Occupational Health and Safety: Risks, Prevention, and Legal Framework
Occupational Health and Safety
Definition of Health (WHO)
Health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Occupational Risk
Occupational risk is the possibility that a worker suffers an injury while carrying out their work. An imminent and serious risk is one that is likely to materialize in the immediate future and involves serious harm to health.
Key Legislation and Regulations
- Law on the Prevention of Occupational Risks (LPRL): This is a fundamental piece of legislation resulting from a European Community directive (1989). It covers:
- Obligations and rights related to risk prevention.
- Creation of organizations specialized in preventive matters.
- Organization of prevention within the company.
- Representation of workers on safety and health matters.
- Worker’s Statute: This statute addresses aspects related to occupational health and safety law, such as employees’ rights to physical integrity, safety, and hygiene.
- General Law on Social Security: This law defines legal concepts of work accidents and occupational diseases to determine coverage.
- Law on Infractions and Sanctions in the Social Order (LISOS): This law outlines violations of safety and occupational health regulations that are subject to sanctions.
- Collective Agreements: These agreements often include provisions for the prevention of certain risks (e.g., hazardous materials, protection of specific groups like women and minors).
Working Conditions and Risk Factors
Working conditions are any characteristics of work that have a significant influence on the generation of health and safety risks. Occupational risk factors related to working conditions include:
- Safety: Local facilities.
- Environmental: Physical, chemical, and biological factors.
- Workload: Physical or mental demands.
- Planning and Organization of Work: Factors like poor posture or routine work.
- Human Factor: Personal characteristics (age, personality, physical condition), training or experience, and unsafe or dangerous acts.
Damages Resulting from Working Conditions
- Work Accident: An abnormal, unwanted, and unexpected event that causes bodily injury to the employee. This includes accidents “in itinere” (during the commute), rescue events, and events occurring during tasks different from the usual ones, if performed for the employer’s benefit. It also covers professionals who have diseases not directly caused by work (e.g., myocardial infarction).
- Occupational Disease: A slow and gradual deterioration of the worker’s health due to exposure to environmental pollutants. These diseases are listed in a catalog published by the administration.
Preventive Disciplines
- Safety: Studies the origin of accidents to prevent them and implement corrective measures.
- Industrial Hygiene: Studies, identifies, and controls pollutants.
- Ergonomics: Adapts work to people.
- Psychosociology: Studies the influence of the organization on the social behavior and attitude of workers.
- Occupational Medicine: Maintains the health of workers.
Preventive Action of the Company
The LPRL requires companies to plan and organize their preventive policies.
Principles of Preventive Action
The duty to protect falls on the employer. This includes:
- Avoiding, evaluating, and combating risks.
- Adapting work to the individual.
- Prioritizing collective protection over individual protection.
- Providing training to workers, including addressing distractions and imprudent behavior.
Prevention Plan
The prevention plan is documented and comprises two phases:
- Phase 1: Risk Analysis
- Phase 2: Risk Assessment: Determining whether risks are tolerable or not, and defining actions and execution deadlines.
The plan should identify the company’s characteristics, policies, goals, objectives, hierarchical organizational structure, production processes, and prevention measures.