Fundamentals of Environmental Health and Safety Unit IV

1. Fundamentals of
Environmental Health and
Safety
Unit-IV

2. Syllabus
• Fundamentals of environmental health and
safety: Overview of occupational safety and
health and industrial hygiene programs, safety
and health hazards: identification of potential
safety and health hazards in industrial and
development projects.

3. Occupational Safety and Health
• Occupational safety and health (also commonly
referred to as occupational health and safety) is
an
area
concerned
with
protecting
the safety,health and welfare of people engaged
in work or employment. The goals of
occupational safety and health programs include
to foster a safe and healthy work
environment. OSH may also protect coworkers,
family
members,
employers,
customers, and many others who might be
affected by the workplace environment.

4. Occupational Safety and Health

5. Occupational Safety and Health
• Occupational safety and health can be important for moral,
legal, and financial reasons.
• All organisations have a duty of care to ensure that
employees and any other person who may be affected by
the companies undertaking remain safe at all times.
• Moral obligations would involve the protection of
employee's lives and health
• Legal reasons for OSH practices relate to the preventative,
punitive and compensatory effects of laws that protect
worker's safety and health.
• OSH can also reduce employee injury and illness related
costs, including medical care, sick leave and disability
benefit costs

6. Occupational Safety and Health

7. Industrial Hygiene
• Industrial hygiene is generally defined as the art and science
dedicated to the anticipation, recognition, evaluation,
communication and control of environmental parameters in,
or arising from, the work place that may result in injury,
illness, impairment, or affect the well being of workers and
members of the community. These parameters are divided
into the categories biological, chemical, physical, ergonomic
and psycho-social.
• The profession of industrial hygiene uses strict and rigorous
scientific methodology and often requires professional
experience in determining the potential for hazard and
evaluating exposures or risk in workplace and environmental
studies.

8. Industrial Hygiene

9. Industrial Hygiene
• The Industrial Hygienist may be involved with the
assessment and control of physical, chemical,
biological or environmental hazards in the
workplace or community that could cause injury or
disease.
• Physical hazards may include noise, temperature
extremes, illumination extremes, ionizing or nonionizing radiation, and ergonomics.
• Other related areas including Indoor air quality
(IAQ) and safety may also receive the attention of
the Industrial Hygienist.

10. Industrial Hygiene
• Industrial Hygienists work to minimize exposures through
the implementation of controls.
• The preferred method of control is the elimination of the
chemical, which can sometimes be achieved by the
substitution of a less hazardous material.
• Another method to reduce exposure is the use of an
engineering control, such as a laboratory hood or other
enclosure that isolates the chemical from the worker. In
some cases an administrative control, such as the rotation of
workers through a position to minimize the exposure to any
single worker, is implemented. The use of personal
protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, goggles, or
respirators may be recommended. The use of PPE is the
least preferred method due to the diligence required to
ensure effectiveness.

11. Occupational Health
• Since 1950, the International Labour Organization (ILO)
and the World Health Organization (WHO) have shared a
common definition of occupational health.
• "Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and
maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental
and social well-being of workers in all
occupations; the prevention amongst workers of
departures from health caused by their working
conditions; the protection of workers in their
employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to
health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an
occupational environment adapted to his physiological
and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the
adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job”.

12. Occupational Health

13. Occupational Health
• "The main focus in occupational health is on three
different objectives:
• (i) The maintenance and promotion of workers’
health and working capacity;
• (ii) The improvement of working environment and
work to become conducive to safety and health and (iii)
development of work organizations and working
cultures in a direction which supports health and
safety at work and in doing so also promotes a positive
social climate and smooth operation and may enhance
productivity of the undertakings.

14. Occupational Health

15. Workplace Hazards
Physical and Mechanical hazards
• Physical hazards are a common source of injuries in
many industries. They are perhaps unavoidable in
many industries such as construction and mining,
but over time people have developed safety methods
and procedures to manage the risks of physical danger
in the workplace. Employment of children may pose
special problems.
• Falls are a common cause of occupational injuries
and fatalities, especially in construction, extraction,
transportation, healthcare, and building cleaning
and maintenance.

16. Workplace Hazards

17. Workplace Hazards
• An engineering workshop specialising in the
fabrication and welding of components has to
follow the Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE) at work regulations 1992. It is an
employers duty to provide ‘all equipment
(including clothing affording protection against
the weather) which is intended to be worn or
held by a person at work which him against one
or more risks to his health and safety’. In a
fabrication and welding workshop an employer
would be required to provide face and eye
protection, safety footwear, overalls and other
necessary PPE.

18. Personal Protective Equipment

19. Workplace Hazards
• Machines are commonplace in many
industries,
including manufacturing, mining, constructi
on and agriculture, and can be dangerous to
workers.
• Many machines involve moving parts, sharp
edges, hot surfaces and other hazards with
the
potential
to
crush, burn, cut, shear, stab or
otherwise strike or wound workers if used
unsafely.

20. Workplace Hazards

21. Workplace Hazards

22. Workplace Hazards
• Machines are also often involved indirectly in
worker deaths and injuries, such as in cases in
which a worker slips and falls, possibly
upon a sharp or pointed object. The
transportation sector bears many risks for the
health of commercial drivers, too, for
example from vibration, long periods of
sitting, work stress and exhaustion.. More
drivers die in accidents due to security defects
in vehicles.

23. Workplace Hazards

24. Drivers Security

25. Workplace Hazards
• Confined spaces also present a work hazard. The
National Institute of Occupational Safety and
Health defines "confined space" as having
limited openings for entry and exit and unfavorable natural ventilation, and which is not
intended for continuous employee occupancy.
• These kind of spaces can include storage tanks,
ship
compartments,
sewers,
and
pipelines. Confined spaces can pose a hazard
not just to workers, but also to people who try
to rescue them.

26. Workplace Hazards

27. Workplace Hazards

28. Workplace Hazards
• Noise also presents a fairly common workplace
hazard: occupational hearing loss is the most
common work-related injury in the United States,
with 22 million workers exposed to hazardous
noise levels at work and an estimated $242
million spent annually on worker's compensation
for hearing loss disability.
• Noise is not the only source of occupational
hearing loss; exposure to chemicals such as
aromatic solvents and metals including lead,
arsenic, and mercury can also cause hearing
loss.

29. Workplace Hazards

30. Workplace Hazards
• Temperature extremes can also pose a danger to
workers.
• Heat
stress
can
cause
heat
stroke, exhaustion, cramps, and rashes. Heat can
also fog up safety glasses or cause sweaty palms or
dizziness, all of which increase the risk of other
injuries. Workers near hot surfaces or steam also
are at risk for burns.
• Dehydration may also result from overexposure to
heat. Cold stress also poses a danger to many workers.
Overexposure to cold conditions or extreme cold can
lead to hypothermia, frostbite, trench foot,
or chilblains.

31. Workplace Hazards

32. Workplace Hazards

33. Workplace Hazards
• Electricity poses a danger to many workers.
Electrical injuries can be divided into four
types: fatal electrocution, electric shock, burns,
and falls caused by contact with electric
energy.
• Vibrating machinery, lighting, and air
pressure can also cause work-related illness
and injury. Asphyxiation is another potential
work
hazard
in
certain
situations. Musculoskeletal disorders are
avoided by the employment of good ergonomic
design and the reduction of repeated strenuous
movements or lifts

34. Workplace Hazards

35. Biological and Chemical Hazards
•
•
•
•
Biological Hazards
Bacteria
Virus
Fungi
– Mold
• Blood-borne pathogens
• Tuberculosis

36. Biological and Chemical Hazards

37. Chemical Hazards
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Acids
Bases
Heavy metals
Lead
Solvents
Petroleum
Particulates
Asbestos and other fine dust/fibrous materials
Silica
Fumes (noxious gases/vapors)
Highly-reactive chemicals
Fire, conflagration and explosion hazards:
Explosion
Detonation

38. Psycho-Social Hazards
• Employers have an obligation not only to protect
the physical health of their employees but also
the psychological health. Therefore as part of a
risk management framework psychological or
psychosocial hazards (risk factors) need to be
identified and controlled for in the workplace.
Psychosocial hazards are related to the way work
is designed, organised and managed, as well as
the economic and social contexts of work and
are associated with psychiatric, psychological
and/or physical injury or illness.

39. Psycho-Social Hazards

40. Psycho-Social Hazards

41. Psycho-Social Hazards
• According to a survey by the European Agency for Safety
and Health at Work, the most important emerging
psychosocial risks are:
• Precarious work contracts
• Increased worker vulnerability due to globalization
• New forms of employment contracts
• Feeling of job insecurity
• Aging workforce
• Long working hours
• Work intensification
• Lean production and outsourcing
• High emotional demands
• Poor work-life balance

42. Occupational safety and health by
industry
• Specific occupational safety and health
concerns vary greatly by sector and Industry.
• Construction workers might be particularly
at risk of falls, for instance, whereas
fishermen might be particularly at risk
of drowning.
• the fishing, aviation, lumber, metalworking, ag
riculture, mining and transportation industries
as among some of the more dangerous for
workers.

43. Construction
Construction
• Construction is one of the most dangerous
occupations in the world, incurring more
occupational fatalities than any other sector
• Falls are one of the most common causes of
fatal and non-fatal injuries among construction
workers.

44. Construction Hazards

45. Construction
• Proper safety equipment such as harnesses and guardrails
and procedures such as securing ladders and inspecting
scaffolding can curtail the risk of occupational injuries in
the construction industry.
• Due to the fact that accidents may have disastrous
consequences for employees as well as organizations, it is
of utmost importance to ensure health and safety of
workers and compliance with HSE construction
requirements. Health and safety legislation in the
construction industry involves many rules and regulations.
For example, the role of the Construction Design
Management (CDM) Coordinator as a requirement has been
aimed at improving health and safety on-site

46. Construction Hazards

47. Agriculture
• Agriculture workers are often at risk of work-related
injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss, skin
disease, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use
or prolonged sun exposure. On industrialized farms,
injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural
machinery.
• Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can be
hazardous to worker health, and workers exposed to
pesticides may experience illnesses or birth defects. As
an industry in which families, including children,
commonly work alongside their families, agriculture is a
common source of occupational injuries and illnesses
among younger workers. Common causes of fatal injuries
among young farm worker include drowning, machinery
and motor vehicle-related accidents

48. Agriculture

49. Service Sector
• As the number of service sector jobs has risen in
developed countries, more and more jobs have
become sedentary, presenting a different array
of health problems than those associated with
manufacturing and the primary sector.
Contemporary problems such as the growing rate
of
obesity
and
issues
relating
to stress and overwork in many countries have
further complicated the interaction between
work and health.

50. Service Sector

51. Mining and Oil & Gas Extraction
• Workers employed in mining and oil & gas extraction
industries had high prevalence rates of exposure to
potentially harmful work organization characteristics and
hazardous chemicals.
• Many of these workers worked long hours: 50% worked
more than 48 hours a week and 25% worked more than 60
hours a week in 2010. Additionally, 42% worked nonstandard shifts (not a regular day shift). These workers also
had high prevalence of exposure to physical/chemical
hazards. In 2010, 39% had frequent skin contact with
chemicals. Among non-smoking workers, 28% of those in
mining and oil and gas extraction industries had frequent
exposure to second-hand smoke at work. About two-thirds
were frequently exposed to vapours, gas, dust, or fumes
at work.

52. Mining and Oil & Gas Extraction

53. Occupational Safety and Health in
India
India has a very poor health and safety record.
Much legislation exists to protect workers rights
and health but they are not implemented properly
and only an elite of workers enjoy the benefits. Of
the total work force only 8.8 percent are organized.
The workforce is abundant, low skilled and easily
available and the high rate of unemployment
makes them susceptible to exploitation. Getting
work is more important than the hazards involved.

54. Constitutional Provision for Occupational Safety
and Health
Article 24
• No child below the age of fourteen years shall be
employed to work in any factory or mine or engaged
in other hazardous employment.

55. Constitutional Provision for Occupational Safety
and Health
Article 39 (e & f)
• The state shall in particular direct its policy towards securing.
• e) that the health and strength of workers, men and women, and the
tender age of children are not abused and that citizens are not forced
by economic necessity to enter vocations unsuited to their age and
strength;
f) that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in
healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that
childhood and youth are protected against exploitation.
Article 42
• The state shall make provision for securing just and humane
conditions of work and maternity relief.

56. Constitutional Provision for
Occupational Safety and Health

57. National Policy
• Safety and health occupies a very significant position in
India’s constitution which prohibits employment of
children under 14 in factories, mines and in hazardous
occupations. Policy aims to protect the health and
strength of all workers.
•
The constitution provides a broad framework
under which policies and programmes for
occupational health and safety could be established.

58. National Policy

59. National Legislation
Legislation provides an essential foundation
for safety. To be meaningful and effective
legislation should be reviewed and updated
regularly as scientific knowledge develops.
India has had legislation on occupational health
and safety for over 50 years

60. National Legislation
Other laws have also been framed for workers’ welfare.
OSHA Legislation
• The Factories Act 1948, amended 1954, 1970, 1976, 1987
• The Mines Act, 1952
• The Dock workers (safety, health and welfare) Act, 1986
• The Plantation Labour Act, 1951
• The Explosives Act, 1884
• The Petroleum Act, 1934
• The Insecticide Act, 1968
• The Indian Boilers Act, 1923
• The Indian Electricity Act, 1910
• The Dangerous Machines (Regulations) Act, 1983
• The Indian Atomic Energy Act, 1962
• The Radiological Protection Rules, 1971
• The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989

61. Factories Act.
On health this law requires employers:
• to ensure cleanliness of the workplace;
• make effective arrangement for treatment and disposal of waste
and effluent;
• make suitable and effective provisions for adequate ventilation;
• maintain temperatures to secure reasonable comfort for workers;
• remove any dust or fumes from the workplace which may be
injurious to workers;
• prevent overcrowding by maintaining a specific cubic area for each
worker;
• provide sufficient and suitable light;
• make suitable arrangements to provide clean drinking water
conveniently situated for all workers and;
• provide suitable latrines and urinals to specified standards

62. Factories Act.
• The factory occupier must disclose information about:
• dangers, health hazards, and measures to protect
workers from substances or materials in manufacture,
transportation, storage etc. to the workers, the chief
factory inspector, and the local authority;
• safety and policy;
• quantity and characteristics and disposal of substances
and waste;
• emergency plans to workers and the local public;
• handling, using, transportation, storage and disposal of
hazardous substances to workers and the local public.

63. Occupational Safety and Health

64. Occupational Accidents
Occupational Accidents are grossly underreported in India. In any case the factories Act
does not cover the vast majority of workers
because they work in the informal sector where
accidents
are
not
reported
at
all.

65. Occupational Accidents

66. Occupational Disease
The Factories Act requires notification of
occupational diseases to the government, but they are
hardly reported, allowing official statistics to compare
well
with
industrialized
countries.
However independent studies report the existence
of many occupational diseases, most notably
respiratory diseases due to dust. Agriculture is India’s
largest employer. Workers are exposed to a wide
variety of dust in its fields and factories. The most
common disease is bysinossis caused by cotton dust in
the textile industry.

67. Occupational Disease
• Asthma and Allergies are common among
workers in grain and tea production.
• Chronic lung diseases such as silicosis and
pneumoconiosis are due to mineral dust.
• Heavy metal poisoning especially lead,
chromium, pesticide and other chemical
poisoning
are
quite
common.

68. Occupational Disease

69. Occupational Disease

70. Workmen’s Compensation
• There are two main laws for compensating
occupational diseases and accidents:
• Workman’s Compensation Act
• Employees State Insurance (ESI)
• The procedure for compensation is so
cumbersome that very few damaged workers
receive compensation. Even though workers
are insured under the ESI act getting
compensation is enormously difficult.

71. Workmen’s Compensation

72. Occupational Safety and Health
Institutions
There are two main institutions devoted to
occupational health and safety:
• Central Labour Institute, Mumbai [Bombay]
and Regional Labour Institutes in Calcutta,
Kanpur and Chennai under Ministry of Labour;
• National Institute of Occupational Health,
Ahmedabad and regional institutes in Calcutta
and Bangalore under the Indian Council of
Medical Research (ICMR) ministry of health

73. Occupational Safety and Health
Institutions

74. Occupational Safety and Health in
India
•
Occupational health and safety cannot
be isolated from other problems like wages or
job security. The key job is to make workers
aware of the importance of occupational
hazards.
•
Trade unions are reluctant to organize
on occupational health and safety, mostly due
to ignorance and lack of awareness.
It is unlikely that things will improve unless
workers participate in the process.

75. Occupational Safety and Health in
India

76. References
Environmental Management
Bala Krishnamoorthy- PHI publication
Wikipedia- The online free Encyclopedia
http://www.nioh.org/

77. Thanks…..