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Many hazards are easily spotted and can be corrected right away, however some hazards create extremely
dangerous situations that could be a threat to your life or long term health. You need to develop a type of
internal radar to sense these conditions, report them and, if necessary, refuse to work until the conditions have been corrected.
"No job is worth losing your arm, your leg or your
life".
Marissa Ellis, sister of David Ellis
who died at 19 years of age, his second day on the job. |
- Where can I can get a list of hazards?
- What if I have doubts about the safety of a job?
| Where can I can get a list of hazards? |
 | You can learn more about recognizing hazards at this
link "How can I recognize hazards at work?", but
nowhere is there a list of all the dangers that you might face at your job. A good plan is to:
- learn about basic workplace hazards
- learn to think the job through before you do it.
| What if I have doubts about the safety of a job? |
| Learn to follow your instincts -- if it doesn't feel or sound right,
or if you have any doubts, give it some thought before you do the job. If the doubts are still there,
trust your instincts and report the situation.
Here are some red flags -- situations that should IMMEDIATELY alert you to unsafe situations that might result in injury.
- You're asked to operate a piece of machinery or equipment like a lift truck -- equipment you've never seen or used before.
- You've been asked to operate a machine and you notice that a guard that's normally in place to protect you from the moving parts is missing.
- You notice that parts of a machine are broken, such as the blade of a saw, or frayed electrical cords.
- You are asked to climb a ladder that is obviously broken.
- You are asked to work at a height over three meters (ten feet), like a roof, with no fall protection, such as a guardrail or a harness.
- You're asked to work with chemicals or handle human bodily fluids with no training or appropriate personal protective equipment.
- Fellow workers have received minor cuts or burns from using a piece of equipment. It hasn't been fixed and now it's your turn to use it.
- The nature of your work may expose you to the risk of violence, and you've not been trained on the procedures to follow to protect yourself.
- Another worker has refused to do the work you've been asked to do because they thought it was unsafe and the issue still hasn't been resolved.
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