occupational health

Question 1

Occupational health

Answer 1

“The promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well being of workers in all occupations – total health of all at work”

Question 2

types of occupational health hazards

Answer 2

physical
chemical
biological
mechanical
psychosocial

Question 3

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards

Answer 3

Temperature  
Heat / Cold
Illumination
Noise
Vibration
Radiation
Atmospheric pressure

Question 4

CHEMICAL occupational health hazards

Answer 4

metals, aromatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic hydrocarbons, gases

• Routes of entry -Inhalation, Ingestion, skin absorption. (inhalation is the main route of entry)
• Chemical agents can be classified into:
  1) Metals - Lead, TEL, As, Hg, Cd, Ni , Co etc.
  2) Aromatic Hydrocarbons -Benzene, Toluene,phenol etc.
  3) Aliphatic Hydrocarbons-Methyl alcohol
  4) Gases:
• –*Simple asphyxiants: N2, CH4, CO2
• –* Chemical asphyxiants: CO, H2S, HCN
• –* Irritant gases: Ammonia, SO2, Cl2,
• –* Systemic poison: CS2

Question 5

BIOLOGICAL occupational health hazards

Answer 5

bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasitic, fungal,

-bacteria
(Tetanus, Tuberculosis, Anthrax, Brucellosis (Milkmen), Gonorrhea (Sex workers-Genital organs get affected))
-virus
(Hepatitis, AIDs)
-protozoal and parasitic
(Malaria, hydatid (dog handlers), hookworms, tapeworms (agri-workers), etc)
-fungi – agri-workers
(Tinea-infections, coccidiomycosis, psittacosis, ornithosis, etc)

Question 6

MECHANICAL occupational health hazards

Answer 6

injuries, ergonomic disorders

-Injuries – falls, cuts, abrasions, concussions, contusions, etc
-Ergonomic disorders
(Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), Cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs))
-Ergonomics: “adjustment of man and machine”
(Application of human biological sciences with engineering science to achieve optimum mutual adjustment of man & his work, the benefit being measured in terms of human efficiency and well being
Tool / machine design to fit to work. Ergo tools/ ergo friendly tools:
Tools which reduce the stresses or problems resulting in CTD’s / MSD’s.) )
-Manual handling – back injuries
(All forces which come down the spine compresses discs and as a result of Continuous squeezing they can rupture and bulge causing severe pain.
Most back injuries are built over along period of time by repetitive pounding on discs caused by improper methods. After sometime some minor lift can produce such rupture)

Question 7

PSYCHOSOCIAL occupational health hazards

Answer 7

Behavioral changes, Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, Peptic ulcers, Diabetics, Heart disease

• Lack of job satisfaction, insecurity, poor interpersonal relations, work pressure, ambiguity, etc
• Psychological & behavioral changes – hostility, aggressiveness, anxiety, depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, sickness absenteeism
• Psychosomatic disorders - Hypertension, headache, body-ache, peptic ulcers, asthma, diabetes, heart disorders, etc

Question 8

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards example: triangle shirtwaist factory fire

Answer 8

• caused the deaths of 146 garment workers –123 women and 23 men
• The factory was located on the eighth, ninth and tenth floors of the Asch Building, at 23–29 Washington Place in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. The 1901 building still stands today and is known as the Brown Building.
• The owners had locked the doors to the stairwells and exits –a then-common practice to prevent workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft – many of the workers who could not escape from the burning building jumped from the high windows.
• Lead to the growth of the Garment Workers Union and better conditions for sweatshop workers

Question 9

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards example: Dhaka fire

Answer 9

The 2012 Dhaka fire broke out on 24 November 2012, in the Tazreen Fashion factory in the Ashulia district on the outskirts of Daka, Bangladesh. At least 117 people were confirmed dead in the fire, and over 200 were injured

Question 10

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards example: Rana Plaza or Savar building collapse

Answer 10

The 2013 Savar building collapse or Rana Plaza collapse was a structural that occurred on 24 April 2013 in the Savar Upzila also in Dhaka, where an eight-story commercial building named Rana Plaza collapsed. The search for the dead ended on 13 May 2013 with a death toll of 1,134.

Question 11

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards example: radium dial painters

Answer 11

• In 1902, inventor William J. Hammer left Paris with a curious souvenir. The famous scientists Pierre and Marie Curie had provided him with some samples of their radium salt crystals.
• Radium’s slight blue-green glow and natural warmth indicated that it was clearly a fascinating material.
• Hammer went on to combine his radium salt with glue and a compound called zinc sulfide which glowed in the presence of radiation. The result was glow-in-the-dark paint.

Question 12

PHYSICAL occupational health hazards example: Silicosis tunnel construction

Answer 12

Worst single incidence of silicosis in the US – hawk’s nest tunnel, gauley bridge, west virginia 1930-1931
History of Silicosis
—First U.S. description in 19th century.
—Term silicosis introduced in 1870, from Latin silex, or flint.
—Prevalence increased markedly with introduction of mechanized mining.
—Came to national attention 1930-1931 with construction of Hawk’s Nest Tunnel in Gauley Bridge, West Virginia. Called “the worst industrial accident in U.S. history.” At least 764 tunnel workers died from silicosis. Hawk’s Nest disaster led to Congressional hearings in 1936, and new laws protecting workers in many states.
—Prevalence of silicosis has greatly declined in recent decades because of effective industrial hygiene measures.