BASIC PRINCIPLES IN OCCUPATIONAL HYGIENE Day 2

9 - GENERAL APPROACHES TO THE CONTROL OF HEALTH RISKS

Control Prevent exposure or minimise depending on health effects Is a control effective and useable Combinations of controls usually required Hierarchical approach

Types of Control Measures Source: A Hirst & J Dobbie

Elimination/Substitution The most effective form of prevention control is simply to either eliminate the use of the hazardous agent, or the actual process in which it is used Hazardous agents or processes can be substituted with relatively less harmful ones

Isolation / Segregation Wherever possible processes or operations, which involve some risk(s) to health, should be completely enclosed, with the operator(s) outside the enclosure Segregation Hazardous processes or operations etc. can be segregated from lower risk ones by placing them, for example, at the far end of a workshop, in a separate room

Engineering – Ventilation Processes capable of producing exposures to hazardous substances are commonly controlled by the provision of mechanical air handling methods Local Exhaust Ventilation (LEV) General / Dilution Ventilation

Administrative / PPE Administrative controls relate to how the interaction between personnel and the process/operation are organised Housekeeping - Good housekeeping is particularly important Information, Instruction and Training - Education of employees on any health hazards in the workplace and the importance of correctly using all the control measures provided PPE is normally considered to be the last resort, but may also be the first thing to implement for the short term