Ergonomic factors in chemical hazard control

Details

• Personal Author:
  Johnson B ; Mason R
• Description:
  The application of ergonomics or human factors to occupational toxicology (Johnson, 1983) and to the control of chemical exposures would appear to have been more incidental than planned. This premise is based on our inability to find a body of information in the literature that would provide those responsible for controlling chemical exposure with human-factors guidelines with which to work. Konz (1979), in his book Work Design, includes an excellent review chapter on toxicology, but brings no application of human factors to control of the toxic hazards; instead, control techniques, exclusive of the worker, that are common to the industrial hygiene literature are reiterated. This exclusion of the worker from control strategies seems to have its base half a century ago in the writings of two eminent occupational physicians: Legge, the first Medical Inspector of Factories, Great Britain, and Hamilton of the United States. Legge (1934) wrote: (1) Unless and until the employer has done everything-and everything means a good deal the workman can do next to nothing to protect himself, although he is naturally willing enough to do his share. (2) If you can bring an influence to bear external to the workman (i.e., one over which he can exercise no control) you will be successful; and if you cannot or do not, you will never be wholly successful." Legge provided some examples of the kinds of external influences he had in mind-substitution of innocuous substances for toxic ones, performance of operations in closed systems, and local ventilation. Examples of controls he enumerated as being not completely effective (because they involve human factors) included respirators, gloves, goggles, and washing conveniences. Hamilton (1934) wrote that prevention of industrial poisoning is primarily the task of the engineer and that it must never be forgotten that the great majority of the industrial poisons enter the body with the inspired air, and therefore the preventive measures must be planned with a view to keeping the air of the workshop free from poison. She then briefly summarized the preventive measures as follows: 1. Prevent formation or escape of gases, fumes, and dust. 2. If (1) is impossible, remove by means of exhausts. 3. If (2) is impossible, dilute as much as possible by abundant ventilation and by fans blowing air past the face of the worker. 4. If all these are impracticable, protect the worker by a filter mask, absorbent gas mask, or positive pressure air mask. 5. If all the above measures are impracticable, select workers with proved resistance to the poison and put them on short work shifts. 6. For poisons that enter through the skin, prevent escape of fumes and dusts and prevent spilling of liquids. 7. Maintain scrupulous cleanliness of benches, apparatus, and so forth. 8. Provide and launder washable working clothes. 9. For all, provide adequate washing facilities and a clean lunchroom. Workers with poisons that enter through the skin and workers exposed to excessive dust in the air should have shower baths provided, with hot water, soap, and towels. The control methods advocated by these authors have become the theme in most industrial hygiene literature and the major basis of controlling the hazards of toxic chemicals. Thus Schilling and Hall (1973), Peterson (1977), and Olishifski (1979) discuss control of chemical hazards in terms of substitution, total enclosure, locally applied exhaust ventilation, dust suppression, segregation of processes, general ventilation, general cleanliness, personal hygiene, personal protection, and education, in approximate descending order of preference. Historically, then, the control of chemical hazards has been placed in the hands of engineers charged primarily with preventing inhalation by enclosure and by ventilation, methods that are commendable because they do "bring influences to bear external to the workman" as Legge advocated. These methods, which usually involve large capital outlays, are most applicable to routine operations, and thus their application is common to factories, but there remain many chemical exposures that are inadequately controlled because ergonomists and human-factors engineers have not been involved. In this chapter we identify human factors that are important to occupational toxicology, and provide suggestions and examples of how they can be applied to preventing occupational disease. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Ergonomics Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Toxicology Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Control-technology Human-factors-engineering Respiratory-protective-equipment Synergism Ventilation-systems
• ISBN:
  9780471880158
• Publisher:
  Wiley
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Book
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Ohio ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DBBS - Division of Biomedical and Behavioral Sciences
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046966
• Citation:
  Handbook of human factors. Salvendy G, ed. New York: Wiley, 1987 Jan; :722-741
• Editor(s):
  Salvendy G
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Handbook of human factors
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:232dc2e0ea4fee538fd9a246c1e4a748ed1ff25d7c2b69b35cb0c3e40a4f16eef801493e3d5c65880cbdfde0682adfb19ba378033c472ed2ad9ef2c48b8c0d3a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/202214/cdc_202214_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 8.68 MB ]