In organic chemistry,isocyanate is the functional group with the formula R−N=C=O. Organic compounds that contain an isocyanate group are referred to as isocyanates. An organic compound with two isocyanate groups is known as a diisocyanate. Diisocyanates are manufactured for the production of polyurethanes,a class of polymers.
Berylliosis,or chronic beryllium disease (CBD),is a chronic allergic-type lung response and chronic lung disease caused by exposure to beryllium and its compounds,a form of beryllium poisoning. It is distinct from acute beryllium poisoning,which became rare following occupational exposure limits established around 1950. Berylliosis is an occupational lung disease.
The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) is a professional association of industrial hygienists and practitioners of related professions,with headquarters in Cincinnati,Ohio. One of its goals is to advance worker protection by providing timely,objective,scientific information to occupational and environmental health professionals.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established the agency under the Occupational Safety and Health Act,which President Richard M. Nixon signed into law on December 29,1970. OSHA's mission is to "assure safe and healthy working conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training,outreach,education,and assistance." The agency is also charged with enforcing a variety of whistleblower statutes and regulations. OSHA's workplace safety inspections have been shown to reduce injury rates and injury costs without adverse effects on employment,sales,credit ratings,or firm survival.
A blood-borne disease is a disease that can be spread through contamination by blood and other body fluids. Blood can contain pathogens of various types,chief among which are microorganisms,like bacteria and parasites,and non-living infectious agents such as viruses. Three blood-borne pathogens in particular,all viruses,are cited as of primary concern to health workers by the CDC-NIOSH:HIV,hepatitis B (HVB),&hepatitis C (HVC).
Occupational noise is the amount of acoustic energy received by an employee's auditory system when they are working in the industry. Occupational noise,or industrial noise,is often a term used in occupational safety and health,as sustained exposure can cause permanent hearing damage. Occupational noise is considered an occupational hazard traditionally linked to loud industries such as ship-building,mining,railroad work,welding,and construction,but can be present in any workplace where hazardous noise is present.
Construction site safety is an aspect of construction-related activities concerned with protecting construction site workers and others from death,injury,disease or other health-related risks. Construction is an often hazardous,predominantly land-based activity where site workers may be exposed to various risks,some of which remain unrecognized. Site risks can include working at height,moving machinery and materials,power tools and electrical equipment,hazardous substances,plus the effects of excessive noise,dust and vibration. The leading causes of construction site fatalities are falls,electrocutions,crush injuries,and caught-between injuries.
David Platt Rall was a cancer specialist and a leader in environmental health studies,whose work in environmental health helped turn it into a scientific discipline. Rall also advanced public health and prevention. He directed the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences from 1971 to 1990,year in which he retired. His work on toxicology and carcinogenesis was recognized by his appointment as the first director of the National Toxicology Program in 1978. He held the rank of Assistant Surgeon General in the United States Public Health Service. He also chaired the World Health Organization's Program on Chemical Safety.
Lock out,tag out (LOTO) is a safety procedure used to ensure that dangerous equipment is properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work. It requires that hazardous energy sources be "isolated and rendered inoperative" before work is started on the equipment in question. The isolated power sources are then locked and a tag is placed on the lock identifying the worker and reason the LOTO is placed on it. The worker then holds the key for the lock,ensuring that only they can remove the lock and start the equipment. This prevents accidental startup of equipment while it is in a hazardous state or while a worker is in direct contact with it.
Eula Bingham was an American scientist,best known as an Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) during the Presidency of Jimmy Carter. During her tenure as the head of OSHA,she eliminated more than 1,000 pedantic regulations and shifted the agency's focus to health and safety risks,establishing strict standards for workers' rights to know about their exposure to hazardous substances.
Right to know is a human right enshrined in law in several countries. UNESCO defines it as the right for people to "participate in an informed way in decisions that affect them,while also holding governments and others accountable". It pursues universal access to information as essential foundation of inclusive knowledge societies. It is often defined in the context of the right for people to know about their potential exposure to environmental conditions or substances that may cause illness or injury,but it can also refer more generally to freedom of information or informed consent.
The US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health funds the Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES) program,a state-based surveillance program of laboratory-reported adult blood lead levels. In 2009,the ABLES program updated its case definition for an Elevated Blood Lead Level to a blood lead concentration equal or greater than 10 micrograms per deciliter (10 µg/dL). This chart shows CDC/NIOSH/ABLES Elevated blood lead level case definition in perspective.
Workplace health surveillance or occupational health surveillance (U.S.) is the ongoing systematic collection,analysis,and dissemination of exposure and health data on groups of workers. The Joint ILO/WHO Committee on Occupational Health at its 12th Session in 1995 defined an occupational health surveillance system as "a system which includes a functional capacity for data collection,analysis and dissemination linked to occupational health programmes".
An occupational fatality is a death that occurs while a person is at work or performing work related tasks. Occupational fatalities are also commonly called "occupational deaths" or "work-related deaths/fatalities" and can occur in any industry or occupation.
Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS),also known simply as occupational health or occupational safety,is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety,health,and welfare of people at work. These terms also refer to the goals of this field,so their use in the sense of this article was originally an abbreviation of occupational safety and health program/department etc. OSH is related to the fields of occupational medicine and occupational hygiene.
Occupational hearing loss (OHL) is hearing loss that occurs as a result of occupational hazards,such as excessive noise and ototoxic chemicals. Noise is a common workplace hazard,and recognized as the risk factor for noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus but it is not the only risk factor that can result in a work-related hearing loss. Also,noise-induced hearing loss can result from exposures that are not restricted to the occupational setting.
The New York and New Jersey Education and Research Center is one of eighteen Education and Research Centers funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The NYNJERC was established in 1978.
The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is a 501(c)6 non-profit organization,whose mission is "Creating knowledge to protect worker health." The American Industrial Hygiene Association works to provide information and resources to Industrial Hygienists and Occupational Health professionals.
Hazard controls for COVID-19 in workplaces are the application of occupational safety and health methodologies for hazard controls to the prevention of COVID-19. Vaccination is the most effective way to protect against severe illness or death from COVID-19. Multiple layers of controls are recommended,including measures such as remote work and flextime,increased ventilation,personal protective equipment (PPE) and face coverings,social distancing,and enhanced cleaning programs.
Thomas F. Mancuso MD,MPH,,was an American epidemiologist and professor of occupational health at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health between 1962 and 1982,known for conducting long-term studies of the cancer causing effects of low level radiation and several chemicals used in industry,including asbestos. He is credited for being the first to understand that beryllium and chromium could cause cancer.
