Occupational Health and Safety Management

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Occupational Health and Safety Management

• Hazard Management in practice
• Hazardous Substances

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Hazard Management Summary

• Hazard Identification
• Risk Assessment
• Risk Control

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Lecture Summary

• Learn about the practical application of Hazard
  Management principles by applying them to
  different types of hazards eg plant and
  equipment, hazardous substances and manual
  handling.
• Learn how to obtain more information about
  hazards.

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Chemical Hazards

• Generally called hazardous substances
• Harmful to health or safety?
• Pure substances or mixtures
• Is it a hazard? What are the ingredients?
• What is the concentration

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Types of exposures

• Widespread problem from adhesives, paints,
  welding fumes, hair perming solutions, cleaning
  agents, solvents, pesticides, petroleum products
• Hazardous substances can be in the form of
  liquids, solids, vapours, gases, fumes or dusts

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Effects of Hazardous Substances

• Carcinogenic- can cause cancer
• Mutagenic- can cause damage to genes
• Reproductive- effect fertility, birth defects
• Sensitising- allergic reaction
• Corrosive burns to skin, eyes
• Acute Toxicity- short term (acute) effects eg
  headache, nausea, liver damage

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Effects of Hazardous Substances

• Chronic effects- repeated/prolonged exposure can
  cause irreversible (chronic) effects, eg damage
  to liver, kidney, lungs or other organs
• Irritant- irritation to skin, eye, nose, throat

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Routes of entry

• Inhalation
• Direct contact (skin)
• Absorption
• Ingestion
• Injection

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Methodology for hazard identification

• Observe and inspect-attend the worksite and
  observe work conditions and practices
• Consult with workers and management via
  interview, survey, discussion
• Review product information-MSDS
• Review published information (research
  studies-medline, ohsrom etc.)

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Methodology for hazard identification

• Published information what does the legislation
  or technical standards say?
• Analyze data records of injury, illness, near
  misses in the workplace
• Monitor and measure work environment, health
  surveillance

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Product Information- The Label

• View the original container
• Is there a label on it or securely attached?
• Does the label identify
• Product name? Name address, telephone number of
  importer?
• Information about ingredients?

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The Label

• Health and Safety information including risk and
  safety phrases such as
• Hazardous Dangerous Poison Poison Warning
  Caution

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Product Information- The MSDS

• Material Safety Data Sheet
• Is it clear, simple, precise?
• Is it up to date?
• Is it a hazardous substance?

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The MSDS

• Does the MSDS identify
• Company details
• Product identification details
• Chemical and Physical properties
• Ingredients
• Health and Hazard information
• First aid and medical advice

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The MSDS

• Does the MSDS identify
• Control measures and precautions for use
• Exposure standards
• Storage and handling information

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The MSDS

• Summary
• Nature of health effects
• How workers could be exposed
• Considerations for safe use
• Storage Transport
• Clean up/Disposal/Emergency response
• First Aid

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Published Information

• Find out more about chemical from NIOSH
  website-pocket guide to hazardous chemicals,
  OHS authority web pages
• Industry Standards-Exposure standards
• Legislation for hazardous substances dangerous
  goods eg in Aust.
• Approved Code of Practice for Labeling Workplace
  Substances
• Approved Code of Practice for Preparation of
  Material Safety Data Sheets

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Published Information

• NOHSC website has guides for specific hazards eg
  arsenic, cement etc
• Other on-line or database resources include
  CC-Info, CCH- Hazard Alert,

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Published Information

• Consider Regulations and National Code of Practice

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Monitoring

• Monitor fumes etc in the work environment
• Specialist skill of Occupational Hygienist

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Health Surveillance

• Biological monitoring and health surveillance
• Eg urine sample, blood lead level, content in
  expired gases
• Specialist skill of Medical Practitioner
• (consider also confidentiality, motivations)

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Identification-Other considerations

• Substances used or produced including by-products
• Obligation to create an inventory or
• Hazardous substances Register
• Storage
• Clean up/emergency response

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Risk Assessment

• Consider
• The nature of the hazard
• The degree and frequency of the exposure (how
  much, how long, how often)
• The possible consequences of exposure
• Use a risk assessment matrix

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Risk Assessment for Hazardous Substances

• Considerations of seriousness of hazard and
  likelihood of occurrence may be hampered due to
  lack of immediate symptoms etc.

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Risk Assessment for hazardous substances

• Nature of the hazard- the harmful effect
• Observation/consultation to identify use of and
  contact with hazardous substances degree and
  frequency of exposure
• Consider value of environmental monitoring or
  health surveillance if required
• Injury/illness/incident reports

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Risk Control-Hierarchy

• Elimination
• Substitution
• Isolation
• Engineering
• Administration
• Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

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Elimination

• Why is this hazardous substance used?
• Why is this function/purpose necessary?
• Consider if the function/purpose could be
  achieved by doing things differently

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Case StudyCommercial Kitchen

• Summary of job task
• There are four ovens in the commercial kitchen.
  It is the job of the kitchen hand to clean them
  weekly.
• The kitchen hand wears long sleeves and rubber
  gloves to spray caustic oven cleaner (provide
  details/research the chemical) and scrub out the
  ovens. Government of SA, Workplace Services

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• Required to put head and shoulders up to 50cm in
  to reach the back of the oven. When the inside
  of the largest oven is cleaned it is possible to
  get drips on face, neck and hair.
• Exhaust fans in the kitchen are not effective for
  the ovens. No respiratory protection is
  provided.
• Depending on the dirtiness of ovens process can
  take up to 20 minutes an oven.

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• There are no reports of skin damage or eye
  irritation. However, the kitchen hand has
  reported a choking sensation or rawthroat when
  spraying the cleaner in the largest oven.
• There is an exposure standard of 2mg per cubic
  meter of clean air for sodium hydroxide.

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What are the hazards?

• Summary of possible health effects
• User could spray foam from caustic cleaner on
  skin, - potential for burns, absorption
• splashes in his eyes, - potential for burns,
  irritation
• drips on his face and hair,- potential for burns
  to face and neck, irritation, absorption through
  skin,
• Breathe in caustic vapours, mists- potential for
  upper respiratory tract burns, irritation
• .

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• Significance of exposure will depend on nature of
  the chemical (how toxic?)and length of exposure
  (time spent in close proximity to it)
• Main exposure through spraying into ovens
• Other exposure from scrubbing and wiping ovens
  can result in exposure to diluted caustic
  substance
• As exposure for no more than an hour a day
  atmospheric monitoring not required

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• Main health effect is inhalation of toxic fumes-
  highly likely as with current process unavoidable
• Severity-Minor injury/disease-or could be major
  (eg triggering asthma) which might require
  significant time from work
• Priorities using matrix

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• Make control recommendations for the (2) hazards
  that you have prioritised as most important
  because of their likelihood and severity

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Control Measures

• Elimination (can the hazardous substance be
  removed?)
• Could the ovens be cleaned with soap or cloudy
  ammonia or a more regular basis to eliminate fat
  buildup?
• Substitution
• Can the present cleaner be substituted for a less
  hazardous one? If it was a paste instead of spray
  no airborne contamination

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Control Measures

• Isolation (Can worker or others be kept away?)
• Not practicable isolate other workers away due to
  proximity of oven
• Engineering (what devises/alterations)
• Consider using long handle scrubbing brushes and
  device for arms length operation of the spray-
  to minimise need to put head/arms in oven
• Ensure use of extraction fans

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Controls

• Administrative
• Ensure oven cleaned more frequently to keep fat
  build up down. Preparation of safe operating
  procedure and training.
• Training for emergency. Schedule to reduce risks
  to others.
• PPE Personal Protective Equipment
• Appropriate skin and eye protection
• Long rubber gloves, long sleeved disposable
  overalls, hood, eye protection

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Hints

• Always start with elimination even if you decide
  not practicable- explain why not practicable eg
  not feasible
• Egonly chemical that will achieve result
• alternatives are extremely costly and the
  cost of controlling hazard outweighs the risk