Essay - Occupational Health and Safety Introduction: There are Hazards in Most...

Occupational Health and Safety

Introduction:

***** are hazards in most occupations. The importance lies in recognizing the hazard and how we ought to react and take care to minimize the hazard. Preventive measures ought to be inculcated in the workers and there must ***** care and rules to regulate the work that has health hazards. This is of paramount importance. We are concerned in this paper over the hazards ***** radiation ***** other related work hazards. (Brune; Edling, 1989, p. 167)

In hospitals the health hazards to ***** come in many forms. Though we consider ***** effects of radiation and the use of thermal ***** other ions, ***** have to bear ***** mind that there ***** ***** pollution ***** occur in hospitals that also could be harmful. Though there is no radiation, noise for example and lighting is two areas that relates ***** the lighting levels ***** no*****e which affect health. Although noise does not constitute a part of ***** radiation hazard, noise hazards are present in ***** with the noise above 85 decibel level. ********** occur at ***** central processing, electrical install*****ions and in the laundry ***** cleaning mechanism. (Stellman, 1998, p. 7) Boiler rooms, laundry and kitchens are ***** source of excessive noise. There can be permanent hearing loss on c*****stant exposure to noise over 80 *****s. Hot liquids and hot surfaces ***** ***** hazardous. (Occupational Hazards for Hospital Workers, 1995) The hazards and the working environment ***** stress ***** to the work including shifts which interfere with ***** biological clock can have disastrous consequences on the health of the workers and their performance. The ***** workload dem***** combined ***** the stress and the hazards and risk at hospitals ***** take a physical and psychological toll among health workers.

1. All lighting, non-ionising radiation ***** ionising ***** hazards that may be ***** in the workplace environment of a large general Hospital

The occupational ***** at the hospital are a broad spectrum that encompasses all activities at ***** hospital, health care, patient *****, food, laboratory, and so on. Broadly we can classify these hazards into psycho social, *****, physical chemical and ergonomic hazards. Infections by bacteria ***** virus, contamination and risk that are inherent in handl*****g body fluids of infected patients form the biological hazard. HIV, Hepatitis etc can be spread to health workers from *****. Some other diseases that could be ***** include Rubella, Pulmonary tuberculosis, Herpes simplex virus, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome --AIDS and many such communicable diseases. Health workers in ********** ***** subject to ***** from chemicals like cleaning ***** sterilizing chemicals, disinfectants, detergents, solvents, anaesthetic chemicals, anti-cancer medicines, and reagents are around and cause illness. Added to those ergonomic disasters like slippery floors, sharp instruments, and explosive gases are ergonomic *****s. The most important and ***** affecting hazards emanate from the electric installations, ionizing and non-***** radiation. (***** Hazards for Hospital Workers, 1995)

X-Ray, LASER therapy, nuclear therapy Magnetic resonance and more and ***** methods of diagnosis and treatment are creating hazards. (Brune; *****, 1989, p.