Copy of `J. Gilbertson - Health and safety glossary`

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J. Gilbertson - Health and safety glossary Category: Agriculture and Industry > Health and Safety Sound Date & country: 12/11/2007, UK Words: 1069

Injunction
A remedy in common law to prevent a threatened infringement of a plaintiff`s property rights (either physical or intellectual).

Injury
See Personal Injury, Major Injury and Over Three Day Injury.

Inspection
See Safety Inspection.

Insulation1(Fire)
Relating to fire resisting properties â€` the ability of a structure to prevent the transfer of heat through the structure for a specified period of time when exposed to fire.

Insulation2 (Noise)
A barrier to the transmission of noise.

Insulation3(Electrical)
A means of preventing direct contact with an electrical conductor by the use of a non-conductive material.

Insured Cost
Those costs associated with accidents which are covered by the payment of an insurance premium eg employers liability, buildings, plant, vehicles etc.

Integrated Pollution Control
A principle of the Environmental Protection Act which demands a cross media approach to controlling emissions from regulated or prescribed processes.

Integrating Sound Level Meter
A sound level meter which can accumulate the total sound energy over a period of time and give an average result.

Integrity
Relating to fire resisting properties â€` the ability of a structure to resist the passage of flame and hot gas for a specified period of time when exposed to fire.

Intelligence
The capacity of an individual to deal with the environment in a logical way demonstrating reasoning power, comprehension, speed, accuracy and communication ability.

Interlocked Guard
A protective device which renders a machine incapable of being started or becoming dangerous, prevents the guard from being opened whilst the machine is in a dangerous state, or brings a machine to a stop if the guard is displaced for any reason. May involve mechanical, electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic components or a combination of these. See Power Interlocking and Control Locking.

International Labour Organisation
A UN specialised agency which formulates international labour standards in the form of Conventions and Recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labour rights: freedom of association, the right to organise, collective bargaining, abolition of forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of work related issues.

Involuntary Manslaughter
Where a death occurs but the accused had no intention (mens rea) of killing or seriously harming their victim.

Ion
An electrically charged atom or grouping of atoms.

Ionisation
The process by which a neutral atom or molecule acquires or loses an electric charge. The production of ions.

Ionising Radiation
A type of radiation which produces changes in atomic structure by causing an electron discharge in the atom. In the absence of the balancing electron the atom becomes positively charged and is called an ion, hence ionising radiation.

IOSH
Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, professional body which represents the professional and educational interests of safety practitioners. See Chartered Safety Practitioner.

IPC
Integrated Pollution Control.

Irradiance
The power per unit area of optical radiation. Unit: Watt per square metre, symbol: W m-2.

Irritant
A substance with the ability to cause irritation at point of contact with the body. See Primary Irritant and Secondary Irritant.

Isolation
A control measure useful for dealing with a toxic hazard in a work area where most of the other work is risk (chemical) free. The particular process which is dangerous can be segregated and special precautions can be taken in this area.

Isolation1 (Noise)
A material or technique which prevents transmission of vibrational energy to adjoining structures.

Isolation2 (Electrical)
The provision of a secure break in an electrical conductor capable of preventing the transmission of prospective fault currents.

Isotope
Nuclides with the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons.

Job Safety Analysis
A procedure which identifies the hazards associated with each step of a job and develops solutions for each hazard that will either eliminate it or control it.

JSA
Job Safety Analysis.

Judicial Precedent
A judge-made decision given weight by the seniority of the court which made it, which has a binding effect on the future interpretation of similar legal issues heard in lower courts. See Obiter Dictum and Ratio Decidendi.

Jury
A body of 12 persons selected randomly from society challenged with the task of determining the guilt or otherwise of persons charged with a crime.

Kata Thermometer
An alcohol thermometer used to measure air speed or atmospheric conditions by means of cooling effect.

Knowledge-based Behaviour
When confronted with an unfamiliar situation with no, few, or partial rules available from past experience, a worker acts on their perception of the ‘state of the world` and on some overall aim. Perceiving these ‘symbols` induces the operator to develop a strategy using knowledge, reasoning and experience as a reflection of the goal generated. The strategy itself is selected and tested through a process of trial and error. See Knowledge-based Mistakes.

Knowledge-based Mistakes
In circumstances where known rules do not apply the operator will be less certain and decision making will involve far more conscious effort. This delivers many more ways in which information processing can fail, ie shortcomings of attention, working memory, logical deduction and decision making.

Laser
Device which amplifies light and usually produces an extremely narrow intense beam of a single wavelength. Light Amplification by a Stimulated Emission of Radiation.

LD50
Stands for lethal dose 50, an index of acute toxicity established by dosing animals (usually rats) until 50% of the test population dies. Doses may be established for oral, dermal or inhalation exposures eg LE50(concentration).

Leadership
A social process in which one individual influences the behaviour of others without the threat of violence.

Learning
Relatively permanent changes in a person`s behaviour as a result of experience. See Classical Conditioning and Operant Conditioning.

Ledgers
The horizontal metal poles which connect the outer and inner standards of a scaffold structure and support the transoms.

Legionellosis
A type of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella Pneumophila. The organism is usually transmitted in contaminated water aerosols. Occupational groups at risk include water system maintenance engineers and workers in air-conditioned buildings although many documented exposures of the general public exist.

Legionnaires Disease
See Legionellosis.

Legitimate Power
The ability to influence the behaviour of people because they believe you have a right to give orders and they are under an obligation to follow them.

LEP,d
A measure of the average sound pressure level, measured in dB(A), for the time period of a standard working day (ie 8 hours).

Leq
A measure of the average sound pressure level, measured in dB(A), over any time period. Note: Leq of 8 hours is equivalent to LEP.d.

LEV
Local Exhaust Ventilation.

LFL
Lower Flammable Limit.

Licensed Waste Manager
One who is in possession of a licence under s34 of the Environmental Protection Act.

Lifting Accessories
Work equipment for attaching loads to machinery for “lifting�. This definition includes: slings, shackles, swivel or eyebolts, clamps, lifting magnets and lifting beams.

Light
Visible electromagnetic radiation which directly causes visual sensation. The conventional wavelength limits of light are 380nm to 760nm.

Light Absorption Instrument
A direct reading instrument for particulates which compares the colour intensity of deposit against a standard.

Light Guard
See Photo-electric Device.

Light Scattering Instrument
A direct reading instrument for particulates based upon the Tyndall beam principle in which the air to be sampled is passed through an intense light beam. The light is scattered by the particles and the intensity and frequency of scattering is monitored by photo-multipliers which gives an instant readout of the number of particles in a given size range which, when related to the flow gives a number concentration for that size range.

Likelihood
A qualitative description of probability or frequency.

Liquid Adsorber
Sampling head which allows contaminated air to be drawn through a suitable solvent contained in a glass or plastic ‘bubbler` or impinger. This technique is sometimes known as solvent scrubbing. See Liquid Adsorption.

Liquid Adsorption
Collection technique for airborne gas and vapour sampling which involves drawing air through a solvent medium contained in a sampling head. The gas or vapour present is adsorbed into the solvent and can then be analysed for substance identification and concentration levels.

Load
For LOLER this includes any material, people or animals that are lifted by lifting equipment.

Local Effects (Health)
The action of a chemical, biological or physical agent at the site of contact such as the skin, mucous membranes of eyes, nose, mouth, throat or respiratory or gastro intestinal tract.

Local Exhaust Ventilation
Mechanical extraction ventilation designed to intercept contaminants at source and remove them from the workplace before people are exposed to them.

Lock-off System
A device or procedure using one or more hasps and locks which achieves the physical isolation of electrical or mechanical power.

LOLER
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations

Loss
The net summation of damage and personal injury resulting from an accident.

Loss Control
A management system designed to reduce or eliminate all aspects of accidental loss which lead to a wastage of company or organisation assets. Any negative consequence of an accident event.

Loss Prevention
The application of engineering techniques in order to reduce accidents which result in personal injury and damage to property or products. (Institution of Chemical Engineers).

Low Explosive
Low explosive material whose propagation occurs by deflagration often producing large volumes of hot, smoky gas.

Low Pressure (electrical)
Pressure in a system (UK) normally not exceeding 250 volts where the electrical energy is used.

Lower Flammable Limit
The lowest concentration of fuel that will just support a self-propagating flame.

Lyme Disease
An arthritic condition associated with skin rashes, fever, and sometimes encephalitis caused by a spirochaete which is transmitted by a tick bite.

Lymphatic System
System in which Lymphocytes operate.

Lymphocyte
A cell, which forms part of the human immune system, which recognises antigens in the human body and manufactures antibodies, or deals directly with the antigen to combat the danger they present.

MAC
Russian occupational exposure limit defined as “Those concentrations of harmful substances in the air of the working area which will not cause any disease or deviation from a normal state of health of the workers or their offspring, detectable by current methods of investigation, either during the work itself or in the long term�.

Machine
An assembly of linked parts or components, at least one of which moves, with the appropriate actuators, control and power circuits, joined together for specific application, in particular for the processing, treatment moving or packaging of material.

Macrophage
A large phagocyte found in many organs and tissues which moves between cells and use the scavenger properties to collect and remove foreign bodies.

Magistrates
Ordinary men or women generally possessing no formal legal training who are selected from the population and appointed to act as peer judges of those accused of summary offences. See also Stipendiary Magistrate.

Magistrates Court
Venue for the adjudication of less serious criminal offences. As a court of trial between three and seven Magistrates try summary offences specified by particular statutes (eg s33 HASAWA). Penalties and punishments are limited by statute.

Maintenance
The activity of keeping equipment and facilities in a safe and reliable condition so that they can perform their function efficiently.

Major Accident
An occurrence such as a fire or emission or explosion resulting from uncontrolled developments in the course of an industrial activity which presents a serious risk to persons inside or outside the installation, or damage to the environment.

Major Hazard1
A general but imprecise term used to describe large scale industrial installations which have the potential for a major accident eg chemical or nuclear plants. Certain installations are specified in regulations.

Major Hazard2
A large scale industrial hazard whose realisation involves significant event, often a breach of containment.

Major Injury
A notifiable injury of a kind specified by regulation (RIDDOR) eg fracture of a major bone, amputation, loss of consciousness etc.

MAK
German occupational exposure limit defined as “The maximum permissible concentrations of chemical compounds in the air within a working area which, according to current knowledge, generally do not impair the health of employees nor cause undue annoyance�.

Man Sievert
See Collective Effective Dose.

Manometer
Device used for the accurate measurement of air pressures within a ventilation duct.

Manslaughter
Where a death has occurred but the wrongful act leading to it falls short of murder. See Voluntary Manslaughter and Involuntary Manslaughter.

Maslow Abraham
Management guru who proposed a dynamic concept of human motivation in the form of a hierarchy of needs which takes account of both personality variables and the process of social change.

Mass Number
The number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.

Mayo (Elton W)
Management guru of the 1930`s who was a proponent of the human relations school of management.

MBOCA
Methylene-bis-o-chloraniline.

Mean Duration Rate (MDR)
A statistic used to illustrate the average number of days lost per accident (of a specified type). MDR = Total Number of Days Lost Total Number of Accidents

Mean Radiant Temperature
The thermometer is housed in a black copper sphere(150mm) and allowed to come into equilibrium with the environment. It is possible to get an accurate measurement of MRT by calculation (complex!) or the use of a nomogram.

Means of Escape
Structural measures by which a safe route or routes are provided for persons to travel from any point in a building to a place of safety. See Alternative Means of Escape.

Mechanical Hazards
Machinery hazards classified by BS EN 292 including: crushing, shearing, cutting, entanglement, drawing â€`in, impact, stabbing, friction and abrasion, and high pressure fluid/ejection amongst others.

Medical Surveillance
Health surveillance under the supervision of a qualified medical practitioner. Certain requirements are specified by legislation eg CoSHH schedule 5.

Medium Pressure (electrical)
Pressure in a system (UK) normally above 250 volts, but not exceeding 650 volts, where the electrical energy is used.

Mens Rea
A defined state of mind attributable to a person in the causing of the actus reus, - the guilty mind.

Mercury ‘Sniffer`
A direct reading instrument which draws contaminated air into an absorption chamber where it is exposed to ultraviolet light at 254nm. Mercury tends to absorb UV radiation and the degree of absorption if mercury is present is directly proportional to the concentration.

Mesothelioma
A notorious form of cancer associated with exposure to asbestos especially in the form of crocidolite. It can occur at even small exposures with a latency period of up to 40 years. Mesothelioma is a prescribed disease and also reportable under RIDDOR.

Metabolic Rate
The rate of energy produced per unit area over the body.

Metabolism
A mainly beneficial process occurring in the liver, kidneys, lungs and skin which converts a toxic substance to a non-toxic one or vice versa eg: the skin converts some constituents in tar into carcinogens.

MHSW
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.

Micro-organism
A microbiological entity, cellular or non-cellular which is capable of replication or of transferring genetic material.

Micron
A unit of measurement, one thousandth of a millimetre, one millionth of a metre (0.000001m).

Mist
Liquid droplets suspended in air. Usually generated by the condensation from the gaseous to the liquid state or by dispersing a liquid through agitation or atomizing.