1. Research and explain examples of biological, chemical, environmental/ mechanical, physical, and psychosocial workplace hazards.
2. Obtain a proposed standard for OSHA, critique it, and share your comments.
OSHA-Discussion Board
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliations
OSHA Discussion Board
Nurses should be aware of the types of hazards that they might be exposed to at their places of work. Occupational health and safety management is associated with increased job satisfaction among nurses (Khaleghi et al., 2021). Amare et al. (2021) have identified different types of health hazards that need proper management in hospital settings. Occupational health hazards are categorized into biological, chemical, environmental/ mechanical, physical, and psychosocial hazards. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) is the agency that is responsible for ensuring healthy and safe working conditions for employees in the United States by setting standards with which organizations must maximize compliance (United States Department of Labor, n.d.). The purpose of this discussion is to identify and explain biological, chemical, environmental/ mechanical, physical, and psychosocial workplace hazards. The discussion will also include an explanation of a proposed standard for OSHA
Types and Examples of Workplace Hazards
Biological Hazards
Biological substances that pose a threat to human safety in workplace settings are known as biological hazards. These might be pathogenic microorganisms or biological specimens with the potential of causing harm. Examples of biological hazards that nurses might encounter at the place of work include infectious blood splash and airborne bacterial and viral infections (Amare et al., 2021). Proper management of biological wastes and adequate protection are key strategies to staying safe from biological hazards.
Chemical Hazards
Harmful chemical substances, in the form of solid, liquid, or gas, that might be available in workplace settings are chemical hazards. Nurses are usually exposed to different types of chemical hazards which may cause skin irritation or breathing problems. Examples of chemical hazards in healthcare settings include carcinogenic aerosols, neurotoxins, and sensitizers (Scott & Pocock, 2021).
Environmental/ Mechanical Hazards
Manually operated or powered machines and equipment within a hospital environment are categorized as environmental or chemical hazards when they have the potential of causing harm to the users, healthcare providers, and patients. Nurses handle medical equipment at a high rate as they accomplish their professional roles in healthcare settings. These equipment have different classes of risk classification based on the nature of the harm that they are likely to cause (Amare et al. 2021). Examples of mechanical hazards in hospital settings include; needle pricks and lose medical devices such as a microscope that is inappropriately fitted. Other environmental hazards are
Physical Hazards
Agents within an environment that can cause harm with or without physical contact are classified under physical hazards. Physical hazards can cause injury even without necessarily moving them. Examples of physical hazards include excessive noise, radiation, poor lighting, extreme pressure, and ergonomic agents such as a poorly-set workstation, objects in walkways, and slippery floors (Amare et al., 2021).
Psychosocial Hazards
Healthcare workers are often faced with issues that might cause mental problems thereby affecting their ability to work. Examples of psychosocial hazards in workplace settings include occupational stress, sexual harassment at the workplace, workplace violence, stigmatization, and verbal abuse/threats (Amare et al., 2021). Nurses who are exposed to psychosocial stress are unable to perform their roles effectively.
A Proposed Standard for OSHA and Conclusion
OSHA sets standards that organizations must meet to be able to protect employees from different types of hazards. A proposed OSHA standard that will be the focus of analysis in this section falls under Standards for Explosive Atmospheres and specifically relates to intrinsically safe electrical systems. The standard directs places of work to ensure that wiring on their equipment are done in a manner that those devices cannot release sufficient thermal or electrical energy to ignite some hazardous substances in the atmosphere in their most easily ignisted states (OSHA, 2022). The standard aims to protect employees from mechanical hazards. In conclusion, nurses need to understand different OSHA standards and the types of hazards they are targeting.
References
Amare, T. G., Tesfaye, T. T., Girmay, B., & Gebreagziabher, T. T. (2021). Exposure to occupational health hazards among nursing and midwifery students during clinical practice. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 14, 2211–2220. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S280555
Khaleghi, S., Moghaddam, A. S., Moradi, Y., Jafarizadeh, H., Ghalavand, M., Poursadeqiyan, M., & Kavari, S. H. (2021). Is nurses’ job satisfaction related to occupational health and safety management?. Iranian Journal of Public Health, 50(8), 1738–1739. https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v50i8.6841
OSHA. (2022). Proposed test standards for inclusion in UL’s NRTL scope of recognition. https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/laws-regs/federalregister/2022-01-26_1.pdf
Scott, N. B., & Pocock, N. S. (2021). The health impacts of hazardous chemical exposures among child labourers in low- and middle-income countries. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(10), 5496. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18105496
United States Department of Labor. (n.d.). Occupational Safety and Health Administration: About OSHA. https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha