Occupation Safety and Health Concern

Question: Discuss about the Occupation Safety and Health Concern. Answer: Introduction Noise is a common occupational hazard in major working places. Noise and unwanted sound are commonly ignored, but extreme exposure to noise contributes to safety concerns of workers in an organization. Despite the levels of noise being subjective towards the receiver, there are levels of noise that are intolerable for human life. A call for reduction of noise levels in factories and other working places is inevitable. Despite numerous attempts by business and firms to minimize the noise they produce, the general levels of noise in the current plants and workplace, cannot be defined to be safe for occupational health. The need to worry about noise in major workplaces is characterized by the number of victims of the noise pollution. As per occupation safety and health (OSH) report, About 10 million workers in Australia are exposed to noise, whose levels can only be described as hazardous (Johnstone 2008, p. 57). Noise refers to any sound that is above the required parameters denoted by occupation safety and health (OSH). According to the draft regulations by Australian government: management of noise and prevention of hearing loss, noise is described as a sound that has the potential of causing harm to the safety and health of a person (Timmins, Granger 2010, p. 42). Occupation health and safety seeks to establish a conducive environment for working with employees. The body has tried much to achieve its objectives through regulations to establish a noise-free working environment. However, a distinction line has to be drawn in differentiating environmental and occupational noise. Whereas, environmental noise refers to sound generated by the nature forces such as wind, occupational noise refers to sound generated due to human activities. For the case of environmental noise, there are rare cases of health-related problems, whereas much occurred as a result of occupation noise. Historical development in occupation healthy and safety of noise concern The problem of noise leading to deteriorating health conditions can be tracked throughout history of mankind. Additionally, some developments have been noted over the past few years in attempt to solve these problems. The earliest recognition of noise as a health problem is denoted in (23- 79 AD) in literature work (Natural History), which found relationship between Nile cataracts and ill effects of people due noise of falling water. Further cases of noise have been also established in ancient Rome, where carts were barred from the cities as the noise produced was too much to be on the streets in 1974 (Johnstone 2008, p 29). The conditions were considered to be unhealthy hence the establishment of the regulations. (Tadesse et al 2012, p 65) further explains how the coppersmith works in industries lead to disease of workers (1633-1714) in major smith industries. Furthermore, the rise of industrialization in major industries during the 19th century was another dark era that leads to aw areness of the problem. As denoted by (Kurmis 2007, p 129), major incidences of noise-inducing hearing loss were reported in major hospitalization, a report that made countries cautious on how the noise can be reduced in those upcoming industries. During that time, Australia had reported hearing loss incidences for more than 35% of workers in major industries. On the other hand, there were calls about how some of the innovations, can be compromised due to escalating cases of hearing-loss among people. Despite mush awareness about the hazards, little was done on how the noise would have been minimized. The earliest attempt concerning noise in major factories was engineered in 1886 by Thomas Barr. Thomas Barr was interested in how the noise in major noise producing machines can be reduced through scientific analysis. He incorporated a noise reducing device in Scottish boilers. The device was to half the amount of noise generated by then steam boilers. The model established at this time needed to be changed since key component functions had to be compromised. In addition to that, Gottstein and Kayser established breakthrough studies in the development of the current knowledge about the noise-induced loss of hearing (Wilson 2013, p 7). Between 1899 and 1972, George Von Beseky engineered discovery of traveling wave through which sound is analyzed and communicated. The discovery was instrumental in establishing means of noise reduction. Further discovery concerning noise and hearing loss has also been conducted since the 20th century. The study has been conducted to establish the degree and extent of illness that might occur due to noise exposure. One of the notable events dated in 1970 when a proposal was brought forward about a concept of emission of energy. According to this concept brought forward by Burns and Robinson, an equal amount of energy dispersed translates to equivalent hearing impairment in spite of distribution of time of exposure. The concept was later adopted by the Occupational Safety and Health in estimating the level of damage due to exposure to noise. The concept has been developed by OHS standards in an estimation of Noise induce hearing impairment. (Timmins 2010) affirms that even the modern regulations tabulate noise levels through the normalized shift of 8 hours. Impact of noise on health and safety of workers Auditory effects Noise damage to employees cannot be underestimated. Hearing damage due to loud sound affects millions of people developing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and its corresponding disorders which include tinnitus, hyperacusis, and diplacusis. All of these disorders are irreversible. Hearing loss is a condition which exhibits in either as conductive, as sensorineural or a combination of both. Conductive hearing impairment is a condition that causes an even distribution of sound waves due to the interference of sound waves through the inner ear (Sataloff 2009). The problem may be caused by internal bleeding of the ear that may not be necessarily caused by work-related problems. On the other hand, sensorineural impairment is a permanent condition that results due to repetitively exposure to noise. Occupational noise exposure is a noteworthy cause of sensorineural hearing impairment. At this point, the nerves becomes lacks the sensitivity to sound at higher and lower frequencies. These tw o types of hearing impairment lead to chronic hearing loss and acute hearing loss. The chronic hearing loss is a condition that develops with time, mainly due to exposure to high levels of noise. The incident doesnt occur at once, but rather through a process, where the sensitivity of the ear is reduced gradually. With time, the hearing becomes a nightmare, and the process of recovery becomes impossible. The hearing may be recovered if given a sufficiently long break. On the contrary, hair cells of the inner ear die thus resulting in a permanent hearing loss. Sliwinska-Kowalska and Davis (2012) retaliates that further exposure to noise worsens the situation. The conditions are triggered by non-stop exposure to noise without taking a time to rest. The acute hearing loss is a condition characterized by long-term exposure to noise. At this point, the ear reaches its metabolic fatigue due to direct structural damage to the hair cells. This may be attained through long time exposure to high levels of noise or even high single event such as gunshot or explosions. The damage in the ear is such that the ear cannot be modified through any medical treatment. Tinnitus is another notable effect of high levels of noise. Williams et al. (2007) describes it as a condition that causes one to hear ringing sounds even long time even after the exposure. The condition is a real disturbance to the body since the brain interprets the condition it as a sound. The intensity and time of these mentioned ringing vary according to the intensity of the noise before. Non auditory effects Apart from auditory effects due to exposure to noise, there are other adverse health conditions that do occur. These include physiological effects and work- related tension and pressure. Take for instance, air conditioning equipment that has to run day in day out. The sound produced yields annoyance, nervousness and piled up tension. Though the reaction differs, there is likelihood of development of ill conditions such as headache, backache, increased blood pressure, ulcers and higher stress hormone generation (Nelson et al 2015, p 34). The conditions are a clear indication of stresses which may eventually cause occupational stresses. In long term, a worker may be vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases. Physiological problems always translate to work performance problems. Due to stress and other accompanied problems, it becomes a task for the employees to complete simple tasks. The productivity rate and commitment towards the company goals and objectives is thus minimized. Lower produ ctivity and high rates of error must be are obviously anticipated. A company that invests in noise reduction mechanisms pays off since high productivity and error- free goods shall be produced. Noise levels accelerate level of injuries in an organization. The occupational safety of employees depends hugely on the personal performance (Verbeek et al 2009, p 17). When an employee is confused in addition to increased levels of stress and tension, there is likelihood of injuries. Additionally, a falling object or even a huge bang may fail to be noticed due to availability of noise in environment. Control Measures The need to control the level of noise in companies is justified by the levels of damages caused by the high levels of noise in industries. Noise not only causes auditory problems but also other physiological problems. Some of these conditions as noted above are irreversible, causing a reason for concern. These problems would have been avoided if organizations and companies that produce noise implement new tactics of ensuring less risky practices. Practices that can reduce the hazard include noise monitoring, surveillance in the workplace, audio metric installation, proper employee training, hearing protectors and appropriate record keeping. Surveillance in the workplace is the first step initiated by an organization in the process of minimizing noise hazard. According to health and safety Act in that accompany noise regulations require the noise hazards in any particular industry identified and controlled (Timmins, P., and Granger, 2010). The process of identifying and controlling noise stipulate that the employers should take all the probable actions towards protecting their employees. The initial actions should be inclined towards identifying the hazard. In large companies, it might be sophisticated to determine whether there is the existence of noise hazard. It is worth noting that assessment must be carried out to detect the presence of difficulty in communication, ringing in the ears, and muffled hearing among others. If any of these details is obtained, it can be deduced that there is noise hazard in the working place. Proper scheduling of operations involving noise should be carried out. Proper scheduling involves minimizing the time of operation to reduce exposure time, changing of shifts to facilitate alternative exposure to noise while also minimizing the number of persons present during the noisy operations (Tadesse 2012). Through such, an organization shall be able to rotate all staff without making one employee undergo a repetitive exposure of noise. Noise control mechanisms are arrayed in organizations to reduce the impact of noise to the employees. Strategies involve active noise control methods and passive noise control strategies. Williams et al. (2007, p 432) elaborate that while active involves running operations to counter the noise initially produced, passive noise control are control methods which reduce the intensity of the noise. Passive noise control methods are common in industries and include absorption of sound. The sound produced is produced through thick walls and special tools that just fit for the purpose. Additionally, decreasing body burdens of noise by work practices ensures that the level of noise produced is minimized. In fulfillment of that obligation, they must ensure; noise control at the source, isolating and even insulating processes that cause excessive noise. That can be done through increasing the distance between the source of noise and the person to be exposed and placing barriers between the sou rce and the person to be exposed Employee training is another important aspect in the prevention of the hazard. Training involves creating awareness to the employees about the necessary safety mechanism. Workers should be educated about the importance of keeping safe from noise hazard areas. Additionally, the employees need to be trained on how to carry out operations in a way that reduces noise in the working environment. Lastly, the employees need to understand the necessity of wearing the safety muffs for noise protection. Through that, the risks would be minimized as some hazards happen due to lack of necessary information. Conclusion In conclusion, biological surveillance involves conducting health screening of individuals at the workplace. The main objective of conducting a hearing surveillance is to monitor the effectiveness of control measures that has been put in place in the workplace. Additionally, it seeks to identify the people with the problem and how to prevent it from developing. The process of conducting a hearing surveillance is a biological examination of all the employees. The examination provides solutions to the company on whether the average level of noise can be considered harmful or not.High levels of noise in any workplace are hazardous to the welfare of employee. Historical record shows that noise was denoted to be a healthy concern as early as 79 AD. The issue came out strongly during the industrialization period. At this time, noise was produced all over by the machines, made at that time. Various studies have been conducted on how the noise risk can be minimized with useful contributions from Gottstein and Kayser. Health hazards of noise are countless. They range from simple and relatively small ill conditions to huge acute conditions. Auditory effects include noise induced hearing loss (NHIL) accompanied with its corresponding disorders. On the other hand, the physiological problems such as stress and high blood pressure pile up. 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