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Industrial injury

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Industrial & Organisational : Introduction : Personnel : Organizational psychology : Occupations: Work environment: Index : Outline

Main article: Industrial accidents

An industrial injury is any disease or bodily damage resulting from working.

In the United States in 2007, 5,488 workers died from job injuries,[1] and 49,000 died from work-related injuries.[2] NIOSH estimates that 4 million workers in the U.S. in 2007 suffered from non-fatal work related injuries or illnesses.[3]

The most usual organs involved are the spine, hands, the head, lungs, eyes, skeleton, and skin. According to data from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average of 15 workers die from traumatic injuries each day in the United States, and an additional 200 workers are hospitalized.[4]

Common causes of industrial injury are poor ergonomics, manual handling of heavy loads, misuse or failure of equipment, exposure to general hazards, inadequate safety training and clothing, jewellery or long hair that becomes tangled in machinery.

General hazards in a work environment include electricity, explosive materials, fire, flammable gases, heat, height, high pressure gases and liquids, hot gases and liquids, powerful or sharp moving machinery, oxygen-free gases or spaces, poisonous gases, radiation, toxic materials, work on, near or under water, work on, near or under weak or heavy structures.

List of well known industrial injuries of interst to psychologists are :

  • Air embolism caused by working with compressed air close to cuts in the skin.
  • Asbestosis caused by working near asbestos.
  • Decompression sickness caused by working underwater in a high ambient pressure environment
  • Hand-arm vibration syndrome/HAVS/white finger caused by long-term use of vibrating tools
  • Phossy jaw caused by chronic exposure to white phosphorus
  • Repetitive strain injury
  • Silicosis caused by working in a confined, dusty environment

There are many methods of preventing or reducing industrial injuries, including anticipation of problems by risk assessment, safety training, control banding, personal protective equipment, respiratory equipment, safety guards, mechanisms on machinery, and safety barriers. In addition, past problems can be analyzed to find their root causes by using a technique called root cause analysis.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ↑ US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. "National census of fatal occupational injuries in 2007." Washington, DC: US Department of Labor; 2008. Retrieved at: About NIOSH. Available at [1].
  2. ↑ Steenland K, Burnett C, Lalich N, Ward E, Hurrell J. Dying for work: the magnitude of U.S. mortality from selected causes of death associated with occupation. Am J Ind Med 2003;43:461--82. Retrieved at:About NIOSH.
  3. ↑ US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. Workplace injuries and illnesses in 2007. Washington, DC: US Department of Labor; 2008. Retrieved at: About NIOSH. Available at [2].
  4. ↑ Traumatic Occupational Injuries. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. URL accessed on 29 May 2009.

External links[]

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