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).