Working conditions. Occupational Safety and Health

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
Free library / Occupational Safety and Health

Working conditions. Occupational Safety and Health

Occupational Safety and Health

Occupational Safety and Health / Legislative basis for labor protection

Under working conditions understand a set of factors of the labor process and the production environment in which human activity is carried out. (Note that in the "Guidelines for the hygienic assessment of factors of the working environment and the labor process. Criteria and classification of working conditions" R 2.2.2006-05, the term "working environment" is replaced by the term "working environment" with the content of the concept unchanged - its meaning. Under labor process factors (regardless of the environment) understand its main characteristics: hard work и labor intensity.

The severity of labor - a characteristic of the labor process, reflecting the load mainly on the musculoskeletal system and functional systems of the body (cardiovascular, respiratory, etc.) that ensure its activity.

The severity of labor is determined by the physical dynamic load, the mass of the load being lifted and moved, the total number of stereotypical working movements, the magnitude of the static load, the nature of the working posture, the depth and frequency of the body tilt, and movements in space.

Labor tension - a characteristic of the labor process, reflecting the load mainly on the central nervous system, sensory organs, and the emotional sphere of the worker.

The factors characterizing the intensity of work include intellectual, sensory, emotional loads, the degree of monotony of loads, and the mode of work.

Under the factors of the production / working environment in which human activities are carried out, they understand the most diverse factors of this environment, from physical to socio-psychological. All these factors affect the human body in one way or another.

Among their diversity, there are such production factors that pose a particular danger (threat) to humans, because they cause significant harm to their health, seriously limiting (up to deprivation) their ability to work.

Factors of the working environment, which, under certain conditions, can cause an employee's work injury, began to be called dangerous production factor,and the factors of the working environment, which under certain conditions can cause an occupational disease of an employee, began to be called harmful production factor. The conventions of these names are obvious. It should be noted that a harmful factor easily becomes dangerous under certain conditions.

Since, as practice has shown, the main causes of occupational diseases are high values of harmful production factors and the duration of their impact on the body of the worker, as well as individual characteristics and deviations in the state of health of an individual worker, including those not detected during medical examinations, and low values do not lead to to such diseases, then the assessment of working conditions by the nature of the impact of harmful production factors uses the concept of the so-called threshold impact of factors in the production environment.

Within the framework of this concept, it is considered that below a certain threshold - the maximum permissible value of a harmful production factor for maintaining health - its harmful effect is practically absent and it can be completely (for practical purposes) neglected.

A classic example of the implementation of the concept of the threshold effect of chemicals on a living organism is the concept of MPC - the maximum permissible concentration, first proposed in the early 20s of the twentieth century.

The official definition of the MPC of harmful substances in the air of the working area is as follows: "Hygienic standards of working conditions (MPC, MPC) - the levels of harmful factors in the working environment, which during daily (except weekends) work for 8 hours and no more than 40 hours per week, during the entire working experience, they should not cause diseases or deviations in the state of health detected by modern research methods in the process of work or in the long-term life of this and subsequent generations. Compliance with hygiene standards does not exclude a violation of the state of health in people with increased sensitivity. "

The introduction of MPC, and then MPC (maximum permissible level) makes it possible in practice to distinguish between safe working conditions, where concentrations are below MPC (levels below MPC), and therefore occupational diseases are practically impossible, from unfavorable working conditions, where concentrations (levels) are higher than MPC (PDU) and the occurrence of occupational diseases are much more likely.

Almost all hygienic regulation of harmful production factors and working conditions is based on this principle, and the values of hygienic standards (GN) are obtained and justified for an 8-hour work shift.

It is also important in practice that the cases studied in laboratories of the action of one production factor, for example, one or another xenobiotics (a harmful substance incompatible with life) are relatively rare. Much more often, a worker is affected by a whole complex of various harmful production factors, the totality of all factors of the production environment. At the same time, the result of its impact on the human body also changes.

In the real conditions of modern production, the human body is increasingly exposed to the simultaneous effects of various xenobiotics.

Such an effect is usually called complex when xenobiotics enter the body simultaneously, but in different ways (through the respiratory tract with inhaled air, the stomach with food and water, skin integuments).

It is customary to call such an effect of xenobiotics combined, when xenobiotics simultaneously or sequentially enter the body in the same way.

There are several types of combined action (impact):

1. Independent action. The resulting effect is not associated with a combined effect and does not differ from the isolated action of each component of the mixture, and therefore is due to the predominance of the action of the most toxic component and is equal to it.

2. Additive action. The resulting effect of the mixture is equal to the sum of the effects of each component of the combined effect.

3. Potentiated action (synergism). The resulting effect of the mixture under combined exposure is greater than the sum of the effects of the separate action of all components of the mixture.

4. Antagonistic action. The resulting effect of the mixture under combined exposure is less than the sum of the effects of the separate action of all components of the mixture.

Combinations of substances with independent action are quite common, but, like combinations with antagonistic action, they are not essential for practice, since additive and potentiated actions are more dangerous.

An example of an additive effect is the narcotic effect of a mixture of hydrocarbons. A potentiated effect was noted with the combined action of sulfur dioxide and chlorine, alcohol and a number of industrial poisons.

Often there is a combined effect of xenobiotics with other adverse factors, such as high and low temperatures, high and sometimes low humidity, vibration and noise, various types of radiation, etc. When xenobiotics are combined with other factors, the effect may be more significant, than with the isolated influence of one or another factor.

In practice, a situation often occurs when the effect of a xenobiotic has an "intermittent" or "intermittent" character. This effect of xenobiotics has a special effect. It is known from physiology that the maximum effect of any exposure is observed at the beginning and at the end of the exposure to the stimulus. The transition from one state to another requires adaptation, and therefore frequent and sharp fluctuations in the level of the stimulus lead to a stronger effect on the body.

With simultaneous exposure to xenobiotics and high temperature, an increase in the toxic effect is possible.

High humidity can also increase the risk of poisoning, especially from irritating gases.

An increase in the toxic effect was registered both at elevated and at reduced barometric pressure.

Industrial noise can also increase the toxic effect. This has been proven for carbon monoxide, styrene, alkyl nitrile, cracked gas, petroleum gases, boric acid aerosol.

Industrial vibration, like noise, can also enhance the toxic effect of xenobiotics. For example, cobalt dust, silicon dust, dichloroethane, carbon monoxide, epoxy resins have a more pronounced effect when combined with vibration compared to pure xenobiotics.

The worker comes into contact with xenobiotics, as a rule, while performing physical work at the same time. Physical activity, which has a powerful and versatile effect on all organs and systems of the body, cannot but affect the conditions of absorption, distribution, transformation and release of xenobiotics, and ultimately the course of intoxication.

Currently, working conditions are classified according to the hygienic criteria established in Guideline R 2.2.2006-05 "Guidelines for the hygienic assessment of working environment and labor process factors. Criteria and classification of working conditions."

Working conditions are divided into 4 classes: optimal, permissible, harmful and dangerous.

Optimal working conditions (1st class) - conditions under which the health of workers is preserved and prerequisites are created for maintaining a high level of efficiency. Optimal standards working environment factors set for microclimatic parameters and work load factors. For other factors, conventionally, such working conditions are taken as optimal, under which harmful factors are absent or do not exceed the levels accepted as safe for the population.

Allowable working conditions (2st class) are characterized by such levels of environmental factors and the labor process that do not exceed the established hygienic standards for jobs, and possible changes in the functional state of the body are restored during a regulated rest or by the beginning of the next shift and should not have an adverse effect in the near and long term on the health of workers and their offspring. Permissible working conditions are conditionally classified as safe.

Harmful working conditions (3st class) are characterized by the presence of harmful factors that exceed hygienic standards and have an adverse effect on the body of workers and (or) their offspring. Harmful working conditions according to the degree of excess of hygienic standards and the severity of changes in the body of workers are divided into 4 degrees of harmfulness:

1st degree 3rd class (3.1) -working conditions are characterized by such deviations in the levels of harmful factors from hygienic standards that cause functional changes that are restored, as a rule, with a longer (than by the beginning of the next shift) interruption of contact with harmful factors and increase risk damage to health;

2st degree 3rd class (3.2) -working conditions, under which levels of harmful factors cause persistent functional changes, in most cases lead to an increase in occupationally conditioned morbidity (which is manifested by an increase in the level of morbidity with a temporary loss ability to work and, first of all, those diseases that reflect the state of the most vulnerable organs and systems for these factors), to the appearance of initial signs or mild (without loss of professional ability to work) forms occupational diseasesarising after prolonged exposure (often after 15 years or more);

3st degree 3rd class (3.3) - working conditions characterized by such levels of working environment factors, the impact of which leads to the development, as a rule, of occupational diseases of mild and moderate severity (with loss of professional ability to work) in the period labor activity, the growth of chronic (production-related) pathology, 4th degree, 3rd class (3.4) - working conditions under which severe forms of occupational diseases can occur (with loss of general ability to work), there is a significant increase in the number of chronic diseases and high levels of morbidity with temporary disability;

Dangerous (extreme)working conditions (4st class) characterized by levels of working environment factors, the impact of which during work shift (or part of it) poses a threat to life, a high risk of developing acute occupational injuries, including in severe forms.

Work in hazardous working conditions (4th class) is not allowed, except for liquidation accidents and emergency work to prevent emergencies. At the same time, work must be carried out with the use of appropriate PPE and with strict observance of the temporary regimes regulated for such work.

Safe working conditions are defined by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 209) as "working conditions under which the impact on workers of harmful and (or) dangerous production factors is excluded or the levels of their impact do not exceed the established standards."

Authors: Fainburg G.Z., Ovsyankin A.D., Potemkin V.I.

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