1. Answer the questions using the vocabulary list and words in the box.

1. What is an essence of occupational safety?

2. Which spheres of life does the occupational safety touch upon?

3. Is it so important to know the main rules of occupational safety? Why?

4. Which rules of occupational safety do you use in everyday life?

Mustn’t smoke near…, be careful when you cross the street, do not touch the, wet hands, wall outlet, a live wire, a sharp blade, electricity, transport, cooking, light matches or cigarettes near…, to die, to make harm to the health, to wear rubber gloves, use chemicals, electric shock, cut something, knifes, cleaning, electricity device, wash the hands.

2. Read the text “Occupational health and safety” and answer the following questions:

1. Which discipline deals with protection people from hazards?

2. What is the goal of all occupational health and safety programs?

3. What are the closest subjects to subject of occupational safety?

4. There are a lot of tasks in the sphere of occupational health and safety.

What are they?

5. What knowledge must the occupational health and safety officers have?

6. What is the essence of safety training classes?

“Occupational health and safety”

O ccupational health and safety (OSH) is a cross-disciplinary area concerned with protecting the safety, health and welfare of people engaged in work or employment¹. The goal of all occupational health and safety programs is to foster a safe work environment. As a secondary effect, it may also protect co-workers, family members, employers, customers, suppliers, nearby communities, and other members of the public who are impacted by the workplace environment. It may involve interactions among many subject areas, including occupational medicine, occupational (or industrial) hygiene, public health, safety engineering, chemistry, health physics.

Occupational health should aim at: the promotion and maintenance of the highest degree of physical, mental and social well-being of workers in all occupations; the prevention amongst workers of departures from health² caused by their working conditions; the protection of workers in their employment from risks resulting from factors adverse to health; the placing and maintenance of the worker in an occupational environment adapted to his physiological and psychological capabilities; and, to summarize, the adaptation of work to man and of each man to his job.

Occupational health and safety officers promote health and safety procedures in an organization. They recognize hazards and measure health and safety risks, set suitable safety controls in place, and give recommendations on avoiding accidents to management and employees in an organization. Like it or not, organization have a duty to provide health and safety training.

An effective training program can reduce the number of injuries and deaths, property damage, legal liability, illnesses, workers’ compensation claims, and missed time from work.

Safety training classes help to establish a safety culture in which employees themselves help to promote proper safety procedures while on the job. It is important that new employees be properly trained and embrace the importance of workplace safety as it is easy for seasoned workers to negatively influence the new hires. That negative influence however, can be purged with the establishment of new, hands-on, innovative effective safety training which will ultimately lead to an effective safety culture.

¹ Employment -  is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being he employee.

²departures from health- the loss of health