Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals (1997) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
PROGRAM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT
PROGRAM DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT
Pages 11-31
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 11... ...
Research animals and the procedures and techniques that attend their use, however, can present unique problems and challenges, many of which increase the hazards of experimentation. Those problems and challenges must be considered in the management of occupational health and safety programs.
|
From page 12... ...
Language barriers and cultural differences must be considered and accommodated where there are people of different background and national origin, such as foreign students. The occupational health and safety program should also recognize and reflect an understanding of the diversity of the work environment, including current facilities and potentially hazardous activities.
|
From page 13... ...
This volume provides guidance for all institutions in incorporating appropriate components related to animal care and use into their overall occupational health and safety program. An effective occupational health and safety program is based on seven basic concepts: • Knowing the hazards.
|
From page 14... ...
Although reducing risk to employees is the primary goal of an occupational health and safety program, it should be recognized that it is impossible to eliminate risk. Training and Education Once a hazard is known, this knowledge must be communicated to animal care and use employees most directly involved and other employees (such as janitorial and maintenance workers)
|
From page 15... ...
Animal facilities are rarely autonomous organizations; coordination is required among administrators, research scientists, veterinarians, technicians, and maintenance workers. Every person's role should be clearly defined because safety programs can fail if responsibilities are diffuse and not well understood.
|
From page 16... ...
Program Managers An effective occupational health and safety program depends on the involvement and commitment of program managers at all levels. Key managers will be those who have specific expertise in health and safety issues or who will be charged with and have the authority to implement and enforce components of the program.
|
From page 17... ...
Training is a key function of an implementor's responsibility. Training should emphasize the active and preventive nature of effective safety programs.
|
From page 18... ...
This section provides examples of these interactions among the five general activities. The discussion is intended to help an institution to identify potential interactions that will make it possible to carry out an effective occupational health and safety program (Figure 2-1)
|
From page 19... ...
Most institutions have an institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC)
|
From page 20... ...
Identification of potential hazards associated with research can also result in identification of concerns related to the husbandry of animals. Impacts of research on activities related to animal care, such as bedding disposal, are often overlooked.
|
From page 21... ...
Many aspects of the health and safety program rely on active participation of workers in the research laboratories, not only in the animal facility. Environmental Health and Safety Responsibility for coordinating the occupational health and safety program often is delegated to the environmental health and safety staff.
|
From page 22... ...
Close links to the animal care and research activities are essential to an effective occupational health activity. Administration and Management Ultimately, the quality of an institutional occupational health and safety program depends on the support of management.
|
From page 23... ...
The task of designing an occupational health and safety program for employees involved in the care and use of research animals will benefit from having an "institutional champion" to orient and guide the task group through the institutional maze; it is essential for defining the organizational boundaries of the five activities described earlier and learning helpful strategies for establishing necessary interactions among them. The availability and effectiveness of all elements of a program will depend on one absolute consideration: the senior official of the institution must be genuinely and openly committed to maintaining an occupational health and safety program.
|
From page 24... ...
Primary prevention of occupationally acquired injury or illness is achieved by controlling or eliminating hazards, and the quality and effectiveness of an institution's occupational health and safety program will depend on how well resources are distributed to provide for and promote hazard-control strategies. Secondary prevention (premorbid case detection)
|
From page 25... ...
Much of the value of such meetings results from the focused nature of the presentations and their application to specific operations. Professional societies are excellent sites for developing networks of experts in health and safety programs.
|
From page 26... ...
Ranking of hazards on the basis of the characteristics of the consequence and the likelihood of the consequence enables an institution to understand the occupational health and safety risks in its animal-care and research programs and to plan appropriate risk-reduction strategies. The principal objective of an occupational health and safety program is to reduce to an acceptable level the risk associated with using materials or systems that might have inherent danger.
|
From page 27... ...
Safety Council "Accident Book," Bureau of Labor Statistics annual summary of injury and illness First-aid log Institution Number of entries Institutional trends Occupational health log Occupational health office Periodic visits Institutional trends (participation rates) , episodic visits Adverse-reaction reports Environmental health and Number of reports Institutional trends safety office 27
|
From page 28... ...
A total of 74 compensable injuries and illnesses were reported in this SIC. Of the 34 injuries that occurred among workers classified as "animal caretakers," 54% were due to cuts, punctures, and bites by animals and 30% to overexertion due to lifting (SDS 1994)
|
From page 29... ...
Institutions with established occupational health and safety programs are a good source of clarification. Information on hazards cited by OSHA is collected by OSHA and maintained in the Compliance Database, which contains information on all the hazards and company data observed by OSHA during inspections for which a citation was issued.
|
From page 30... ...
Work Plan As an occupational health and safety program is developed, periodic meetings of representatives of animal care and use, research, environmental health and safety, occupational health, and administration and management who will become involved in proper implementation are important. The meetings will promote the necessary coordination of activities.
|
From page 31... ...
An occupational health and safety program is such a multifaceted enterprise that it is unlikely that a few persons will have all the expertise required. Specialists might have to be added to the environmental health and safety staff.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.