Differences Between Health Hazards and Safety Hazards

Recently, there have been many concerns regarding the health and safety of employees working in various organizations and industries. With the growth of human welfare departments that try their best to ensure that employees are made to work in the best of conditions and are not exposed to health or safety risks; it has become common to come across a number of health and safety measures being deployed.

Be it an employed worker, an ad-hoc employee, or a person on a factory tour, the first thing that they are briefed about is the health and safety hazards. Usually, as in the cases discussed, health and safety hazards are discussed together and although both are equally important, they are different. There might be situations where one of them is more important than the other.

The word hazard which is common to both is a potential source of harm or an adverse health effect on the person involved. To understand the difference between the two types of hazards, we first need to understand the difference between health and safety. Health is described as the level of efficiency of the functioning of an individual’s body.

A good state of health implies a lack of illness, pain, or injury. Safety, on the other hand, refers to a state of being safe, that is, a condition whereby one is protected against physical, social, emotional, etc. consequences of failure or any undesirable events.

Difference Between Health Hazards And Safety Hazards

There is a big difference between health hazards and safety hazards. Health hazards are things that can cause long-term health problems, while safety hazards are things that can cause injuries or fatalities. Some of the other differences between health hazards and safety hazards are as follows:

• Health hazards are typically associated with exposure to harmful substances, while safety hazards are typically associated with exposure to dangerous conditions or situations.
• Health hazards can cause immediate or long-term health effects, while safety hazards generally only pose a risk of injury.
• Some health hazards, such as asbestos, may not be immediately apparent, while most safety hazards are readily apparent.
• Health hazards can affect people of all ages, while safety hazards are usually more relevant to children and the elderly.
• Health hazards are regulated by occupational health and safety laws, while safety hazards are typically regulated by consumer protection laws.
• Some health hazards, such as noise pollution, may be caused by safety hazards, while others, such as exposure to radiation, are not typically associated with safety hazards.
• Health hazards can be controlled through engineering and administrative controls, while safety hazards are typically controlled through physical barriers and warnings.
• Health hazards can be present in both the workplace and the home, while safety hazards are usually only present in the workplace.
• Some health hazards, such as lead poisoning, can result from exposure to consumer products, while others, such as skin cancer, can result from exposure to the sun.
• Health hazards can be managed through a variety of methods, including hazard communication, occupational hygiene, and medical surveillance, while safety hazards are typically managed through engineering controls, warnings, and personal protective equipment.

It is important to be aware of both types of hazards and take steps to protect yourself and your employees from them. In this blog post, we will discuss the differences between health hazards and safety hazards and provide some tips for avoiding them.

Types Of Health Hazards

There are many different types of health hazards that can exist in our environment. Some health hazards are naturally occurring, while others may be the result of human activity. Health hazards can be found in both indoor and outdoor environments.

Some common examples of health hazards include:

• Biological agents, such as bacteria, viruses, and parasites
• Chemical agents, such as pollutants and toxins
• Physical agents, such as noise, radiation, and electromagnetic fields

Health hazards can cause a variety of adverse health effects, ranging from mild symptoms to serious illness or death. Some health hazards may only affect certain populations, such as children or the elderly. Others may affect everyone who is exposed to them.

Exposure to health hazards is often unavoidable, it is important to be aware of the potential risks they pose. Taking steps to reduce exposure and protect yourself and your family from harm can help to keep everyone healthy.

Types Of Safety Hazards

There are many different types of safety hazards that can pose a threat to workers in any industry. Some of the most common safety hazards include:

• Biological hazards, such as bacteria and viruses
• Chemical hazards, such as harmful gases and chemicals
• Physical hazards, such as noise and radiation
• Psychosocial hazards, such as stress and violence

Biological hazards are the most common type of safety hazard and can be found in any workplace where there is contact with people or animals. Viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms can all pose a threat to workers’ health and can cause serious illnesses such as influenza, tuberculosis, and HIV.

Chemical hazards are another common type of safety hazard and can be found in any workplace where there are chemicals present. These hazards can include harmful gases, such as carbon monoxide, and chemicals that are poisonous if inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin.

Physical hazards are also common in many workplaces and can include noise, radiation, slips, trips, and falls. Physical hazards can be particularly dangerous because they can often go unnoticed until it is too late.

Psychosocial hazards are also found in many workplaces and can cause stress, anxiety, and depression. These hazards can be caused by a variety of factors, including long hours, tight deadlines, and difficult working conditions.

All of these hazards can cause serious injuries or even death. That’s why it’s important to be aware of them and take steps to control them.

There are a few key things you can do to control safety hazards in your workplace:

Identify the hazard. The first step is to identify the hazard. You can’t control a hazard if you don’t know it exists.

Evaluate the risk. Once you’ve identified the hazard, you need to evaluate the risk. This will help you determine how serious the hazard is and what needs to be done to control it.

Implement controls. Once you’ve evaluated the risk, you can implement controls. This might involve things like changing the way work is done, providing personal protective equipment, or increasing safety training.

Monitor and review. Even after you’ve implemented controls, you need to monitor the situation and review your procedures regularly. This will help you make sure that the controls are effective and that the hazard is being properly controlled.

Safety hazards are a serious issue in any workplace. By taking steps to identify, evaluate, and control them, you can help keep your workplace safe.

Moreover, health risks may not always be understood or very well defined and sometimes even the cause-effect relationship is not established. It is difficult to firmly conclude the effects of health risks since they usually appear after a long time and there are a number of factors at work. Safety is one thing that is quite clearly prescribed and the possible effects of not following safety tips can almost always be described and warned about.

Since safety risks have an immediate effect, the importance of safety methods and equipment has been emphasized for quite some time now. However, health risks that usually take a longer time to show their effects have only been recently addressed with the increase in research, technology, and accurate experiments.

This is one of the main reasons that during the past few years, health concerns have attracted widespread publicity and the attention of various NGOs (s).

Where it is easy to collect and infer data regarding safety, which can be further used to increase safety; studying health risks, collecting data for it, and connecting it to its cause, which is usually way back in the past, is very difficult. This makes it almost impossible to act in a proactive manner to decrease health risks although this is very much possible if the risk involved is a safety risk.

A few examples of the two types of hazards will further help to differentiate the two. Health hazards include pollution, harmful emissions, exposure to toxic substances, etc. Safety risks include being accidentally hit by moving parts of machinery in a factory which can cause injuries, dislocations, or even fractures.

Summary of differences expressed in points

• Health is the efficient functioning of an individual’s body; safety is the state of being safe from undesirable events or consequences
• Health hazards affect the health, and safety hazards make the surrounding conditions unsafe or risky
• Health risks take a long time to show their effects, safety risks usually have immediate effects
• Easy to judge and deal with safety hazards, they are well understood; health hazards are difficult to catch and deal with as they usually show their effects after a long time
• Data collection and inferences are easier for safety hazards compared to health hazards
• Examples; safety hazards-getting hit by moving machinery; health hazards-developing bronchitis by inhaling harmful emissions for a sufficient period of time