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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]
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]
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.
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).
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."
Hazard statements form part of the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). They are intended to form a set of standardized phrases about the hazards of chemical substances and mixtures that can be translated into different languages.
The United States is not a party to the Basel Convention, a 1992 treaty which prohibits the export of hazardous waste from developed countries to developing countries. [7] [8] Research by the Guardian and Quinto Elemento Lab shows that US companies ship more than a million tons of hazardous waste to other countries each year.
A physical hazard is an agent, factor or circumstance that can cause harm with contact. They can be classified as type of occupational hazard or environmental hazard. Physical hazards include ergonomic hazards, radiation, heat and cold stress, vibration hazards, and noise hazards. [1] Engineering controls are often used to mitigate physical ...