Chemical, Physical, and Biological Hazards
Safety and protection from chemical, physical, and biological hazards is a key element of Total Worker Health®. Organizations can integrate protection against these hazards with health promotion activities by developing a culture of safety and health and encouraging leaders in safety. On this page, you’ll find resources and tools to share with employees, training on how to lead towards safe work, and information on protecting against safety hazards.
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Featured Resources
Online Courses in Agricultural Safety and Health are available from the Great Plains Center for Agricultural Health.
- Agricultural Safety and Health Hazards Associated with Livestock Handling (60 minutes). The goal of Hazards Associated with Livestock Handling is to cover information relating to animal handling that place individuals at risk for injury or illness.
- Illness and Injury Prevention Among Animal Caretakers (60 minutes). The goal of Illness & Injury Prevention Among Animal Caretakers is provide a basic understanding of the hazards for individuals that handle or treat livestock on a regular basis. Animal caretakers engage in demanding tasks moving livestock and equipment and may be inadvertently kicked, bitten, or exposed to biological hazards.
- Biological Risk Management (60 minutes). The goal of Biological Risk Management (BRM) is to introduce the concept of BRM, disease transmission, and how to minimize the risk of disease. At the end of this course, learners will be able to describe the principles of BRM, recognize routes of disease transmission, list methods of communicating disease risk, and apply appropriate disease prevention principles.
Other Resources
Exposures to Viruses Among Healthcare Workers is a 1-hour webinar from COEH & California Labor Lab. This presentation discusses current research findings about the exposures of healthcare workers to viruses during patient care, with a focus on viruses causing respiratory disease. Learners will be able to identify implications for infection risk and appropriate personal protective equipment for healthcare settings.
Occupations at Risk for Vector-Borne Diseases is a 1-hour webinar from COEH & California Labor Lab. The incidence of vector-borne diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes are increasing in the United States. Various occupations, such as agriculture, logging, outdoor recreational, and construction workers, are especially at risk for these diseases. This presentation describes the primary insect vectors, major diseases they spread, risk factors, and methods to prevent exposure to insect vectors.
Occupational Hygiene and One Health Approaches to Infection Prevention and Control in Animal Farming is a 58-minute webinar from the California Labor Lab and COEH. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of infectious disease transmission in animal food production, but few preventive programs exist. This presentation explores an occupational hygiene approach to infection prevention and control on farms, with an emphasis on a One Health lens that considers the health and well being of both workers and animals in a shared environment.
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Featured Resources
Respiratory Health - Toolbox Talks are presented by the Center for Work, Health, & Well-being. These talks are designed for a facilitator to hold a session with interested employees and includes key points, questions for discussion, and resources to share afterwards.
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Featured Resources
Safety is a 6-minute video from the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest. For workers, safety is an expectation and an integral piece of Total Worker Health®. In this video, employees share how a culture of safety is important in their job, their work environment, and at home. Safety experts from Midwest businesses and from the University of Iowa discuss risks and solutions to increase safety on the job.
Hazard Mapping is a 3-minute video from the Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest that discusses how employers can reduce injury in the workplace. The goal of Hazard Mapping is to gather all the knowledge about hazards from employees at all levels. The process of creating a hazard map can be a great way for both employees and managers to visually identify dangers located in the workplace and eliminate them.
5 Skills and Actions Towards Effective Safety Leadership is a resource from the Health Links® program at the Center for Health, Work & Environment focused on how leadership skills such as leading by example translates into actions that can support the safety of the workforce.
Safety - Toolbox Talks are presented by the Center for Work, Health, & Well-being. These talks are designed for a facilitator to hold a session with interested employees and includes key points, questions for discussion, and resources to share afterwards.
