BTEC Applied Science: Health and Safety in Science Organizations

This report provides an in-depth analysis of health and safety practices within scientific organizations, focusing on compliance with relevant legislation and the identification of potential hazards in various scientific environments. The report highlights key aspects of the 'Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005,' including the requirements for establishing safety policies, conducting regular audits, and preparing annual reports. It also details common risks found in scientific workplaces, such as chemical, biological, radioactive, physical, electrical, and mechanical hazards. The report references sources like Lundgren & McMakin (2018) and the Health and Safety Authority to support its findings, offering a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

Running Head: HEALTH SAFETY SCENCE IN AN ORGANISATION
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Health and Safety Science in an Organisation
Student’s Name
Institution Affiliations’
Date

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Scientific organisation compliance with legislation
According to Lundgren & McMakin (2018) organisations that practices safety and health
measure involve departments or system that are mandated to check the satisfaction of the various
criteria. There are five key aspects that the safety systems covers and they include policy-making
and commitments, planning, implementation and execution performance measuring, assessment
or auditing (Environmental Health, safety & risk management, n.d). Among the five steps, there
are key aspects under which the laws require the organisation to follow — first, the requirement
to develop a clear safety policy and fulfil the requirements stated by the law. According to
section 20, of the “Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005,” every organisation must
create a safety& health document before the attainment of the safety statement. The organisation
follow the direction as stated in the safety document prepared (Lundgren & McMakin, 2018).
Secondly, the “Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005,” requires an organisation
to conduct regular audits and performance assessment. An organisation should reflect on their
experience to improve the weaknesses (Environmental Health, safety & risk management, (n.d).
Systemic assessment regarding the performance reflecting on the available data gathered through
system monitoring, also data may be gathered from health and safety management system.
There are two forms of audit recommended by the law that is assessing the internal audit on the
key performance aspects. Secondly, the external audit that involves comparing with the other
organisations or competitors. Moreover, to comply with the law organisation prepares annual
reports indicating the fulfillment of the safety statement (Lundgren & McMakin, (2018). This is
a requirement under section 80 of the “Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.”

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Potential hazards in scientific working environments
Scientific activities are conducted under various workplaces such as in industries, and
research laboratories (Brückner, Marendaz, & Meyer, 2016). Due to the various chemical, and
events there are numerous hazards associated thus the need for precautions in safety matters
(Health and Safety Authority, n.d). Common risks found in scientific environments include;
chemical hazards which cover toxins, flammable, reactive and corrosive substances (Brückner,
Marendaz, & Meyer, 2016). The second biologic form of hazard is the biological hazards
(Health and Safety Authority, n.d). For example, microbes, plants, and animals. Radioactive
hazards that refer to ionising and the nonionising substances (Brückner, Marendaz, & Meyer,
2016). The other hazard refers to the physical dangers that relate to heating items, noises, cold
and projectiles. Scientific environments also possess risks due to electrical shocks and fire. The
other risk refers to Mechanical hazard that relates to the moving machines and equipment
(Health and Safety Authority, n.d).

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References
Brückner, S., Marendaz, J. L., & Meyer, T. (2016). Using very toxic or especially hazardous
chemical substances in a research and teaching institution. Safety science, 88, 1-15.
Environmental Health, safety & risk management. (n.d). Common laboratory hazards. Retrieved
from https://www.fss.txstate.edu/ehsrm/safetymanual/labsafe/cmlabhaz.html
Health and Safety Authority (n.d). Safety and health management system. Retrieved from
https://www.hsa.ie/eng/Topics/Managing_Health_and_Safety/Safety_and_Health_Manag
ement_Systems/
Lundgren, R. E., & McMakin, A. H. (2018). Risk communication: A handbook for
communicating environmental, safety, and health risks. John Wiley & Sons.