Occupational Hazard (redirected from occupational risks)

Occupational Hazard 

a factor in the work process or industrial environment that adversely affects the health and performance of the worker and, under certain conditions, can lead to an occupational disease. Occupational hazards may cause the efficiency of the worker to decline. They may give rise to acute and chronic poisonings or diseases, increase general (nonoccupational) morbidity, and produce long-term negative effects on, for example, heredity and the development of neoplasms. Occupational hazards include constrained, uncomfortable working positions; neuropsychic, visual, and auditory stress; and heavy physical labor. Physical hazards include noise, vibration, ultrasound, electromagnetic fields, high or low atmospheric pressure, and ionizing, ultraviolet, infrared, or laser radiation. Chemical hazards include organic and inorganic compounds, and biological hazards include antibiotics, hormones, and the causative agents of infectious diseases. Other occupational hazards include dust, unfavorable weather conditions, poor lighting and ventilation, and the increased risk of traumatism.

REFERENCES

See reference under occupational disease.

A. A. KASPAROV