Accidents are unfortunate sudden happenings about which nothing is known in advance. Accidents occurring in the industries are called industrial accidents. These are generally due to faulty equipment and machinery or negligence on the part of the workers. Accident occurs in industries due to faults of the workers. They can be negligent, lack of satisfaction in jobs and under the influence of intoxicants resulting in a higher number of accidents.
Types of industrial accidents:
1. Thermal burns:
It can be because of:
1. Flame
2. Scald (from steam, hot or molten liquid)
3. Contact (from a hot object, such as a hot cooking pan)
Thermal stressors or hazards can ignite fires or explosions, damage equipments or injure workers. Examples of hot surfaces includes:
· Electrical heaters or hot plates
· Operating engines or compressors, especially the exhaust manifolds
· Boiler or furnace surfaces, chimneys
· Steam radiators and equipments
· Burning cigarettes
· Metal heated by friction such as brake drums and bearing
· Surfaces heated by radiation from the sun or from fires
· Metals being welded
· Radiations
· Laser beams
· Metallic sparks
Workers can also be injured by excessive cold surfaces or liquids, such as cryogenic operations, refrigeration pipings, and extremely cold metal surfaces.
The type of burn and the severity of the burn depend on the number of layers of skin affected. Most burns are mild, but some may be severe. Most importantly, 75% of burns are estimated to be preventable.
Physical injury to workers that can result from thermal hazards includes:1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burn to the skin from the contact with hot metals, hot surfaces, hot waters or spark/
- · 1st, 2nd, 3rd degree burn from the exposure to UV or other radiation
- · Destruction of the eye tissue or retina from laser or uv
- · Heat stroke, heat stress
- · Inhalation of byproducts of heated oils or lubricants
- · Frostbite from exposure to extremely cold surfaces
Electrical accidents:
Physiological effects of shock varies from shocks so small that they are not even perceived to severe shocks producing severe tissue damage or even death. The actual mode of death in electrocution is cardiac arrest, or for high energy shocks, severe tissue damage.
Conditions due to electrical accidents
- Asphyxia: occurs when the passage of continuous current through the chest cavity causes the chest muscles to contract, interfering with breathing.
- Asystole: occurs when current higher than 1 A passes through the body
- Pulse and impulse type shock: the duration of shock is much shorter than the heart cycle, it can be provided by capacitor, and lightning discharges
- Electrical burn: a shock from contack with energized equipment can cause external or internal burn. The magnitude of current, the type of contact, and the duration of the contact determine the severity of burn. It causes ventricular fibrillation or continuous muscular contraction.
- Lightning burn: After lightning meets the body current it is initially transmitted internally, after which the skin breaks down and there is an external ‘‘flashover.’’ Other injuries caused by blunt
Chemical hazards:
Chemicals are the most common airborn contaminants encountered in the work place, and include gases, vapours, dusts, fibers, and fumes. In addition to presenting inhalation hazards, some of these materials may be toxic by absorption through the skin or may act as skin irritants.
In many countries hazardous chemical substances are labeled as “substances hazardous to health”, information is also provided in safety data sheets.
Aerosol- is a scientific term which applies to any dispersed system of liquid or solid particle suspended in air. Examples are, dusts, fibers (greater than 5 micro meter), fumes, mists, and smoke.
Once inhaled, the fate of particle depends on size, density, and shape. Heavier particles are deposited in the upper respiratory tracts, smaller particles into the lower, alveolar region. Smaller particles to be exhaled or remained on the lung surfaces.
Fumes are solid particle generated by condensation from the gaseous state generally from the molten materials
Mists are finely divided liquid droplets suspended in the air. Ex- oil mists, pesticides mists, acid mists.
Prevention of chemical hazards:
- Flammable liquid (ether, acetone, ethanol, jet fuel, methanol) should be handled in well ventilated area
- Effective ventilation to prevent accumulation of flammable aerosols and vapours.
- Flammable liquids should be stored in safe containers
- Non-sparking tools and materials (materials made up of wood, leather, and plastic) should be used
- Substitution with a less hazardous chemical
- Maintaining the machine regularly
- Installing effective exhaust ventilation
- Increasing the distance between source and receiver
- Rotation of worker
- Training and education
- Wearing protective equipment
Mechanical accidents:
Machine operators may be injured as a result of movement of the machine, being trapped between the machine and materials or being struck by materials ejected from the machine. In identifying machinery hazards, it is useful to consider three factors
- The different phases of machine life (construction, installation, operation, cleaning, maintenance)
- The circumstances giving rise to the injury
- The hazards that can cause the injury
For the different types and ranges of machines used, the hazards can be summarized as follows
- Traps: it can be reciprocating traps (vertical or horizontal movements of machine), shearing traps(moving part traversing a fixed part), moving belt meets a running wheel
- Impact: machinery parts can cause injuries by their speed or movement if a person gets in the way.
- Contact: burns, laceration due to sharp, hot, cold machine component.
- Entanglement: limbs, hair, clothing become entangled with unguarded moving parts
- Ejection: machine may eject particles, metals or actual parts of the machine. Egg- grinding machines
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