Physical hazards
Physical hazards in the workplace pose risks and dangers to employees due to their physical properties or characteristics, potentially resulting in injuries, health issues, or even death. Despite the serious consequences associated with physical hazards, they are sometimes considered to be of lesser concern when compared to chemical hazards (3). Physical hazards in occupational settings can occur in various forms and circumstances, which can vary depending on the specific workplace environment. Some of these forms include mechanical, electrical, thermal, radiation, noise, and vibration hazards (3). Mechanical hazards involve using equipment and machinery containing moving components capable of shearing, cutting, or crushing, potentially causing harm to individuals operating them. These hazards can lead to a range of injuries, including bruises, cuts, puncture wounds, fractures, head and eye injuries, as well as back and spinal injuries, among others (10). Physical hazards related to electricity can be caused by faulty electrical equipment, exposed wire or bad or damaged wiring system causing electric shock, burns, electrocution, internal injuries, or death (11). Thermal and radiation hazards are caused by extreme cold or hot temperatures and ionizing or non-ionizing radiation exposure (12). Thermal hazards can lead to health issues such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke, frostbite, hypothermia, and burns, whereas radiation hazards can cause conditions in cancer, acute radiation syndrome, radiation burns, cataracts and radiation sickness (12). Noise hazard occurs as a result of exposure to excessive noise in a work environment over a prolonged period of time, it could be from industrial machinery, construction activities, power tools, or firearms among others (13). Exposure to prolonged noise at workplace could cause stress and fatigue, sleep disturbance, hearing loss, cardiovascular effect such as high blood pressure and heart disease etc. (13). Vibration hazard occurs due to workers’ exposure to continuous vibration over a long period of time. The vibration can be from different sources such as equipment, vehicles, tools or machinery (14). Vibration can occur as whole-body vibration, where the entire body is in contact with the vibration surface like vehicle seat usually in construction, transportation and agriculture or hand-arm vibration, where the vibration only affects the arm when using vibrating hand tools (14). The health effects associated with whole-body and hand-arm vibration are musculoskeletal disorders, circulatory problems, neurological problems, Raynaud’s phenomenon, neurological problems, fatigue and reduced work performance (8,14). Extensive research has revealed the consequences of workers’ exposure to physical hazards in various occupational settings and the resulting adverse effects on their well-being.
In a study to explore the role of occupational physical activity, physical demand, and psychosocial work-related factors on low back pain and neck-shoulder pain amongst workers with physically demanding professions, data was collected from 331 participants comprising of 142 males and 189 females between the age of 20 and 65 within the service and manufacturing sector in the Flemish Employees’ Physical Activity using a modified Nordic questionnaire on low back pain and neck-shoulder pain. Using objective measures to evaluate physical activity, two accelerometers were positioned on the middle of the back and right thigh and worn continuously for 3-4 days. Using subjective measures, participants were requested to maintain a diary documenting their daily activities. Psychosocial work factors, such as job demands, job control, and social support, were assessed using constructs from job content questionnaire. Musculoskeletal pain information concerning the lower back and neck-shoulder regions was collected through a modified version of the Standardized Nordic questionnaire, which is used to assess musculoskeletal symptoms. This study showed that about 25% of the participants reported low back pain for more than 30 days during the last year, 30% reported neck-shoulder pain and 17% reported a combination of low back and neck-shoulder pain. Objective measures showed that 37% of workers with physically demanding jobs were standing most of the time, followed by 30.4% sitting and 14.5% performing moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. No correlation was found between objective measures and the occurrence of low back and neck-shoulder pain. However, self-reported measures offered valuable insights into potential workplace hazards, including physical demands and job control, which can inform the development of future strategies to prevent the onset of low back pain and neck-shoulder pain (15).
In another study, a retrospective study of 52,982 male workers between the ages of 16 and 64 years who had experienced prolonged exposure to occupational noise over a period of 5 years was done using hearing status and noise exposure from the registry held by the Quebec National Institute of Public Health to investigate any relationship between noise exposure levels in the workplace, degree of hearing loss, and the relative risk of accident. After accounting for age, a regression analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between hearing threshold level measurements, noise exposures, and the incidence of accidents. From this study, it was shown that the proportion of workers with mild-to-severe hearing loss is higher among the workers exposed to the higher noise level of ≥90 dBA, indicating that the likelihood of high-frequency hearing impairment rises with increasing levels of noise exposure, in line with what is anticipated in cases of noise-induced hearing loss. Additionally, from this study it was indicated that occupational noise exposure has a detrimental impact on workplace safety. It substantially elevates the likelihood of both single and multiple accidents, adding to the well-documented consequences of noise exposure on hearing (16).
Another study was conducted to examine the possible association between occupational exposure to noise, working and living in cold conditions, and the risk of mortality in myocardial infarction and stroke among workers in the Swedish construction industry who participated in health examinations between 1971 and 1993. As method, 194,501 workers answered a questionnaire regarding their working conditions and their health status. A job exposure matrix was created to categorize 21 different work groups in a cohort based on their noise exposure levels. The noise exposure data was derived from a survey of working conditions conducted by industrial hygienists in the mid-1970s. Noise categories were assigned to each working group on a scale of 1 to 5, with levels 1 to 3 representing acceptable noise exposure (45-75 dB(A), level 4 indicating exposure in the range of 76-85 dB(A), and level 5 signifying exposure above 85 dB(A). For analysis purposes, these noise categories were grouped into low (≤75 dB(A)), moderate (76-85 dB(A)), and high (>85 dB(A)) levels. The study highlights a correlation between working in environments with hazardous noise levels and residing and working in cold conditions, leading to an elevated risk of mortality in cases of myocardial infarction evidenced by increased myocardial infarction and stroke mortality with both moderate (76–85 dB) and high noise exposure (> 85 dB). There was a significant increase in myocardial infarction in the coldest region. Noise exposure and climate region interacted to increase the risk of myocardial infarction, with the highest risks observed in individuals exposed to high noise levels while living and working in cold climates. The greatest relative risk of myocardial infarction occurred in the coldest region among those with the highest noise exposure however, this interaction did not affect stroke mortality (17).
The relations between physical, psychosocial and individual characteristics and different endpoints of prevalence of musculoskeletal disorder complaints of low back, neck, shoulders and hand or wrist was investigated in dentists. Musculoskeletal disorders encompass various medical conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system, including both soft tissues (muscles, tendons, ligaments) and hard tissues (bones). These disorders can lead to issues such as pain, inflammation, and reduced mobility. Soft tissue problems may involve inflammation or tears, while hard tissue conditions include fractures, arthritis, or osteoporosis. Overall, musculoskeletal disorders emphasize the interconnectedness of both soft and hard body tissues in maintaining musculoskeletal health. A survey involving 430 dentists in Thessaloniki, Greece, with an 88% response rate, collected data on physical and psychosocial workload, need for recovery, perceived general health, and musculoskeletal complaints in the past year. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios for various risk factors related to these complaints, including chronic issues lasting at least one month, complaints leading to sickness absence, and the seeking of medical care. As result, the physical load among the dentists seems to put them at risk for occurrence of musculoskeletal disorders with the result from the questionnaire showing that from the total of 430 participants, 62% of all subjects reported at least one musculoskeletal complaint, 35% reported at least two musculoskeletal complaints, 15% reported at least three musculoskeletal complaints and 6% reported spells of all four complaints in the past 12 months. Subjects with back pain more often reported neck pain (41%) and hand/wrist pain (38%) than those without back pain (13% and 16%, respectively). Neck and hand/wrist pain was strongly associated since 50% of subjects with neck pain also experienced hand/wrist pain in the past 12 months. Dentists’ physical workload appears to increase their risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Severe and multiple complaints are linked to their general health perception, while high perceived exertion and social factors are connected to sickness absence. Chronic symptoms play a role in seeking medical care. Preventing hand/wrist complaints may benefit from ergonomic interventions. When studying the impact of work-related risk factors on musculoskeletal health, it’s important to consider psychosocial and personal characteristics (18).