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Exposure to certain chemicals can cause acute or long-term adverse health effects. Chemical hazards are usually classified separately from biological hazards (biohazards). Chemical hazards are classified into groups that include asphyxiants, corrosives, irritants, sensitizers, carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, reactants, and flammables. [1]
Hazards have the potential to cause adverse effects only if they come into contact with populations that may be harmed. For this reason, hazard identification includes the development of a conceptual model of exposure. [8] Conceptual models communicate the pathway connecting sources of a given hazard to the potentially exposed population(s).
A hazard pictogram to indicate a hazard from a flammable substance.. A hazard is a potential source of harm.Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value.
A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other living beings. [a]
The term immediately dangerous to life or health (IDLH) is defined by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as exposure to airborne contaminants that is "likely to cause death or immediate or delayed permanent adverse health effects or prevent escape from such an environment." Examples include smoke or other ...
Biological agents, which create biological hazards, include bacteria, fungi, viruses, microorganisms, and toxins. [13] These biological agents can cause adverse health effects in workers. Influenza is an example of a biological hazard which affects a broad population of workers. [14]
Coastal hazards are physical phenomena that expose a coastal area to the risk of property damage, loss of life, and environmental degradation.Rapid-onset hazards last a few minutes to several days and encompass significant cyclones accompanied by high-speed winds, waves, and surges or tsunamis created by submarine (undersea) earthquakes and landslides.
Not only can mismanagement of hazardous wastes cause adverse direct health consequences through air pollution, mismanaged waste can also contaminate groundwater and soil. [15] In an Austrian study, people who live near industrial sites are "more often unemployed, have lower education levels, and are twice as likely to be immigrants."