| Most of us spend the greater part of our day at work and it is not surprising that what we do there impacts on our health; for better or for worse. 28th April is one of my favourite days not because its pay-day but because it has been set aside to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. In addition it raises awareness of new improved trends in safety at work as well as the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide. This sounds like a prescription for ensuring employees are healthy and almost certainly this will lead to increased productivity. What do you think? The theme for 2014 is “SAFETY & HEALTH IN THE USE OF CHEMICALS AT WORK” Yes we all know about electricity, fire and water; three extremely good products in our life, but we also know the devastation they may cause when we do not manage them properly – A good thing gone bad. Chemicals also fall in this same category; chemicals are essential to life with widespread benefits and they are also an essential component of industrial processes that ensure that we maintain a reasonable standard of living worldwide. Common examples are pesticides, cleaning agents and medication. The challenge here is that often times we take them for granted. We are exposed to mixtures of chemicals and not a single agent, making it even more difficult to manage its effects. These chemicals may impact our health in several ways since they may affect every organ in the body; examples range from skin disease through occupational cancers and even inability to work or death. Unfortunately some may take several years to manifest so we overlook their effects and in other situations we are totally ignorant. These chemicals in addition to causing injury to humans also have the potential to damage the property and facility housing them as well as impacting on the surrounding community and general environment. ACHIEVING SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS IN THE WORKPLACE Not only should we train workers to be conscious of these chemicals, in addition we need to also gather information about these chemicals and their risks and finally implement preventive and protective measures. 1. Identify chemicals, label them and even keep safety data sheets for records etc 2. Determine the potential exposures in the workplace and do a thorough risk assessment 3. Identify control measures based on the risk assessment and then ensure you are able to evaluate the controls you implement making the necessary adjustments over time. IMPACT OF CHEMICALS ON THE WORKPLACE Our world is now reeling under the effects of climate change, and chemicals have in several ways contributed to this. 1. Chemicals do play a role in climate change as well as destruction of wildlife and contamination of drinking water. 2. The last time I checked chemicals in the environment did not require a visa to cause havoc in other countries. So since pollution crosses borders freely, any effective national programme will require an international coordinated strategy. We should not just sit unconcerned even when as a single factory or even a country we have control of our workplace chemicals because our neighbours may cancel out all our efforts. WAY FORWARD 1. For best results we need Governments, Employers and Workers to work together 2. We need to establish the right balance between the benefits of chemical use and the preventive and control measures of the potential adverse effects. 3. Today and the rest of the week I will charge every workplace to make a box available onsite to collect feedback; encourage everyone to write at least one chemical they are in contact with and how they protect themselves or should protect themselves from its dangers. These papers should be collected and should act as the beginning of a dialogue to protect our workers, our facility, our business and even our country and world. AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI) Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel Moms’ Health Club (dressel@healthclubsgh.com) *Dr Essel is a medical doctor and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy and fitness nutrition. Thought for the week – Do not think ensuring a safe and healthy workplace is costly but rather remember that “GOOD HEALTH & SAFETY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS.” Source 1. ILO website 28th April is one of my favourite days not because its pay-day but because it has been set aside to promote the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases globally. In addition it raises awareness of new improved trends in safety at work as well as the magnitude of work-related injuries, diseases and fatalities worldwide. This sounds like a prescription for ensuring employees are healthy and almost certainly this will lead to increased productivity. What do you think? The theme for 2014 is “SAFETY & HEALTH IN THE USE OF CHEMICALS AT WORK” Yes we all know about electricity, fire and water; three extremely good products in our life, but we also know the devastation they may cause when we do not manage them properly – A good thing gone bad. Chemicals also fall in this same category; chemicals are essential to life with widespread benefits and they are also an essential component of industrial processes that ensure that we maintain a reasonable standard of living worldwide. Common examples are pesticides, cleaning agents and medication. The challenge here is that often times we take them for granted. We are exposed to mixtures of chemicals and not a single agent, making it even more difficult to manage its effects. These chemicals may impact our health in several ways since they may affect every organ in the body; examples range from skin disease through occupational cancers and even inability to work or death. Unfortunately some may take several years to manifest so we overlook their effects and in other situations we are totally ignorant. These chemicals in addition to causing injury to humans also have the potential to damage the property and facility housing them as well as impacting on the surrounding community and general environment. ACHIEVING SOUND MANAGEMENT OF CHEMICALS IN THE WORKPLACE Not only should we train workers to be conscious of these chemicals, in addition we need to also gather information about these chemicals and their risks and finally implement preventive and protective measures. 1. Identify chemicals, label them and even keep safety data sheets for records etc 2. Determine the potential exposures in the workplace and do a thorough risk assessment 3. Identify control measures based on the risk assessment and then ensure you are able to evaluate the controls you implement making the necessary adjustments over time. IMPACT OF CHEMICALS ON THE WORKPLACE Our world is now reeling under the effects of climate change, and chemicals have in several ways contributed to this. 1. Chemicals do play a role in climate change as well as destruction of wildlife and contamination of drinking water. 2. The last time I checked chemicals in the environment did not require a visa to cause havoc in other countries. So since pollution crosses borders freely, any effective national programme will require an international coordinated strategy. We should not just sit unconcerned even when as a single factory or even a country we have control of our workplace chemicals because our neighbours may cancel out all our efforts. WAY FORWARD 1. For best results we need Governments, Employers and Workers to work together 2. We need to establish the right balance between the benefits of chemical use and the preventive and control measures of the potential adverse effects. 3. Today and the rest of the week I will charge every workplace to make a box available onsite to collect feedback; encourage everyone to write at least one chemical they are in contact with and how they protect themselves or should protect themselves from its dangers. These papers should be collected and should act as the beginning of a dialogue to protect our workers, our facility, our business and even our country and world. AS ALWAYS LAUGH OFTEN, WALK AND PRAY EVERYDAY AND REMEMBER IT’S A PRICELESS GIFT TO KNOW YOUR NUMBERS (blood sugar, blood pressure, blood cholesterol, BMI) Dr. Kojo Cobba Essel Moms’ Health Club (dressel@healthclubsgh.com) *Dr Essel is a medical doctor and is ISSA certified in exercise therapy and fitness nutrition. Thought for the week – Do not think ensuring a safe and healthy workplace is costly but rather remember that “GOOD HEALTH & SAFETY IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS.” Source 1. ILO website |
