Workplace safety

Watching a young girl get her fingers ripped out of her hands puts a lot into perspective for me. Seeing how one mistake can take your life right away, it is horrible, and I realize how important is to train for work, and to understand the risks that you are taking before attempting them. 

I am lucky because I have a very cushy job. The biggest thing I push is sustainability, and I don’t think that counts! At my work I am fully trained, and I always have access to someone who can help. I also get a lot of responsibility when I am working and feel like I handle it well. Though my work is very safe, there are jobs, even in my neighbourhood that are not. 

The dangers in a workplace vary on what your employer is asking of you, and what your job entails. We recently learned about the injuries that could take place in the workplace, which are Chemical, Noise, MSI, Sun, Heat, Cold, and Biological hazards. I’ll go into a bit of detail on each of these topics.

Chemical hazards

  • A lot of the hazards led to lung problems such as lunch cancer. Or breathing problems.
  • These problems included but were not limited to dust, asbestos, lead paint, or lead.

Noise hazards

  • 1 out of four people are affected by hearing injuries 
  • The damage of your hearing is permanent 
  • A lot of work places are exposed to this kind of injury such as: kitchens, traffic, music, movies, yard work, and cleaning.

MSI

  • most common work place injury 
  • Injury’s such as strains or sprains
  • 8 out of 10 people will visit a doctor due to back pain which is a MSI
  • MSI’s are treatable
  • Many people miss work due to MSI’s

Sun, Heat and Cold

  • heat can lead to stress, and illness
  • Sun leads to burns, or in long term skin cancer
  • Cold leads to hypothermia affecting: fingers, toes, ears, nose
  • Hypothermia can cause permanent damage to tissue
  • When hot drink plenty of water and avoid caffeine and alcohol 

Biological hazards

  • includes HIV and AIDS
  • Can be transferred through needles or sexual action
  • Don’t touch anything that may have been used to inject anything
  • Don’t eat or drink anything that could have been eaten or drunk by something 

I also learned about my rights as a employee. I did not know I had rights and so that was pretty shocking when I realized that there are a list of things that I don’t have to do unless I feel comfortable, and have the right training.

This is the artifact for this blog post! Its the safety award! I will be working hard to achieve the safety award, which basically means I will be working hard to stay as safe as I can in the workplace!

One of the more important ones is working any machinery. If I feel that I don’t have the proper training to complete the task including the machinery, I can refuse to do the work including the machinery. I can refuse work as long as it puts me or others in danger. This is super important because I knowing your rights make the workplace a better place! Here is a link to the rights to refuse work!

Thank you for reading my blog post!

Adlih