Environmental hazards are not necessarily specific to a particular industry. Regardless of the sector, environmental conditions can pose a risk to health and wellbeing. Both acute incidents and working conditions that can cause harm to health through prolonged exposure must be considered.
Our article on physical stress factors explains in detail which common elements must be considered in a risk assessment. Employees who exert themselves physically are increasingly exposed to the risk of harm that may only become apparent years later. The available space for movement and the layout of business premises can also increase such risks. Below, we examine environmental hazards in detail.
Table of Contents
Temperatures — From Extreme Cold to Overheating
Extreme temperatures cause reactions in the human body that can be life-threatening. In principle, this applies equally to heat and cold.
In extreme heat, the human cardiovascular system gradually begins to fail. The body's electrolyte and fluid balance is placed under excessive strain, and the respiratory system may also be adversely affected. Possible consequences include heat cramps, cardiovascular collapse and heatstroke.
Extreme cold, by contrast, causes localised or generalised frostbite. Cold also impairs circulation, which can significantly affect movement, sensitivity and dexterity within just a few minutes. In severe cases, it can even lead to loss of consciousness.
Temperature fluctuations can also have undesirable consequences and should therefore be avoided wherever possible. In cold stores, for example, where low temperatures are necessary to prevent goods from spoiling, employees must be protected from harm to their health by suitable protective clothing. Conversely, open-plan offices that become oppressively hot in summer because of the large number of computers in operation must have air conditioning. Providing free drinking water can also be one of the measures taken.
Light and Lighting
When considering workplace lighting, the primary concern is naturally visual perception. Light determines how well people can see and whether excessive strain on the eyes could cause harm.
However, adverse lighting conditions also affect physiological processes in the body. Blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature can be influenced by lighting without this being noticed. Numerous studies have also demonstrated the effect that lighting can have on the human circadian rhythm. These factors must therefore be considered equally in physical and psychological risk assessments. They also affect concentration and attention and can even determine how efficiently, or inefficiently, your employees work.
As a general rule, the importance of light intensity increases with the visual demands of a task. This applies, for example, when repairing watch movements or when a large visual area must be monitored, such as when working on a conveyor belt.
The higher the light intensity, the more positive the effects on the working environment. Statistics have shown, for example, that the frequency of errors and accidents decreases as light intensity increases.
Risk of Asphyxiation
If the concentration of oxygen in a room falls, asphyxiation is one of the potential hazards that must be considered in the risk assessment.
Canaries were once used in mines as an early warning of dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide. If gas escaped that could not be smelled or seen, the bird would fall dead from its perch before the miners noticed anything. Mining is therefore one of the industries that must consider asphyxiation as a potential environmental hazard.
Divers of all kinds, including police and rescue divers, may also face a risk of asphyxiation because of high water pressure and their limited air supply.
For sewer work, however, the risk of asphyxiation is only partly considered an environmental hazard. Various gases can also displace oxygen in this setting, particularly in sewers carrying wastewater. Employees working there must therefore be equipped with gas detectors, among other things, so that they receive an early warning if the concentration of gas in the air becomes too high and therefore dangerous.
Risk of Drowning
A risk of drowning exists whenever someone could fall into a body of water or an open tank. This includes, for example, work in sewers or sewage treatment plants and, in the broadest sense, any role performed in an aircraft, bus or other means of transport, as the vehicle could derail, crash or be involved in another accident and enter the water. All personnel working at sea are also exposed to the risk of drowning because of their environment.
People whose work regularly places them in the water, such as lifeguards and pool attendants, are also at risk of drowning. The risk assessment must record potential accidents that could occur while working in water, such as a diver's air supply running out or a pool attendant falling awkwardly just before reaching the water.
Remember: hazards must always be recorded in the risk assessment, regardless of how likely they are to occur or how frequently they may arise.
Escape Routes — Design and Number
Premises with an inadequate design or insufficient number of escape routes must be recorded as an environmental hazard. In a conventional workplace, emergency exit signs generally indicate the route to safety, but this is rarely the case outside such premises. Broadly speaking, any workplace is considered hazardous because of its environment if it cannot be evacuated within the specified time for escape routes.
Maximum escape route lengths are set at national level. In Germany, for example, the Technical Rule for Workplaces ASR A2.3 specifies:
- Up to 35 metres for rooms with no or normal fire risk, or rooms with an increased fire risk that have automatic fire-extinguishing systems.
- Up to 25 metres for rooms with an increased fire risk and no automatic extinguishing systems.
- Up to 20 metres for rooms where there is a risk from toxic substances or explosive atmospheres.
- Up to 10 metres for rooms where there is a risk from explosive substances.
Interfaces with Machinery and Computers
Machinery that is highly likely to pose a risk of injury must be equipped with an emergency stop button in any case. Such sources of danger are physical hazards and usually have only an indirect connection with electronic interfaces. The relevant interfaces here are known as user interfaces. An employee operates a computer, which in turn initiates several processes and provides immediate feedback.
Examples include the driver interface in a high-speed train or the mixing console in a recording studio. Such machinery can also pose a serious danger and is therefore generally equipped with emergency stop switches.
The risk associated with machinery can generally be defined using five different states:
- Neutral = low risk
- Normal = safe operating conditions or clearance for the operational process
- Action mandatory = the machine or interface must be operated
- Abnormal = critical condition imminent
- Emergency = the emergency stop switch must be activated
These states correspond to the colour coding for indicators and controls in IEC 60204-1 (white, green, blue, yellow, red).
