What Does
Workplace Hazard Mean?
A workplace hazard is any object, material, situation, or activity in an occupational setting that has the potential to cause harm to people or the environment. It is a vast category that includes hazards ranging from flammable chemicals and frayed electrical wires to spilled fluids and faded emergency exit signs.
Employers are responsible for identifying hazards in their workplaces and mitigating the risks associated with them.
Workplace hazards are also known as occupational hazards.
The Impact of Safety Hazards in the Workplace
Workplace hazards are at least partially responsible for every safety incident that takes place in an occupational setting. Exposure to these hazards can lead to:
- Physical injuries
- Temporary and permanent disabilities
- Harm to the natural environment
- Adverse health effects
- Chronic medical conditions
- Fatalities
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 5,486 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States (US) in 2022, a 5.7% increase from 2021. This represents a fatal work injury rate of 3.7 fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers.
Safeopedia Explains Workplace Hazard
Implementing control measures for workplace hazards can significantly reduce the risk of incidents and the injuries and fatalities that result from them.
The Most Common Workplace Hazards According to OSHA
An effective health and safety program will have an ongoing process to proactively identify hazards, assess the risks, and implement control measures to protect employees from harm.
According to OSHA, these are the most common hazards encountered on the job.
Safety Hazards
Safety hazards are risks caused by unsafe working conditions. This broad category includes:
- Slip and trip hazards (e.g. extension cords laid across the floor)
- Spilled materials (e.g. water, oil, chemicals)
- Electrical hazards (e.g. frayed electrical cords, improper grounding, using the wrong type of extension cord)
- Confined spaces (e.g. tunnels, silos, storage tanks)
- Unguarded machinery
- Heights (including ladders and scaffolds)
Physical Hazards
Physical hazards are risks that arise from the working environment. This category includes:
- Adverse weather (e.g. rain, snow, sleet)
- Extreme heat or cold
- Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation
- Excessive noise
- Flammable or explosive materials
Color-coded warnings are an important step to protecting workers from physical hazards:
- Red: Fire hazards (e.g. labels on flammable liquid containers) and fire protection equipment (e.g. fire extinguishers)
- Yellow: Physical risks (e.g. struck by equipment, tripping hazards, caught-in-between hazards)
- Orange: Dangerous components of machines or energized equipment, especially when guards or enclosures are open
- Blue: Out-of-service equipment that should not be used
- Green: Safety equipment or evacuation signs (e.g. evacuation routes, muster points)
- Purple and yellow: Radiation hazards
- Black and white: Traffic and housekeeping
Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic hazards arise when features of the working environment are a poor fit for the human body. Tasks and settings that encourage repetitive motions, bad posture, or holding awkward positions for extended periods of time put strain on the muscles, tendons, and nerves. Damage resulting from this strain can cause temporary or chronic pain in the back, shoulders, joints, and other parts of the body.
Stress on the body can also result in musculoskeletal disorders like carpal tunnel syndrome, tendinitis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Occupational ergonomic hazards include:
- Poor workstation design (e.g. desks and chairs that can’t be adjusted, workstations that encourage hunching)
- Heavy lifting
- Sitting or standing for prolonged periods without a break
- Pushing, pulling, or applying force
- Twisting
- Repetitive tasks (e.g. typing, parts assembly, food preparation)
- Vibrating equipment
- Overhead work
Research by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that MSDs were the single largest category of workplace injuries, and were responsible for almost 33% percent of all workers’ compensation costs.
Chemical Hazards
Chemicals are found in every type of workplace, and even seemingly benign ones like store-bought cleaning products can pose a risk to worker safety. Some high-risk industries, like oil and gas, also involve frequent exposure to major chemical hazards.
Chemical hazards are wide ranging and include:
- Chemical dusts
- Fumes
- Solvents
- Detergents and other cleaning agents
- Petroleum
- Paint
- Flammable liquids
- Vehicle exhaust
The risks are also varied. Hazardous chemicals can cause harm that ranges from mild irritation and lightheadedness to major environmental damage and severe respiratory conditions.
OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) requires employers to inform and educate workers on the risks associated with hazardous materials found on the jobsite.
The American Coatings Association (ACA) has also developed the Hazardous Materials Identification System (HMIS) that uses colors, numbers, and letters to readily identify chemical hazards and provide pertinent safety information about them.
Data from OSHA shows that chemical exposure is responsible for more than 190,000 illnesses and 50,000 fatalities per year, making chemical safety key.
Biological Hazards
Some organic substances and biological agents are hazardous to human health. This includes viruses, bacteria, mold, parasites, and animals and people who can transmit infections and diseases.
Biological hazards are prevalent in the healthcare sector, where workers have to interact frequently with sick people. They’re also a major concern in agriculture and forestry, in poorly maintained facilities that could house mold, and jobs that involve frequent interactions with members of the public.
Examples of biological hazards include:
- Mold, Yeast, and Fungi – These are microbes that can disperse spores into the air, where they can be inhaled
- Airborne Pathogens – Communicable diseases like the common cold, the flu, and COVID-19 can be acquired through aerosol transmission (breathing in air that contains the virus)
- Blood – Human blood can carry infectious viruses such as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis B, and hepatitis C
- Bodily Fluids – Contact with saliva, urine, mucus, and other bodily fluids can spread infections
- Biological Waste – Hospitals and laboratories deal with bodily fluids, specimen cultures, and infected blood
- Animal Waste – Animal beddings, droppings, and carcasses can contain parasites, bacteria, fungi, and other infectious microorganisms
- Stinging Insects – Insects that bite or sting can inject venom or transmit viruses like dengue fever, the Zika virus, and West Nile virus
Infectious transmissions occur through various exposure routes and result in acute or chronic health conditions.
Psychosocial Hazards
Psychosocial hazards are stressors related to psychological and interpersonal factors in the workplace. These hazards do not directly result in physical injuries. But they can cause frustration, demoralize workers, and contribute to anxiety, depression, and burnout. Psychosocial hazards can also affect job satisfaction, slow down productivity, and drive employees to quit.
Some of the psychosocial hazards workers might encounter in the workplace include:
- Interpersonal Conflict – Unresolved disagreements, competitiveness, threats or intimidation
- Isolation – Working alone or with minimal contact with others
- Work Demands – Heavy workloads, overtime, incessant productivity, work communication taking place after work hours
- Unclear Expectations – Vague job descriptions, unclear criteria for success, no obvious path to promotion or career advancement
- Traumatic Events – The death of a coworker, witnessing severe incidents, or violent events taking place at work can cause acute levels of stress that can have lingering effects on the wellbeing of employees
Common Injuries Leading to Lost Workdays
The most common injuries sustained on the job are ergonomic injuries (sprains, strains, muscle tears, soreness, and pain), lacerations, and punctures.
Most of these are relatively minor and can be treated with rest or basic first aid. More serious injuries, however, may require time off work for treatment or recovery.
These are the five most common types of injuries that result in days away from work.
Overexertion and Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSIs)
Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries can be painful and debilitating. They are also very common. As a result, they take a significant toll on productivity and add up to millions in compensation claims and payouts for health benefits. According to the National Safety Council, musculoskeletal disorders resulted in more than 500,000 days away from work for injured workers in 2021 and 2022.
Repetitive stress injuries (RSIs) are another common ergonomic issue. Job-related RSIs can cause severe pain for basic movements, such as moving fingers or the wrist. As such, it can severely restrict an employee’s ability to do simple tasks, making it difficult or impossible for them to perform their regular work duties. According to the Centers for Disease Control data published in 2023, 9% of adults experienced repetitive strain injuries in the past three months.
Contact with Equipment or Object
This category includes injuries that result from a worker being struck by a falling object, getting their hand caught in the moving parts of a machine, and injuries caused by excessive use of vibrating equipment.
Machine guards can be installed to create a physical barrier between workers and the moving parts of a machine. Unguarded equipment, damaged guards, or guards that are removed without authorization create a highly hazardous situation for equipment operators. Given the force and speed at which these machines operate, contact with the moving parts can result in crushed limbs, severed fingers, and other severe injuries that will require immediate medical treatment and time away from work.
Slips, Trips, and Falls
Slip, trip, and fall incidents include falls from height, falls from same level, and slips or trips that don’t result in a fall but can nevertheless cause an injury. According to the National Safety Council, 865 U.S. workers died in falls in 2022 and hundreds of thousands were injured enough to require days off work.
Working at heights is the most obvious hazard in this category, but slips and trips can also be caused by poor lighting, cluttered walking surfaces, uneven ground, rugs with raised edges, and cords laid across the floor.
Weather conditions like rain, snow, and ice are also a significant risk factor for slip and fall incidents.
Vehicle Accidents
Although it is often treated as relatively safe, driving is a risky activity. In fact, injuries involving motorized vehicles on roadways were the leading cause of work-related deaths in 2022, according to the National Safety Council. It’s also a prominent feature of many occupations. Truckers, couriers, and taxi drivers spend the vast majority of their working hours on the road. Contractors, repair technicians, and landscapers might drive from jobsite to jobsite on a given day.
Even non-fatal vehicle collisions can result in serious injuries for drivers and passengers. These include back injuries, whiplash, and bone fractures – all of which can require extended recovery time.
Fires and Explosions
Short circuits, improperly stored combustible materials, open flames, damaged gas lines – explosion and fire hazards are plentiful in workplace settings. Fires and explosions were one of the leading causes of fatalities in 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
While a worker suffering a first degree burn is likely to recover quickly and get back to work without needing days off, second and third degree burns are far more serious and require medical attention.chemical safety
How to Identify and Assess Workplace Hazards
Employers are responsible for identifying hazards in their workplaces. This is done through various means, notably:
- Reviewing past incident records
- Conducting workplace inspections
- Investigating all incidents (including near misses) to identify the hazards that led up to them
Once the hazards have been identified, they can then be subject to a risk assessment. This is a formal process for determining the likelihood of an incident resulting from the hazard, as well as the expected severity of that incident.
Employers are required to implement control measures to protect workers from all identified hazards. The results of the risk assessment allows them to prioritize safety measures and guides them in selecting controls that are adequate for the level of risk. For instance, a low severity risk like a chemical cleaner that might cause skin irritation could be mitigated with safety gloves or other PPE. On the other hand, a hazard that can have catastrophic consequences (such as a massive oil spill) should have multiple layers of protection and failsafes to drastically reduce the likelihood of an incident ever occurring.
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