One of the main causes of workplace injuries, illnesses, and incidents is the failure to identify or neutralize hazards that are present. Preventing and removing workplace hazards is not only necessary to avoid such circumstances, but it’s also your legal responsibility under the Occupational Safety Health Act’s General Duty Clause. According to OSHA law, every employer is obligated to provide a workplace that is free from recognized hazards that may cause death or serious harm to their employees.
In this article today, we will try to understand and know the five types of workplace hazards identified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA):
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Safety Hazards
Safety hazards are unsafe working conditions, substances or equipment that can cause injury, illness, and death. In many types of workplaces they can include toxic chemical spills on floors, torn or frayed wires, overloading circuits, walkways blocked by cords or boxes, untrained operation of equipment, falls from heights, machinery with moving parts, confined spaces, and electrical hazards such as frayed cords.
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Chemical Hazards
Workers can be exposed to chemical substances that have the ability to create physical or health hazards. It can be liquids, gases, vapors, fumes, and particulate materials. Chemical hazards include acids, pesticides, carbon monoxide, flammable liquids, welding fumes, silica dust, and fiberglass fibers.
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Biological Hazards
Also known as biohazards, refer to biological substances that pose a threat to the health of living organisms, in this case, the employees. Employees who work with insects, plants, birds, animals, or other humans can be exposed to biological hazards such as blood, fungi, mold, viruses, bacteria, and animal droppings.
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Physical Hazards
Physical hazards are the factors or conditions within the work environment that can harm your employee’s health.can injure workers with or without contact. These types of hazards include radiation, working in extreme weather conditions like heat or cold, spending hours under the sun, or being constantly exposed to loud noise.
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Ergonomic Hazards
Ergonomic hazard related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for 33% of all employee injury and illness cases. These types of hazards occur when any interaction with the made world takes place that causes the user discomfort or strain, such as repetitive work, the type of work, or a certain position strains the body. These are the most difficult hazards to spot because they don’t show up right away, problems build up over time.
Conclusion
If you neglect your responsibility to protect the safety of your employees, you could face financial and/or custodial penalties. Therefore, it’s vital that you properly manage all your workplace hazards. It will increase productivity, prevent illness, reduce days off, and save lives.
A tool for managing workplace safety compliance
Safety Assure helps companies establish a safer workplace without the administrative burden. Our easy-to-use mobile app for OSHA recordkeeping for injury and illness enables your employees to log incidents, accidents, near misses, and observations with ease and wherever these events are noticed. Complying with safety standards to avoid penalties and lower operational costs have never been easier!