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Safety Audit and Standardization
Published in Debi Prasad Tripathy, Mine Safety Science and Engineering, 2019
An audit is defined as a systematic inspection or examination of a system or unit carried out to ensure compliance to requirements. An audit can be applied to an entire organization or to a specific operation. An audit applicable to safety systems in an organization is called a safety audit. A safety audit can be defined as verifying the existence and implementation of elements of the occupational safety and health system and for verifying the system’s ability to achieve defined safety objectives (IS 14489, 1998). It is a management tool that uses a systematic, periodic, and objective evaluation in order to (Champaty, 2017) identify how well the safety organization, management, and equipment are performingidentify operating procedures that could lead to an accidentidentify new equipment or process changes that could have introduced new hazardsidentify inadequacy in safety inspectionsverify occupational safety and health (OSH) system compliance with established legal standards, written policies, objectives, and progress
Introduction
Published in George Boustras, Frank W. Guldenmund, Safety Management in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), 2017
George Boustras, Frank W. Guldenmund
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) is an important notion which can function as a particular line of defence for both employees and employers. OSH is based on a number of directives and pieces of legislation that are partly grounded in studies and documents released by the International Labour Organization (ILO). Different countries, different legal systems and different cultures may differ in parts of the legislation but all the general concepts are present. The editors and contributors of this book try to present these core issues, taking especially the legislation of the European Union (EU) as well as the United States into account.
Safety Data Sheets, Green Movement, and More
Published in Kathleen Hess-Kosa, Building Materials, 2017
In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Hazard Communication Standard requires that the product manufacturer, distributor, and/or importer provide SDSs to end users in order to communicate hazardous components that may impact the health and safety of workers. Most SDSs also contain information regarding product environmental impact, disposal considerations, transportation information, and regulatory information regarding specific U.S. states (e.g., California), countries (e.g., Canada), and politico-economic unions (e.g., European Union). That said, content information as required by the various state and international regulatory agencies vary considerably. The list of regulated chemicals varies. The toxic chemical exposure limits varies. And the management of hazardous chemicals varies. In other words, SDS information is not internationally standardized. Only the format is “harmonized.”
The design of a matrix linking work situations to chemical health risk at the workplace
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2022
Abir Aachimi, Florian Marc, Nathalie Bonvallot, Frédéric Clerc
Regarding hazard identification and characterization, numerous databases have been developed to obtain data on the toxicity of chemicals. For example, the WHO/IPCS INCHEM Database described by Meek et al. (2011) is a tool that provides rapid access to internationally available information on chemicals published through the International Programme on Chemical Safety (www.inchem.org). Numerous types of chemicals from the full range of exposure situations (environment, food, occupational) are included. In addition, at the European level, the regulatory C&L Inventory database (https://echa.europa.eu/fr/information-on-chemicals/cl-inventory-database) contains classification and labeling information on registered and notified substances on the European market. At the company level, there are regulatory documents such as safety data sheets (SDS) which gather information related to occupational safety and health and also instructions for the safe use of substances, products, and materials. For example, in France, the toxicological datasheet database from the INRS (http://www.inrs.fr/publications/bdd/fichetox.html) provides information concerning hazards and regulations and also medical and technical advice for more than 300 chemical substances.
Patterns and predictors of personal protection compliance and workplace hygiene behaviors among workers with elevated blood lead levels in New York State
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2018
Vivian Nwudu, Alicia M. Fletcher, Michael Bauer
The hazards of occupational lead exposure have been widely documented and disseminated. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect workers when engineering and administrative control measures are inadequate. However, PPE is only effective against lead exposure when worn properly and consistently, in combination with good worker hygiene practices. In the United States, approximately 2 million workers are exposed to lead each year, primarily through inhalation of lead particles and accidental ingestion.[1] Regardless of the route of exposure, the health effects of lead are the same. Lead exposure adversely affects the hematological, cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, reproductive, and renal systems,[2] causing intoxication ranging from subclinical to life-threatening. Generally, acute poisoning due to recent exposures are thought to be reversible, and chronic poisoning due to cumulative doses are more likely to be irreversible. Even at low levels of exposures, the cumulative effect of lead may have the same effect as a short-term, high-level exposure.[2] Low-level lead exposures have been found to be associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality according to a recent study.[3] In 2015, based on scientific evidence of adverse health effects associated with low-level lead exposure, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) designated 5 µg/dL (5 micrograms per deciliter) of whole blood, in a venous blood sample, as the reference level, to identify adults with elevated BLL.[4]