Documents hazard criteria 11 results

"The use of appropriate acceptance criteria in the risk assessment process for occupational accidents is an important issue but often overlooked in the literature, particularly when new risk assessment methods are proposed and discussed. In most cases, there is no information on how or by whom they were defined, or even how companies can adapt them to their own circumstances. Bearing this in mind, this study analysed the problem of the definition of risk acceptance criteria for occupational settings, defining the quantitative acceptance criteria for the specific case study of the Portuguese furniture industrial sector. The key steps to be considered in formulating acceptance criteria were analysed in the literature review. By applying the identified steps, the acceptance criteria for the furniture industrial sector were then defined. The Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) for the injury statistics of the industrial sector was identified as the maximum tolerable risk level. The acceptable threshold was defined by adjusting the CDF to the Occupational, Safety & Health (OSH) practitioners' risk acceptance judgement. Adjustments of acceptance criteria to the companies' safety cultures were exemplified by adjusting the Burr distribution parameters. An example of a risk matrix was also used to demonstrate the integration of the defined acceptance criteria into a risk metric. This work has provided substantial contributions to the issue of acceptance criteria for occupational accidents, which may be useful in overcoming the practical difficulties faced by authorities, companies and experts."

OBJECTIVES: To establish consensus case definitions for several common work related upper limb pain syndromes for use in surveillance or studies of the aetiology of these conditions. METHODS: A group of healthcare professionals from the disciplines interested in the prevention and management of upper limb disorders were recruited for a Delphi exercise. A questionnaire was used to establish case definitions from the participants, followed by a consensus conference involving the core group of 29 people. The draft conclusions were recirculated for review. RESULTS: Consensus case definitions were agreed for carpal tunnel syndrome, tenosynovitis of the wrist, de Quervain's disease of the wrist, epicondylitis, shoulder capsulitis (frozen shoulder), and shoulder tendonitis. The consensus group also identified a condition defined as "non-specific diffuse forearm pain" although this is essentially a diagnosis made by exclusion. The group did not have enough experience of the thoracic outlet syndrome to make recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: There was enough consensus between several health professionals from different disciplines to establish case definitions suitable for use in the studies of several work related upper limb pain syndromes. The use of these criteria should allow comparability between studies and centres and facilitate research in this field. The criteria may also be useful in surveillance programmes and as aids to case management.

"To determine the individual, physical, and psychosocial risk factors for carpal tunnel syndrome in a general population. Population based case-control study in Marshfield epidemiological study area in Wisconsin, USA. Cases were men and women aged 18-69 with newly diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome (n=206 (83.1%) of 248 eligible). Controls were a random sample of residents of the study area who had no history of diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome (n=211 (81.5%) of 259 eligible). In the final logistic regression model, five work and three non-work variables were associated with risk of carpal tunnel syndrome, after adjusting for age. For each one unit of increase in body mass index (kg/m super(2)), risk increased 8% (odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.03 to 1.14). Having a previous musculoskeletal condition was positively associated with carpal tunnel syndrome (OR 2.54; 95% CI 1.03 to 6.23). People reporting the least influence at work had 2.86 times the risk (95% CI, 1.10 to 7.14) than those with the most influence at work. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a work related disease, although some important measures of occupational exposure, including keyboard use, were not risk factors in this general population study. The mechanism whereby a weight gain of about six pounds increases the risk of disease 8% requires explanation."

"A methodology is presented for the evaluation of jobs prone to cumulative trauma disorders (CTDs) and manual material handling (MMH) injuries, which combines various tested ergonomics methodologies into a single, coherent programme. This multi-step procedure is based upon the collection of quantitative data that are used to evaluate ergonomic changes with respect to biomechanical risk, perceived comfort, productivity and quality. A method for prioritizing changes, related to cost-benefit analysis, is proposed to guide the selection of ergonomic changes in order to maximize the potential for injury reduction under specified cost constraints. The ten-step methodology has been extensively applied in industry, leading to examples and a case study."

"Certains agents chimiques ont, à moyen ou long terme, des effets cancérogènes, mutagènes ou toxiques pour la reproduction. Ils sont dénommés agents CMR. Il est indispensable de les repérer, c'est-à-dire de faire l'inventaire des produits utilisés et des situations de travail pouvant donner lieu à des expositions. Quand un agent CMR est repéré sur le lieu de travail, sa suppression ou sa substitution s'impose, chaque fois qu'elle est techniquement possible."

"Nous vivons dans une société de plus en plus vulnérable. Cette fragilité ne vient pas seulement de la concentration des activités, de leur urbanisation ou de l'emploi de technologies de plus en plus complexes et dangereuses, elle est aussi le fruit paradoxal d'une amélioration des performances des systèmes techniques et d'une accoutumance à une sécurité objectivement de plus en plus grande.
Résultat d'une confrontation inédite entre chercheurs et gestionnaires, cet ouvrage sur le thème des risques constitue le premier état de la question publié en français. "