Be Careful About Environmental Workplace Hazards – Ensure Safety

Environmental workplace hazards are the hazards that present the danger to the surroundings and to the people working in it.  Such dangers go unnoticed until the accident occurs. An environmental hazard can involve exposure to harmful substances while working, handling bodily wastes improperly, injuries or accidents due to uneven floors, etc.  Thus, to avoid such hazards, it is very important to be aware of the potential threats and the strategies that can help deal with these issues.

While workplace health and safety management is the responsibility of an employer, employees need to be responsible for following safety protocol too.

Environmental Workplace Hazards

Types of Environmental Workplace Hazards to Be Careful About:

Some significant environmental hazards are as follows:

• Exposure to Toxic and Harmful Gases, Chemicals, Etc.: A job responsibility may involve working at a place where exposure to radiation, harmful gases, etc. is involved. In these situations, employers need to comply with workplace health and safety related standards and legislation highlighted by the government. The employees should wear protective gear and follow safety measures.

• Tripping and Falling: The workplace can have accident prone areas that involve uneven floors, sharp edges, holes, etc. Also, there can be open wires, wet floors, loose chords, etc. Different machinery can be placed in a way that can cause damage. If a person is not careful, he or she can get themselves injured severely.

• Handling Bodily Wastes: In different professions related to the health care sector, professionals might need to handle bodily fluids. For example, medical professionals must handle blood, urine, feces, etc. for running diagnostic tests. If proper safety protocol is not maintained and bodily fluids are handled irresponsibly, a person can get infected.

• Other Factors: The work environment can have elements that are disturbing and irritating, for example, loud noise, excessive gases, poor air circulation, extreme heat, etc. These factors can cause distress and make working very uncomfortable. If people are not careful, they can come under heavy stress and get affected by these environmental workplace hazards.

How to Control and Prevent Environmental Workplace Hazards?

The following strategies can help manage environmental hazards effectively:

1. Strict Administration: The employer must comply with workplace health and safety standards and laws and should ensure that there are no hazards in the workplace. Also, safety protocols must be established, maintained and monitored strictly to ensure that employees do not act irresponsibly. If any employee breaks protocol, they should be reprimanded and punished.

2. Detailed Training: The employees must be given detailed training about identifying environmental workplace hazards and dealing with them. They should be made aware of the consequences of not following protocol. They should understand the extent of negative impacts hazards can have on them. This will ensure that they will follow protocol out of fear.

3. Personal Protective Gear: Each employee must be provided with their own protective gear. Also, alternative gear should be available at the workplace so that in case of wear and tear, the gear can be replaced instantly.

4. Engineered Controls: Engineered controls can improve the work environment by eliminating the source of a hazard in a timely manner. For example, an effective ventilation system can prevent harmful gases from accumulating.

It can be suggested that employees must be aware of the different environmental hazards in the workplace and they should be given practical training that equips them to deal with these issues efficiently. Each employee must be responsible for their own safety and the safety of their colleagues. Similarly, every employer must comply with government established workplace health and safety protocols.