Hazmat’s Occupational Hygienist’s work in the scientific evaluation of the hazards that occur in the workplace and during the course of environmental studies in the broader environment. They are dedicated to identifying potential hazards of materials and chemicals introduced into the workplace, recognizing potential threats, evaluating and determining the degree of the harm attributed by exposure to the hazards and controlling the hazards and thereby managing the risks to avoid any future dangers.
Our Occupational hygienists focus on five main areas of management:
- Chemical: This can be liquid chemicals, solvents and metals. It can also include airborne contaminants that can cause serious harm to individuals exposed to them including gases, vapors and mists.
- Physical: Physical hazards to workers can include noise pollution where hearing can be damaged for example through repeated noise or vibration exposure. Creating protective actions to stop or minimise in the future would also be the role of the occupational hygienists.
- Biological: Are more natural hazards that come from mould, yeast, bacteria and viral pathogens. This can be present in many workplaces and can have flow-on effects to workers that cause health issues and illness. Occupational hygienists will assess and remove the biological hazards and ensure this is eradicated for the future. Sewage outflows are an obvious example of a situation presenting a biological hazard.
- Ergonomic: This is where workers are exposed to heavy lifting and excessive repetitive motion. This can be related to remaining in the same positon for extended periods of time and trying to establish future alternatives to ensure this is carried out in the safest way. In addition, workplaces can be assessed to maximize correct ergonomic setup and marry it with suitable task lighting and comfortable indoor air.
- Psychosocial: This is the social and life balance side of the working environment. This includes work related or influenced stressors, excessive workload and how the workplace and tasks are organized and managed. An occupational hygienist will assess individual cases to ensure these stressors do not negatively impact employees.
If your workplace is potentially at risk to any of the above hazards it’s essential to contact an Occupational Hygienist to ensure that every aspect of the hazard is managed correctly to avoid negative impact on employees. Contact Hazmat Services for more details.