Report - Expert forecast on Emerging Biological Risks related to Occupational Safety and Health
About 320,000 workers worldwide die every year of communicable diseases, some 5,000 in the European Union. In the last decade, media coverage has raised public awareness of biological hazards, such as anthrax at work due to bioterrorist activities, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the threat of avian flu. But biological agents are ubiquitous and, in many workplaces, workers face considerably harmful biological risks. The Community strategy 2002-06 called on the Agency to 'set up a risk observatory' to 'anticipate new and emerging risks'. This report sets out to present the results of the forecast on emerging OSH biological risks, which is the second forecast of emerging risks carried out in this context.
:
92-9191-130-5
:
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
:
25.09.2007
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Chapters in this Publication
Foreword
About 320,000 workers worldwide die every year of communicable diseases, some 5,000 in the European Union. In the last decade, media coverage has raised public awareness of biological hazards, such as anthrax at work due to bioterrorist activities, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the threat of avian flu. But biological agents are ubiquitous and, in many workplaces, workers face considerably harmful biological risks. The Community strategy 2002-06 called on the Agency to 'set up a risk observatory' to 'anticipate new and emerging risks'. This report sets out to present the results of the forecast on emerging OSH biological risks, which is the second forecast of emerging risks carried out in this context. Read more...Executive summary
This publication presents the results of an expert forecast on emerging biological occupational safety and health (OSH) risks based on the Delphi survey method. The top ten risks identified in the expert survey relate to: OSH risks related to global epidemics; the emergence of drug-resistant organisms; poor risk assessment; lack of information on biological risks; inadequate safety and health training for workers; poor maintenance of water and air conditioning systems; combined exposure to biological agents and chemicals; endotoxins in the workplace; indoor moulds; and waste treatment. Read more...1. Introduction
The chapter gives some background information on biological agents in the workplace, on the report, and defines the term 'emerging risks'. Read more...2. Methodology
European experts were surveyed and asked to identify the emerging OSH biological risks, using the Delphi method. Under this method, the results of the previous survey round are fed back to the experts for further evaluation until a consensus is achieved. A five-point Likert scale was used to rate the risks. This chapter explains the Delphi method and how the results were analysed. Read more...3. Expert participation
Thirty-six experts from 20 Member States, as well as Switzerland, participated in the survey. These experts had at least five years' experience in the field of OSH and biological risks. We explain how the experts were selected and who they are. Read more...4. Main emerging risks
The chapter presents the top ten emerging biological risks identified by the experts, together with the mean value of their ratings and the standard deviation. Experts' comments are also included. Literature reviews explore in more depth six out of the top ten risks in terms of context, workers at risk, health and safety outcomes and prevention: - occupational risks related to global epidemics - workers' exposure to drug-resistant micro-organisms - occupational exposure to endotoxins - moulds in indoor workplaces - biohazards in waste treatment activities - the difficult assessment of biological risks. Read more...5. Complete results of the survey
All risks mentioned in the expert forecast on emerging biological OSH risks are presented, thematically grouped into four categories: - substance-specific biological risks - biological risks intrinsic to specific workplaces or work processes - biological risks resulting from risk management and prevention practices - occupational biological risks linked to social and environmental phenomena. The mean values of the experts' ratings, the standard deviations and the experts' comments are also provided. Read more...6. Conclusion
The conclusion brings together some of the main findings and themes of the report. The forecast emphasises how important it is that biological risks are dealt with globally and in cooperation between disciplines such as OSH, public health, animal health, environmental protection and food safety. It also shows that knowledge about biohazards is still relatively undeveloped and that a proper assessment of biological risks is difficult. Better methods for assessing exposure to biological agents and well-established dose-effect relationships need to be developed. Read more...Annexes
Annex 1: Organisations contacted for the survey on emerging OSH biological risks - Annex 2: Questionnaire used for the first survey round - Annex 3: Questionnaire used for the second survey round - Annex 4: Questionnaire used for the third survey round - Annex 5: References used in the literature reviews Read more...One conclusion from the EU-OSHA economic incentives project is that incentives schemes should not only reward past results of good OSH management (such as accident numbers in experience rating), but should also reward specific prevention efforts that aim to reduce future accidents and ill-health. Experts from the economic incentives project therefore suggested the development of compilations of innovative and evidence-based preventive solutions, starting with the three sectors construction, health care and HORECA (hotels, restaurants, catering). The preventive measures from these compilations are worth promoting in their own right, as well as being applied in economic incentives schemes. These preventive solutions can be used as a basis for incentive-providing organisations to develop their own incentive scheme, adapted to the specific situation in their sector and country.
This Guide on Economic Incentives Schemes is intended to serve as a practical and user-friendly guide to help incentive providers to create or optimise their own economic incentive schemes. Incentives schemes should not only reward past results of good OSH management (such as low accident numbers), but should also reward specific prevention efforts that aim to reduce future accidents and ill-health. Therefore the expert group suggested the development of compilations of innovative and evidence-based preventive solutions, starting with the three sectors construction, health care and HORECA.
Occupational safety and health culture, or more briefly 'OSH culture', can be seen as a concept for exploring how informal organisational aspects influence OSH in a positive or negative way. The aim is to convey up-to-date information on this complex topic in a straightforward, condensed way, trying to build a bridge between research and practice. The main approaches and methods that exist to assess the safety culture in an organisation are presented and discussed. This review gives an overview and selection of useful tools and techniques from the EU domain and abroad.
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