Introduction to Safety and Health

1. Introduction to Safety and Health Preface and Chapter.1 (Goetsch)

2. Safety vs Health • Safety and health although closely related are not the same. • One view is that • Safety is concerned with injury-causing situations, whereas health is concerned with disease causing situations. • Another view is that safety is concerned with hazards to humans that result from sudden severe conditions; health deals with adverse reactions to prolonged exposure to dangerous but less intense hazards. • An acute effect is a sudden reaction to a severe condition, while a chronic effect is a long-term deterioration due to a prolonged exposure to a milder adverse condition (Asfahl).

3. Safety vs Health • Both concepts are accurate in portraying safety and health issues. However, there is no clear line between the two concepts. • For example, stress is a hazard can cause both p__________ and p__________ problems over a prolonged period. So, it is a ________concern. On the other hand, an overly stressed worker may be prone to accidents generating a __________concern.

4. Safety vs Health • Long term exposure to noise levels in the range of 90 -100 decibels causes permanent damage._____ • A sudden acute exposure to impact noise can injure the hearing system. ______ (Asfahl) • Let’s come up with a similar example or two

5. Safety and Health Movement, Then and Now • The safety area in the US has developed steadily since early 1900s. • In the early 1900s, industrial accidents were common. • In 1907 over 3200 people were killed in mining accidents. • Then, legislation and public opinion all favored management.. • There were a few protections for workers’ safety.

6. Safety and Health Movement, Then and Now • Working conditions for industrial employees have improved significantly. • Chance of a worker being killed is less thanhalf of what it was 60 years ago. • According to the NSC ________________, the current death rate from work-related injuries is approx. 4 per 100,000 or less than a third of the rate 50 years ago.

7. Safety and Health Movement, Then and Now • Improvements have been the result of: • The pressure for legislature to promote safety and health, • The steadily increasing costs associated with accidents and injuries, • The future improvements will be driven by cost effectiveness and resultant competitiveness gained from a safe and healthy workplace. • The professionalization of safety as an occupation.

8. Development Before the Industrial Revolution • Code of Hammurabi contained clauses pertaining to safety and health. • “If a man has caused the loss of a gentlemen’s eye, his own eye shall be caused to be lost”. • Egyptians used slaves in building temples and pyramids. • Rameses II to ensure the maintenance of a workforce sufficient to build his major project, created an industrial medical service and required each worker to bathe daily.

9. Development Before the Industrial Revolution • The Romans were very concerned about safety and health. • ___________________________________ • In the 16th Century, Philippus Aureolus looked at pulmonary disease of miners/diseases of smelter workers/metallurgists and Georgius Agricola emphasized the need for ventilation systems in the mines.

10. Development Before the Industrial Revolution • In the 18th Century, Bernardino Ramazzini drew parallels between diseases suffered by workers and their occupations. • Handling of harmful materials, irregular or unnatural movements of the body • The Industrial Revolution change the nature of production: • Introduction of inanimate power • Substitution of machines for people • Introduction of new methods in fabrication • Organization and specialization of work

11. Milestones in the Safety Movement • The safety movement traces its roots to England. • Industrial Revolution • Outbreak of fever among the children working in cotton mills led people in Manchester demand better working conditions in the factories. • In 1802 the Health of Morals of ApprenticesAct was passed.

12. Milestones in the Safety Movement • When the industrial sector began to grow in the US, hazardous working conditions became common. • Following the Civil War, the seeds of the safety movement were sown. • Factory Inspection – 1867 in MA. • First barrier safeguard patent – 1868 • PA legislature mine safety law – 1869 • Bureau of Labor Statistics established - 1869

13. Milestones in the Safety Movement • MA legislature passed a law requiring safeguards for hazardous machinery – 1877 • Employer’s liability law – 1877 • First recorded safety program established in IL – 1892 • Frederick Taylor conducts first systematic study on efficiency in manufacturing – 1900 • Bureau of Mines created – 1907 • Concept of Workers Compensation introduced – 1908 • WI passed the first effective law on WC

14. Milestones in the Safety Movement • First cooperative study congress in Milwaukee - 1912 • National Council of Industrial Safety formed – 1913 • NCIS changed name to National Safety Council – 1915 • Concept of negligent manufacturer established - 1916

15. Milestones in the Safety Movement • National Silicosis Conference organized by US Secretary of Labor – 1936 • Relation between quality and safety and job accidents have negative effect on productivity • OSH act passed – 1970 • Federal Mine Safety Act passes – 1977 • Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization passes – 1986 • Amended Clean Air Act of 1970 passes

16. Milestones in the Safety Movement • Total Safety Management concept introduced – 1996 • US firms begin to pursue ISO 14000 registration for ESM___________________ - 2000 • Workplace terrorism is an ongoing concern of safety and health professionals - 2003

17. Tragedies That Have Changed the Safety Movement • Hawk’s Nest Tragedy • Asbestos Menace • Bhopal Tragedy

18. Role of • Organized Labor • Seeked safe and healthy work environments • Some say they focused too much on wages and benefits • Overturn the antilabor laws relating to safety • Fellow Servant Rule (in still NH) /Contributory Negligence • Assumption Risk • Specific Safety and Health Problems • Lung Disease in Miners • Anthrocosis / Black Spit • Coal Workers Pneumonoconosis • Gauley Bridge Disaster • Explosion in a mine in WV in 1968

19. Role of • Mercury Poisoning in 1930s Japan due to release of methyl mercury into the sea • Mercury nitrate was used in hat-making in the US • Asbestos exposure • Asbestosis or (Mesothelioma) Cancer

20. Development of Accident Prevention Programs • Will be covered with the Accident related chapters.

21. Safety and Health Movement Today • Came a long way from Industrial Revolution ways. • Tone was set during the WWII. • Need for various specialists arose: safety engineers, safety managers, industrial hygienists, occupational health nurses, and physicians.

22. Safety and Health Movement Today • H.G. Dyktor proposed the following objectives of integration (cooperation): • Learn more through sharing knowledge about health problems in the workplace, particularly those caused by toxic substances • Provide a greater level of expertise in evaluating health and safety problems. • Provide a broad database that can be used to compare health and safety problems experienced by different companies in the same industry. • Encourage accident prevention • Make employee health and safety a high priority

23. Integrated Approach to Safety and Health • By working together and drawing on their areas of expertise, S & H professionals are better able to identify, predict, control, and correct S & H problems. • OSHA reinforces this integrated approach by requiring companies to have a plan for doing: • Providing appropriate medical treatment for injured or ill workers • Regularly examining workers who are exposed to toxic substances • Having qualified first-aid person available during all work hours

24. Integrated Approach to Safety and Health • Small companies may contract, while the large ones have their own staff: • Industrial Hygiene Chemist and/or Engineer • Periodically test the work environment and the workers • Dust levels, ventilation, and noise levels.. • Radiation Control Specialist • Electrical Engineer and Physicist • Test radiation levels • Prepare plans for accidents/decontamination procedures • Industrial Safety Manager or Engineer • Developing Programs • Other

25. Development of Safety Organizations • Alliance for American Insurers • American Board of Industrial Hygiene • American Conference of Government Industrial Hygienists • American Industrial Hygiene Association • American Insurance Association • American National Standards Institute • American Occupational Medical Association • American Society of Testing and Materials • American Society of Mechanical Engineers

26. Development of Safety Organizations • Chemical Transportation Emergency Center • Human Factors Society • National Fire Protection Association • National Safety Council • National Safety Management Society • Society of Automotive Engineers • System Safety Society • Underwriter’s Laboratories

27. Government Organizations • Bureau of Labor Statistics • Bureau of National Affairs • Environmental Protection Agency • National Institute for Standards and Technology • National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health • Occupational Safety and Health Administration • Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office • US Consumer Product Safety Commission

28. Other Organizations • American Public Health Association • Commerce Clearing House

29. New • Materials, Processes, and New Problems