Health & Safety Flashcards
What is the HSE?
The HSE (Health and Safety Executive) is the national independent watchdog for work-related health, safety and illness. They are an independent regulator and act in the public interest to reduce work-related death and serious injury across Great Britain.
The achieve this the HSE enforce a number of policies to ensure that the risk to the general public is kept to a minimum. The policy which applied to genetics laboratories is the Health and Safety Work Act 1974.
What is the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974?
This is the main piece of legislation which affects the management of health and safety across all sectors. This act provides the basic frame work to ensure the health and safety of employees in any work activity and is enforced by the health and safety executive. Both employers and employees must comply to the duties outlined in this act.
- Provision and maintenance of the work place
- Absence of risk from handling, storage and transport of goods
- Provide information, training, instruction etc
- Provide adequate ventilation
- The building is fit for purpose and where necessary building design should be considered for the relevant work.
What are the workplace regulations (Health, Safety and Welfare) 1992?
These regulations deal with the physical conditions of the workplace and require employers to meet minimal standards in relation to a wide range of matters i.e. maintenance of the building, provision of drinking water, temperature, lighting, ventilation, toilet, first aid and rest facilities.
What are the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) regulations 1992?
These regulations oblige employers to assess the workstations of staff who use display screen equipment (DSE). The minimum requirements are:
- Identify users of DSE
- Assess workstations to ensure they meet the minimum requirements
- Provide information, instruction and training on the potential hazards of using DSE
- Offer free eye tests and pay for spectacles which are needed for work.
What is the management of health and safety at work regulations 1999?
This act made it more explicit what employers are required to do to manage health and safety under the health and safety at work act. The main requirement is that employers must carry out risk assessments to eliminate or reduce risk.
What is Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) and the principles which should be followed?
COSHH is a law which requires employers to control substances that are hazardous to health. COSHH guidelines outline how to prevent or reduce workers exposure to hazardous substances by :
- Finding out what the hazards are
- Deciding how to prevent harm
- Providing control measures to reduce harm to health
- Making sure they are used
- Keeping all control measures in good working condition
- Providing information, instruction and training for employees
- Providing monitoring and health surveillance in appropriate cases
- Planning for emergencies
What is Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences (RIDDOR) and what does it require?
RIDDOR is a law which requires employers and anyone else with a responsibility of health and safety to report and keep records of:
- Death to any person
- Specified injuries to workers
- Incapacitation of a worker (over 7 days)
- Non fatal accidents to non-workers (e.g members of the public)
- Occupational diseases
- Dangerous occurances (near miss events)
- Gas incidents
What is the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) and what does it require?
REACH is the system for controlling chemicals in Europe. It became law in the UK in June 2007. REACH adopted some of the older aspects of chemical systems in Europe including Safety Data Sheets (SDS). Suppliers of substances are required to compile and supply a SDS at the first delivery of a substance. This has now been changed to take into account the new Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulation which requires suppliers of dangerous chemicals to:
- Identify hazards from the chemicals
- Give information about the hazard to their customers
- Package the chemical safely.
What is the general requirement of International Standard 15190 ?
ISO 15190 specified the requirement to establish and maintain a safe working environment in a medical laboratory. There are requirements to ensure that there is a named person ultimately responsible and that all employees take personal responsibility for their own safety at work and the safety of others who may be affected by it.
What is required as part of laboratory health and safety policy?
- Each lab should have a health and safety policy.
- Labs should carry out risk assessments regularly and when introducing a new equipment/reagents into the lab
- Chemical safety data sheets should be available and detailed in any SOPs
- Provide clear training and instruction (i.e SOPs) so everyone knows how to work safely
- Workplace should have welfare facilities (toilets drinking water etc)
