Health & Safety Management - Essay Example

Examples of chemical hazards include benzene, hydrogen sulphide, etc. Ergonomic hazards arise when there is a mismatch between the task being performed and the human abilities. Examples of ergonomic hazards include lifting or pushing heavy objects. Physical hazards are forms of energy that can adversely affect the health and safety of an employee by their interaction with the human body. Examples of physical hazards include noise, radiation, etc. Psychosocial hazards arise by interaction of employees with peers or other people.

Examples of psychosocial hazards include stress. Occupational health hazards, such as the ones described above have chronic effects and symptoms often take long time to develop or become apparent. Examples of adverse health effects arising from such hazards include asbestosis; a form or lung cancer that develops from inhalation of asbestos fibres, noise induced hearing loss; a permanent form of loss in hearing caused by prolonged exposure to noise, repetitive strain injuries; a form of musculoskeletal disorders caused by repetition of strenuous work, stress; caused by social interaction, or illness caused by E.

coli infection. Some health effects, such as asbestosis or noise induced hearing loss take long time to become apparent and are often late for remedial action. Other risks exist in the working environments that have acute effects on the health and safety of employees. These hazards arise from unsafe conditions that exist in the working environment. Examples of such hazards include trips and falls, accidents, etc. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has reported cases of adverse health effects from virtually every hazard that exists in the working environment.

These hazards not only adversely affect the health and safety of employees, but also cause lost time to employers and costs in terms of compensation or treatment. Many of these hazards have caused fatalities and permanent disabilities. Such losses affect the