Safety At Work

TL;DR — Key Numbers Occupational cancer is cancer caused wholly or partly by exposure to carcinogenic substances, processes, or conditions at work. Common types include lung cancer, mesothelioma, and bladder cancer. With latency periods often exceeding 10–40 years, today’s diagnoses reflect past workplace conditions. An estimated 2–8% of all cancers globally are attributable to occupational … Read more

TL;DR — The Numbers That Define This Hazard The moment someone falls overboard, shout “Man overboard” with the side (port or starboard), throw flotation immediately, assign one crew member as a dedicated spotter who keeps constant visual contact, mark GPS position, and sound the alarm. The bridge then initiates an Anderson, Williamson, or Scharnow turn … Read more

TL;DR Wood dust is classified by IARC as a Group 1 human carcinogen and is a leading cause of occupational asthma. Legal exposure limits vary by jurisdiction: OSHA applies a 15 mg/m³ PNOR total-dust limit (US), HSE sets 3 mg/m³ hardwood and 5 mg/m³ softwood (UK), and the EU binding limit is 2 mg/m³ hardwood … Read more

TL;DR Abrasive wheel regulations require employers to ensure all personnel who use, mount, or supervise abrasive wheel equipment receive adequate training. In the United Kingdom this duty arises under PUWER 1998 Regulation 9, supported by HSE guidance document HSG17. In the United States, OSHA 29 CFR 1910.215 and 1926.303 require operator training covering machine hazards, … Read more

TL;DR The ten essential grinding safety rules require operators to inspect every wheel, match RPM and disc type to the machine, keep guards in place, maintain work-rest clearances, wear correctly fitted PPE, secure the workpiece, control fire hazards, run new wheels at full speed before use, avoid excessive force, and complete formal training before operating … Read more

TL;DR Maritime PPE is the personal protective equipment shipowners are legally required to provide to seafarers under SOLAS, the MLC 2006, and the ISM Code. It covers head, eye, hearing, respiratory, hand, foot, body, and fall protection, plus lifesaving items such as SOLAS lifejackets and immersion suits — selected through documented hazard assessment for the … Read more

TL;DR Employers of workers under 18 — and under 25 in some jurisdictions — owe specific legal duties beyond general worker safety. These include a pre-start young person’s risk assessment, prohibited-work compliance, and proportionate-to-inexperience supervision under MHSWR 1999 Reg 19 (UK), Directive 94/33/EC (EU), the FLSA Hazardous Occupations Orders at 29 CFR Part 570 Subpart … Read more

TL;DR Hydraulic system safety is the engineering and procedural discipline of preventing injuries from pressurised fluid systems — including high-pressure injection through pinhole leaks, burns from hot fluid, impact from whipping hoses, and crushing from dropped loads. It combines failure-mode prevention, lockout/tagout for stored energy, and emergency medical response for injection injuries. A hydraulic line … Read more

TL;DR Employers owe workers with disabilities two parallel duties: protect them from harm under occupational-safety law (the OSH Act in the US; HSWA 1974 in the UK), and protect them from discriminatory exclusion under equality law (the ADA in the US; the Equality Act 2010 in the UK). Discharging both means individualised risk assessment, reasonable … Read more

TL;DR — The Numbers That Define This Hazard Compressed air kills through four distinct mechanisms — air embolism into the bloodstream, visceral perforation, carbon monoxide poisoning of supplied-air respirators, and catastrophic vessel rupture. The OSHA cleaning limit of 30 psi dead-end static pressure addresses only the first family; stored-energy and breathing-air contamination demand separate regulatory … Read more