An occupational risk assessment is an evaluation of how much potential danger a

hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

can have to a person in a workplace environment. The assessment takes into account possible scenarios in addition to the probability of their occurrence, and the results. The five types of hazards to be aware of are safety (those that can cause injury), chemicals,

biological Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary in ...

physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

, and ergonomic (those that can cause musculoskeletal disorders).

Risks In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...

in a workplace can lead to extremely negative consequences. It can be especially dangerous when a person is exposed to the same hazards routinely. In order to protect employees, hazards need to be first acknowledged and the severity recognized. Occupational risk assessments provide this information, allowing limits for safe levels to be put in place. By maintaining appropriate standards, employees’ well-being is protected. A United States

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

organization that conducts occupational risk assessments is the

National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...

(NIOSH). Though these evaluations often focus on chemicals, they are useful in looking at other hazards.

Process

To appropriately access hazards there are two parts that must occur. Firstly, there must be an "

exposure assessment Exposure assessment is a branch of environmental science and occupational hygiene that focuses on the processes that take place at the interface between the environment containing the contaminant of interest and the organism being considered. ...

" which measures the likelihood of worker contact and the level of contact. Secondly, a "risk characterization" must be made which measures the probability and severity of the possible health risks. The information gathered is then used to approximate the health risk with varying concentrations of exposure. The goal is to assure that no worker experiences any health or functional impairment. The first step to an occupational risk assessment is the identification of a hazard, which is a circumstance, a cause or an action that has the capability to harm whether through injury or illness. In a workplace it is any hazard that can cause harm to an employee. Yet, there is more to hazard identification then simply knowing that something can cause risk. Effects have to be known and who might be vulnerable. To be able to accurately estimate safe levels all co-factors must be known, including the conditions that modify the effect and factors of uncertainty. An essential part of a risk assessment is the dose–response assessment. This is an evaluation that determines the correlation between the amount of substance absorbed by the worker and the effects this uptake. This second step of the risk assessment is designed to find the amount of the substance that causes little to no effect which is called the point of departure (PoD).

Statistician A statistician is a person who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. It is common to combine statistical knowledge with expertise in other subjects, and statisticians may wor ...

s are required to construct models to estimate the PoD using

toxicological Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating expos ...

information in addition to

epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

data. This task is often made difficult by data errors as well selecting the correct model to use. To mitigate error a sensitivity analysis is performed. These take in to account other risk assessment approaches, any inadequacies, or assumptions made. This analysis produces a range of possible approximations of the dose–response relationship. The final step of an occupational risk assessment is risk characterization. This is where the data gathered is combined to create estimations about safe levels. NIOSH makes Recommended Exposure Limits (REL), while other organizations may create occupational exposure limits (OEL). The difference is due to the NIOSH’s authority to only give guidance. The approximate danger an employee might face while working, includes the likelihood of the event as well as the acuity of the negative effects on health. Occupational risk assessments are only estimations and must be done in a logical coherent fashion using probability. Due to an introduction of assumptions and differentiated data the risk assessments must take caution to find a safe level that has an equilibrium between too high and too low of an estimate. To accomplish this goal comprehensive studies are incredibly important and must match the goals of the assessment while having "transparency, clarity, consistency, and reasonableness."

References

{{Reflist Occupational safety and health Risk management