If you want to work as a future occupational safety and health professional, you’ll need to understand the unseen hazards that can cause long-term illness or sudden injury. While some workplace dangers, like exposed wires or slippery floors, are easy to spot, others are less obvious. There could be harmful chemicals, repetitive strain, or even poor air quality can affect the health of employees.
As an OSH student, these common occupational risks can show you some of what you can expect as a professional. This article explains the common categories of workplace hazards—physical, chemical, biological, and ergonomic—and why recognizing them is the first step in protecting workers and creating safer environments.
Physical
Physical hazards in the workplace involve conditions that can immediately injure a worker, like falling objects, unguarded equipment, or heavy machinery. Usually, these physical hazards come from unsafe working conditions on construction sites or industrial environments.
Here’s just a few examples of physical hazards at work:
- Slips, trips, and falls from wet floors or uneven surfaces
- Electrical hazards from exposed wiring or improper grounding
- Unguarded machinery that can snag loose clothing or body parts
These hazards are among the most frequent causes of workplace injuries, and, as a student of OSH, you should learn to spot and prevent these potential problems.
Chemical
Chemical hazards involve exposure to harmful substances that can irritate skin, damage lungs, or cause long-term illness. The best way to prevent chemical accidents is through proper storage, procedure, and training.
Here’s a few hazardous chemicals that employees might encounter at work, even if they don’t work in lab:
- Asbestos: Often found in insulations, floor tiles, and other building materials. Asbestos is no longer used as often, but can still be in older buildings.
- Diesel Exhaust: Diesel is used in different kinds of equipment, like in mining and agriculture, and can release toxic exhaust that employers can affect air quality.
- Synthetic Mineral Fibers: Fiberglass is just one kind of this chemical and can cause respiratory problems.
If you’re working as an occupational safety and health professional, then you’ll most likely deal with these common chemicals and other hazardous materials.
Biological
Common biological hazards in the workplace include viruses, bacteria, and other organisms that can cause infections or disease. Usually, employees who work in hospitals, clinics, forensics, laboratories, and agriculture handle these kinds of hazards.
Here’s a few ways that OSH professionals can protect workers:
- Using personal protective equipment (PPE) at work to avoid exposure
- Keeping careful medical records of workers to watch for potential symptoms
- Inspecting storage containers, procedures, and training so everything is up-to-date
As you pursue your OSH degree, you’ll learn more about handling biological substances, the right preventative measures, and containing potential outbreaks.
Ergonomic
Ergonomic hazards arise when work conditions strain the body over time, leading to injuries like back pain or carpal tunnel. While these kinds of hazards might not seem as dangerous as something chemical or biological, they affect essential workers like nurses, firefighters, janitors, and transit workers.
Some common ergonomic problems you might encounter in the workplace include:
- Carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive hand and wrist movement
- An inflammation of tendons called tendinitis, usually caused by strain or overuse
- Trigger finger, which makes your finger lock up in a bent position
A lot of these problems come from poor posture at a computer or frequent heavy lifting that can slowly damage muscles, tendons, and joints. Most of these are preventable by changing workstation layouts, rotating tasks, and teaching proper techniques that reduce these risks.
Conclusion
Understanding and identifying hazards, whether they are physical, chemical, biological, or ergonomic, is foundational for you as a future OSH professional. You don’t need to know everything right away, but by learning to recognize safety and health threats and how to prevent them, you can prepare to protect workers and promote healthier workplaces.
If you want to learn more about occupational safety and health, check out BYU-Idaho’s degree page. [LINK TO Occupational Safety and Health degree page]
Citations
OSHA — Hazard Identification and Assessment
OSHA — Asbestos
OSHA — Diesel Exhaust
OSHA — Synthetic Mineral Fibers: Health Effects
OSHA — Hazard Identification and Assessment
OSHA — Ergonomics