Definition of Analytical Hygiene
Miscellanea / / July 04, 2021
By Javier Navarro, on Sep. 2017
In the world of work there are activities that are associated with contamination. To avoid possible contaminating effects, industrial hygiene strategies are carried out. Within industrial hygiene there is a specific sub-section, analytical hygiene.
Occupational risk specialists are responsible for the field of analytical hygiene
In this area of the prevention of occupational hazards, all kinds of investigations are carried out to analyze any possible contaminating element in an activity labor. In all analytical hygiene activities, laboratory tests are carried out to detect possible contaminating agents.
Different types of pollutants in the workplace
There are three large groups of pollutants: chemical, physical and biological. If a worker is in contact with any of them, there are certain risks to his health and his safety personal.
Some of the chemical pollutants are: smoke, gas, steam, organic compounds powder, liquid aerosols or solid aerosols. Any of these types of products can have very harmful effects on health and for this reason
reason companies must incorporate specific plans to prevent possible risks.Physical pollutants are related to work environments
In the field of hygiene and occupational health, the best known are excessive noise, vibrations, electric and magnetic fields, humid conditions or high temperatures.
Biological pollutants are all those microorganisms that potentially have the ability to alter the quality of air, water or food
Thus, a virus, a fungus or a bacterium that contaminates the water in an industrial process can cause a dramatic situation.
Regardless of the type of pollutant, analytical hygiene focuses on all those measures and controls to ensure health in the workplace. Prevention measures are oriented at three levels: action in the place that can be contaminated (for example, the use of appropriate work equipment), action on the environment associated with work (for example, adopting measures of disinfection and cleaning) and actions related to workers exposed to pollutants (for example, periodic medical check-ups).
Photos: Fotolia - anton_novik / dvoriankin
Topics in Analytical Hygiene