(A) Why Is First Important in The Context of Occupational Safety and Health?

3.(a) Why is first important in the context of occupational safety and health?
The goals of occupational safety and health programs include to foster a safe and healthy
work environment.[3] OSH may also protect co-workers, family members, employers,
customers, and many others who might be affected by the workplace environment. In the
United States, the term occupational health and safety is referred to as occupational health
and occupational and non-occupational safety and includes safety for activities outside of
work.
The first federal agency that focused on workplace safety was the U.S. Bureau of Mines,
established in 1910 (CDC, 1999d). Its creation followed increasing attention to deaths in the
workplace. For example, in 1906– 1907, the first systematic survey of workplace accidents
was undertaken in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It counted 526 deaths from such
accidents in the county, including 195 among steelworkers.
Until 1970, states had the primary responsibility for regulating workplace conditions. The first
state laws on worker safety date to 1837, and a few states had created inspection programs
and started collecting injury and illness data before 1900 (OSHSPA, 1999). As they
developed, state programs tended to rely more on education and consultation with
employers rather than on formal enforcement of regulations backed by fines for employer
violations (Mendeloff, 1978).
Not surprisingly, state laws and activities that regulate workplace health and safety were—
and are—highly variable. Today, for example, states can choose to develop and adopt their
own plans under the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and about half have chosen to do
so (see below). If states choose not to develop such plans, federal occupational safety and
health rules—including rules intended to protect workers from tuberculosis—will not apply to
state and local government employees.Whether or not they choose to develop state plans,
states may innovate in areas not covered by federal regulations.
(b) Why is urgent need for preventative and protective measures to be instituted at
workplace?
Every year millions of people in the European Union (EU) are injured at work or have their
health seriously harmed in the workplace. Occupational accidents and diseases cause great
human suffering and loss and the economic cost is also high.[1] Prevention is the guiding
principle for occupational safety and health (OSH) legislation in the EU. In order to avoid
accidents from happening and occupational diseases from occurring, EU wide minimum
requirements for safety and health protection at the workplace have been adopted across
the Member States. This article provides an overview of prevention and control strategies.
Prevention means the act or practice of stopping something bad from happening.[3] In the
sense of OSH it means the avoidance of the risk or hazard at work. In contrast to prevention,
control is the term to describe mitigation activities where the risk cannot be prevented. The
principles of prevention and control strategies are enshrined in several pieces of EU Health
and Safety (H&S) legislation. The OSH Framework Directive (89/391/EEC) [4] is of
fundamental importance; it is basic H&S law which lays down general principles concerning
prevention and protection of workers against occupational accidents and disease and
establishes the framework for safety and health management at the workplace.
Effective controls protect workers from workplace hazards; help avoid injuries, illnesses, and
incidents; minimize or eliminate safety and health risks; and help employers provide workers
with safe and healthful working conditions. The processes described in this section will help
employers prevent and control hazards identified in the previous section.
To effectively control and prevent hazards, employers should:
● Involve workers, who often have the best understanding of the conditions that create
hazards and insights into how they can be controlled.
● Identify and evaluate options for controlling hazards, using a "hierarchy of controls."
● Use a hazard control plan to guide the selection and implementation of controls, and
implement controls according to the plan.
● Develop plans with measures to protect workers during emergencies and nonroutine
activities.
● Evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls to determine whether they continue to

provide protection, or whether different controls may be more effective. Review new
technologies for their potential to be more protective, more reliable, or less costly.
(c)State some way to estimate the unsafe or healthy working conditions and
dangerous acts.
Unsafe working conditions are a threat to everyone, and they can occur in any environment.
They can often be classified as ergonomic hazards, chemical hazards, or biological hazards,
although not all dangers in the workplace fall under those categories.
Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic hazards are related to the way your job strains your body. Sometimes it’s the
type of work you do, such as work that requires you to use repetitive or awkward motions, or
to lift things frequently; other times, it has to do with your body positions and your work
environment, such as bad lighting or an improperly adjusted workstation.
Chemical Hazards
Chemical hazards are present any time you’re exposed to any chemical preparation in the
workplace, whether it’s a solid, liquid, or gas. Chemicals can include cleaning products and
solvents, vapors and fumes, and flammable materials. They can also include carbon
monoxide, gasoline, and asbestos.
Biological Hazards
Biological hazards are those that come from working with people, plants, or animals. Blood
and bodily fluids, bacteria and viruses, and even insect bites can be considered biological
hazards. So can animal and bird droppings.
If any of the hazards listed above are present, you could be neck-deep in unsafe working
conditions. However, if your employer has taken the right steps to protect you and other
employees, the state and federal governments could consider the employer’s obligations to
be met—that is, your employer has upheld its end of the bargain.
In many cases, though, unsafe work practices lead to unsafe working conditions. Some
examples of unsafe working conditions include:
● Failing to balance materials properly

● Failing to train employees properly
● Failing to use or maintain personal protective equipment
● Failing to use or maintain safety devices
● Improper lifting
● Improperly using personal protective equipment
● Improperly using safety devices
● Mislabeling or failing to label chemicals
● Operating machinery at unsafe speeds
● Operating machinery in violation of safe workplace practices
● Overloading materials
● Removing or disabling guards and safety devices on equipment or machinery
● Repairing or adjusting machinery or equipment that’s moving, under pressure, or
charged with electricity
● Smoking in unauthorized areas
● Standing under or working under suspended loads, scaffolds, open hatches, or
shafts
● Using defective tools or equipment
● Using tools or equipment in unsafe ways (or in ways other than their intended
purposes)
● Using tools, machinery, or equipment without the proper training or authority to use
them
● Using unapproved tools
Today workplace safety and health procedures are important for both employees and
employers.Each person who leave his home for work in the morning should come back to
his home in the evening with good health.Health and safety is the key factor for all the
industries to promote the development of both employees and employers. It is a duty of the
company to take care the employee’s protection.It's also help the quality of the products and
development of the company.

(A) Why Is First Important in The Context of Occupational Safety and Health?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

(A) Why Is First Important in The Context of Occupational Safety and Health?

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

(A) Why Is First Important in The Context of Occupational Safety and Health?

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

3.(a) Why is first important in the context of occupational safety and health?

To effectively control and prevent hazards, employers should:

● Evaluate the effectiveness of existing controls to determine whether they continue to

● Failing to balance materials properly

You might also like