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MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS |
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| Hazards |
Occupational settings |
Measurement |
Exposure guidelines |
Effects of exposure |
Surveillance |
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| Worker-material interfaces | ||||||
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Repetitive ergonomic hazards – extremities |
Service and industrial operations |
Repetition, force, posture |
OSHA (pending) |
Musculo-skeletal strain, tunnel syndromes |
Survey workers, observe tasks, measure physical parameters of the job |
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Manual materials handling-backs |
Service and industrial operations |
Repetition, force, posture |
NIOSH lifting guide |
Musculo-skeletal strain, disc herniation |
Survey workers, observe tasks, measure physical parameters of the job |
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Vibration |
Whole body-vehicle/heavy equipment/industrial equipment operator, hand-arm-powered hand tool users |
Frequency, motion |
ISO 2631, ANSI S3 NIOSH criteria document, ACGIH |
Whole body-low back pain, Hand-arm-hand arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) |
Survey workers, observe tasks, measure physical parameters of the job |
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Mechanical energy – direct injuries |
Service and industrial operations |
Velocity, distance, acceleration, force, weight, pressure, friction |
None |
Direct Injury |
Epidemiology of workplace injuries |
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| The physical work environment | ||||||
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Hot environments |
Hot indoor or outdoor environments |
Wet globe bulb temperature, core temperature |
ISO 7243, HIOSH criteria document |
Heat strain, heat stroke |
Heart rate, core temperature, worker selection |
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Cold environments |
Cold indoor or outdoor environments |
Wind chill, core temperature |
ACHIH-TLV |
Frostbite, trench/immersion foot, hypothermia |
Worker selection |
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High-pressure environments |
Divers, caisson workers |
Pressure in atmospheres absolute (ATA), changes in pressure |
OSHA, marine occupational health safety standards |
Barotrauma, decompression sickness, indirect effects secondary to pressure acting on other gases (O 2 , N 2 ) |
Worker selection |
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Low-pressure environments |
Aircraft crews, private pilots, astronauts |
Pressure in atmospheres absolute (ATA), changes in pressure |
None |
Barotrauma, decompression sickness, hypoxia |
Worker selection |
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Shift work |
Service and industrial operations |
Rotation, duration and hour changes of shift schedule |
None |
Sleep disturbance, gastrointestinal upset |
Worker selection |
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| Energy and electromagnetic radiation | ||||||
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Ionizing radiation |
Pilots, underground miners, radiographers, medical and dental X-ray personnel, operators of high-voltage equipment, nuclear power and fuel cycle workers, medical and scientific researchers, some commercial products manufacturing |
Personal dosimetry of radiation exposures |
NCRP, ICRP, NRC, UNSCEAR |
Acute radiation injury, carcinogenesis |
Personal dosimetry. Lung and whole body scanning, biological monitoring as appropriate |
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Ultraviolet radiation |
Outdoor workers, welders, printers |
Wavelength, intensity |
ACHIH-TLV |
Corneal photokeratitis, skin erythema, cataracts |
None |
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Visible light and infrared radiation |
Outdoor workers, welders, printers, glass blowers |
Visible duration, wavelength, intensity. Infrared wavelength, intensity |
ACHIG-TLV |
Visible-scotoma, thermal burn, photosensitivity, urticaria. Infrared-thermal burns, cataracts |
None |
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Laser radiation |
Service and industrial operations, researchers, medical personnel, maintenance personnel |
Wavelength, power, energy, duration |
ACGIH-TLV, (ANSI Z136.1) |
Retinal and skin burns |
Required for Class 3b and 4 lasers. Baseline and post-exposure retinal exams |
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Microwave, radiofrequency (MW/RF) and extremely low-frequency (ELF) radiation |
MW/RF – communication workers, industrial heating and RF welding operations. ELF – electricians and electrical workers, telephone and cable workers, electric arc welders, movie projectionists |
Frequency, electric field, magnetic field, power density, operating mode |
ACGIH-TLV, OSH |
MW/RF-Thermal effects ELF- No proven effects |
None |
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Noise |
Service and industrial operations |
Time-weighted dBA |
NIOSH, OSHA |
Noise induced hearing loss |
Hearing conservation program for all exposed workers |
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Electric power and electrocution injuries |
Service and industrial operations |
Current, voltage |
OSHA |
Electrical burns, electrocution |
None |
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