use and risk control measures are in place to ensure safe systems of work can be followed.