Assignment on Occupational Health
Added on 2021-04-24
18 Pages4045 Words34 Views
Running head: Occupational HealthOCCUPATIONAL HEALTHName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
1Occupational HealthContentsIntroduction:...............................................................................................................................2Part 1:.........................................................................................................................................2· Agent that present in the workplace.....................................................................2· Duration of exposure............................................................................................3· Inadequate control measures.................................................................................3· Pre-existing medical condition of the worker.......................................................4· Medical surveillance for mineral dust..................................................................4Part 2:.....................................................................................................................................4· Background of the company.................................................................................4· Details work process where the affected worker is assigning..............................5· Biodata and Occupational History of the worker.................................................6· Medical surveillance report..................................................................................7· Workplace risk assessment report.........................................................................7· Corrective and Preventative measures taken......................................................15References:...............................................................................................................................18
2Occupational HealthIntroduction:The report is based on the case study of Mr. X (name withheld), who has beenworking in the quarry for the last 10 years. Over the last two weeks he reported of cough,difficulty in breathing and poor appetite, to the company panel doctor. X ray report revealedoccupational lung disease, which means that his problem was related to the workplace. Thereport will analyze and investigate the possible factors in the workplace that contributed tothe health condition reported by Mr. X and measures that can be taken to prevent suchincidents.The symptoms presented by the patient seem to be consistent with that of Silicosis.The symptoms of silicosis often start after few weeks to years after exposure to dust of silica,and symptoms generally worsen due to gradual scarring of the lungs due to continuedexposure. Silicosis can be evidenced by abnormalities in X ray, and accompanied bysymptoms like cough, difficulty in breathing and symptoms of chronic bronchitis (lung.org,2018).Investigation of the workplace reveled the following information:Part 1: · Agent that present in the workplaceThe hazardous agents found in the quarry included: suspended dust and particulatematter (like limestone, coal, kaolin and silica), Methylene chloride or dichloromethane,petroleum products (like bitumen, grease and oil), welding fumes and sensitizers likeisocyanates. These substances are common hazardous agents found in quarries, and canincrease occupation health risks (Hse.gov.uk., 2018).
3Occupational HealthThe most abundant hazard however was suspended particles, especially that of silicacrystals. This silica dust is produced by the chipping, grinding and drilling of the soil in thequarry. The silica dust was primarily dissipated from the quartz that was mined in the quarry.Quartz is a very common mineral found in all types of rocks, clays, stones, shale and gravel,and is miners exposed to quartz dust are highly prone to develop silicosis (Hse.gov.uk.,2018).The other hazardous materials were minimal and were within the safety limits. · Duration of exposure Mr. X was having been working in the quarry for the last 10 years, and in much ofthis time he was involved in the mining of gold and quartz. During this duration Mr. X usedadequate protective gear to safeguard from the hazards, however over the last year he wasusing defective gear that did not provide protection from particulate dust, due to which hewas exposed to the dust in the quarry.· Inadequate control measures Investigation on the operations of the quarry highlighted several lacks in the controlmeasures for safety and well being of the minders. These inadequacies were underlined by areduction in the participation in workplace health and safety activities by the miners andmanagement. Also, regular and thorough inspection of protective gear was not done toidentify faulty gear. Over the last few years, enough initiatives were not taken by themanagement towards risk management, risk characterization and exposure assessment.Moreover the inspections that were done mostly focused mostly on high risk substances likeabrasive chemicals and heavy machinery, but not on substances that can cause long termproblems (like silica dust). Insufficient measures were taken to ensure compliance of safety
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