The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in this Encyclopaedia, but the list is not exhaustive. Chemical abbreviations, for example, are not given here. Standard abbreviations for journal names are not listed. The international system of units of measurements and its abbreviations are outlined in a separate section of this chapter.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

A

AA                   Alcoholics Anonymous

AAA                 Academics and Workers Action in Denmark

AAAS              American Association for the Advancement of Science

AAO                American Academy of Otolaryngology

AARP              American Association of Retired Persons

AAS                 Atom absorption spectroscopy

ABP                 Androgen binding protein

ABRIE             General Business Investigation and Risk Inventory and Evaluation

ABS                 Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene

AC                   Alternating current

ACE                 Angiotensin converting enzyme

ACFTU            All-China Confederation of Trade Unions

ACGIH             American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists

ACHE              Acetylcholinesterase

ACOG              American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

ACS                 American Cancer Society

ACS                 American Chemical Society

ACTH              Adrenocorticotropic hormones

ACTU              Australian Council of Trade Unions

ADA                 Americans with Disabilities Act

ADH                 Anti-diuretic hormone

ADI                  Acceptable daily intake

ADR                 European Agreement Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road

AEC                 Atomic Energy Commission (US)

AEL                 Accessible emission limits

AFA                 Association of Flight Attendants

AFB                 Acid-fast bacilli

AFFF               Aqueous film-forming foam

AFL-CIO          American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations

AFNOR            Association française de normalisation

AFSCME         American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

AGI                  All-glass impingers

AGR                Advanced gas-cooled reactors

AHA                 American Hospital Association

AHCPR            Agency for Health Care Policy and Research

AI                    Alveolar-interstitial

AI                    Artificial insemination

AIA                  Asbestos International Association

AIA                  Aerospace Industries Association

AIChE              American Institute of Chemical Engineers

AIDS                Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

AISI                 American Iron and Steel Institute

ALA                 Aminolaevulinic acid

ALA-D              Aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase

ALARA            As low as reasonably achievable

ALASEHT        Latino-American Association of Occupational Safety and Hygiene

ALA-U              Delta-aminolaevulinic acid in urine

ALI                  Annual limits on intake

ALL                 Acute lymphocytic leukaemia

ALM                Acral lentiginous me

AM                  Amplitude modulation

AMD                Occupational Medical Service

AML                Acute myelocytic leukaemia

AMS                Acute mountain sickness

ANA                 Antinuclear antibodies

ANFO              Ammonium nitrate fuel oil

ANLL               Acute non-lymphocytic leukaemia

ANSI                American National Standards Institute

AOEC              Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

APA                 American Psychiatric Association

APA                 American Psychological Association

APEC              Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation

APELL             Awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level

APF                 Association des paralysés de France

APF                 Assigned protection factor

APHA              American Public Health Association

APHIS             Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

API                  American Petroleum Institute

APPR              Army package power reactor

APR                 Accident prevention regulation

ARDS              Acute respiratory distress syndrome

ARET              Accelerated Reduction/ Elimination of Toxics

AS                   Australian Standard

ASA                 American Society of Anesthetists

ASEAN            Association of Southeast Asian Nations

ASHRAE          American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers

ASL                 Angiosarcoma of the liver

ASP                 Amnesic shellfish poisoning

ASSE              American Society of Safety Engineers

ASSTAS          Association pour la santé et la sécurité du travail, secteur affaires sociales

AST                 Above-ground storage tankage

ASTM              American Society for Testing and Materials

ATA                 Alaska Trappers Association

ATBC              Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene

ATM                Automatic teller machines

ATS                 American Thoracic Society

ATSDR            Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry

ATV                 All-terrain vehicle

AUC                 Area under the curve

AUDIT             Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test

AWT                Computer’s feedback on the average time workers take processing each customer call

B

BACT              Best available control technology

BAD                 Occupational Medical Service of the Berufsgenossenschaften

BAEP              Brainstem auditory potentials

BAL                 British anti-Lewisite

BAL                 Bronchoalveolar lavage

BAT                 Biological tolerance value

BAU                 German federal safety institute

BBP                 Bloodborne pathogens

BC                   Before Christ

BCF                 Bulked continuous filament

BCG                Bacille of Calmette and Guérin

BEI                  Biological exposure index

BEIR                Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation

BG                   The German Berufsgenossenschaften

BGMG             Berufsgenossenschaften Measuring System Hazardous Substances

BGW                Berufsgenossenschaft für Gesundheitsdienst und Wohlfahrtspflege

BIA                  Berufsgenossenschaften Association and their Institute for Occupational Safety

BL                   Biosafety Level

BLDSC            British Library Document Supply Centre

BLEVE            Boiling liquid expanding vapour explosion

BLS                 Bureau of Labor Statistics (US)

BM                  Behaviour modification

BMD                Benchmark dose

BMI                 Body mass index

BMP                Best Management Practice

BMRC              British Medical Research Council

BNA                 Bureau of National Affairs (US)

BOD                Biochemical oxygen demand

BOF                 Basic oxygen furnace

BP                   British Petroleum

BPPV              Benign positional paroxysmal vertigo

BPR                 Business process reengineering

BRF                 Basic risk factors

BRI                  Building-related illness

BRS                 Bortner Rating Scale

BS                   British Standard

BSE                 Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

BSI                  British Standards Institute

BTPS              Body temperature and ambient pressure

BUPA              British United Provident Association

BWR                Boiling water reactor

C

CAD                 Computer-aided design

CAL                 Chronic airflow limitation

CAM                Continuous air monitors

CAM                Chorioallantoic membrane

CAM                Computer-aided manufacturing

CAMAC           Computer Assisted Measurement and Control Association

CAMP              Cyclical adenosinm onophosphate

CAT                 Computerized axial tomography

CATI                Computer-aided telephone interview

CBA                 Cost benefit analysis

CBC                 Complete blood count

CBV                 Central blood volume

CC                   Closing capacity

CCHF               Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever

CCITT             Comité consultatif international des organisations téléphoniques et télégraphiques

CCOHS            Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

CCPS              Center for Chemical Process Safety

CD                   Committee draft

CD-ROM          Compact Disc- Read Only Memory

CDC                 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)

CDT                 Cumulative trauma disorders

CE                   European Community

CEA                 Cost effectiveness analysis

CEC                 Commission of European Communities

CEDAW           United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in All Its Forms

CEFIC              European Council of Chemical Manufacturers’ Federations

CEI                  Cumulative exposure index

CEIC                Canada Employment and Immigration Commission

CEN                 European Committee for Standardization

CENELEC        Comité européen de normalisation électrotechnique

CENTC            European Community Standard

CEO                Chief executive officer

CEPA              Canadian Environmental Protection Act

CERN              European Organization for Nuclear Research

CET                 Corrected Effective Temperature

CETG              United Nations Committee of Experts on Transport of Dangerous Goods

CF                   Complement fixation

CFR                 Case-fatality rate

CFRT               Converted floating roof tank

CFST               Federal Commission of Coordination

CFU                 Colony-forming units

CHD                 Coronary heart disease

CI                    Confidence interval

CIBC                International Council of Building Research

CIBSE             Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers

CIE                  Commission internationale de l’éclairage

CIM                 Computer-integrated manufacturing

CIMAS             International Conference of Sickness Insurance Funds and Mutual Benefit Societies

CIOMS            Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences

CIP                  Cleaning-in-place

CIRA                International Committee for the Reglementation of Lifts

CIS                  International Occupational Safety and Health Information Centre

CISMID            Centro Peruano Japonés de Investigaciones Sísmicas y Mitigación de Desastres

CIVD                Cold-induced vasodilatation

CJD                 Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

CLL                 Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

CMA                Cost minimization analysis

CMA                Chemical Manufacturers Association

CMEA              Council for Mutual Economic Assistance

CML                Chronic myelocytic leukaemia

CMS                Chronic mountain sickness

CNA                 Caisse nationale suisse d’assurance en cas d’accidents

CNAM              Conservatoire national des arts et métiers

CNC                 Computer numeric control

CNC                 Computer-assisted numerical control system

CNC                 Computer numerical controlled

CNG                Compressed natural gas

CNS                 Central nervous system

CNSLD            Chronic non-specific lung disease

COA                Canada-Ontario Agreement

COD                Chemical oxygen demand

COHSE            Confederation of Health Service Employees

COLREG         Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea

COPD              Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COPRO           Coproporphyrin

COPRO-U        Coproporphyrin in urine

CORD              Center for Occupational Research and Development

COSH              Committees on Occupational Safety and Health

COTOREP       Commission technique d’orientation et de réinsertion professionnelle

CPAF               Cost plus award fee and production

CPC                 Chemical-protective clothing

CPDB              Carcinogen potency database

CPFF               Cost plus fixed fee

CPIAS             Permanent International Committee on Social Insurance

CPR                 Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

CPS                 Cancer Prevention Study

CPSC              Consumer Product Safety Commission

CPTED            Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design

CPU                 Central processing unit

CQI                  Continuous quality improvement

CRT                 Cathode ray tub

CRU                 Customer replaceable units

CSCL               Chemical Substances Control Law

CSD                 Commission on Sustainable Development

CSF                 Cerebrospinal fluid

CSHES            Centres for State Hygienic and Epidemiological Supervision

CSO                Canadian Standards Organization

CT                   Computed tomography

CTD                 Cumulative trauma disorders

CTM                Mexican Confederation of Workers

CTS                 Carpal tunnel syndrome

CUA                 Cost utility analysis

CV                   Constant volume

CVD                 Cardiovascular diseases

CVD                 Chemical vapour deposition

CVI                  Chemical vapour infiltration

CWP                Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis

D

DALY               Disability adjusted life year

DAST              Drug Abuse Screening Test

DBMS              Database management system

DBP                 Diastolic blood pressure

DC                   Direct current

DF                   Defence

DFG                 Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

DG                   Directorate General

DHC                 Double-hand controls

DI                    De-ionized

DIC                  Disseminated intra-vascular coagulation

DIESAT           Network of Science Shops in the Netherlands

DIN                  German Institute for Normalization

DIP                  Dual-in-line package

DIPF                Diffuse and progressive interstitial fibrosis

DIS                  Draft International Standard

DISTAT           United Nations Disability Statistics Compendium

DKFZ               German Cancer Research Center

DLCO              Decreased carbon monoxide diffusing capacity

DLE                 Duration-limited exposures

DLPW              Department of Labour Protection and Welfare

DNA                 Deoxyribonucleic acid

DOE                Department of Energy (US)

DOK-MEGA     Documentation for Measurement Data on Hazardous Substances in the Workplace (German)

DOL                 Department of Labor (US)

DOT                Directly observed therapy

DOV                Days from ovulation

DRG                Diagnosis-related grouping

DS                   Data sheet

DSM                Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (APA)

DSP                 Diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning

E

E/E/PE            Electro-mechanical, electronic and programmable electronic

EA                   Environmental assessment

EAA                 Extrinsic allergic alveolitis

EAEC              European Atomic Energy Community

EAF                 Electric arc furnace

EAP                 Employee assistance programme

EC                   Executive Committee

EC₅₀                Effective concentration for 50%

ECA                 Epidemiological Catchment Area

ECCS              Emergency core cooling system

ECD                 European Commission Directive

ECD                 Electron capture detector

ECETOC         European Chemical Industry Ecology-Toxicology Research Centre

ECG                Electrocardiogram

ECLAC            Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

ECO                Pan-American Centre for Human Ecology and Health

ECOSOC         Economic and Social Council

ECSC              European Coal and Steel Community Treaty

ECTU              European Confederation of Trade Unions

ECU                 European Social Charter

ECVAM           European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods

EDXA              Energy dispersive x-ray analysis

EEC                 European Economic Commission

EEC                 European Economic Community

EEC                 European Economic Council

EEG                Electroencephalogram

EEO                Equal employment opportunity

EEOC              Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (US)

EER                 Equilibrium equivalent of radon

EFQM              European Foundation for Quality Management

EFRT               External floating roof tanks

EFTA               European Free Trade Association

EGF                 Epidermal growth factor

EHC                 Environmental Health Criteria

EHS                 Environmental health and safety

EIA                  Environmental impact assessment

EIS                  Environmental impact statement

EKG                (German) Electrocardiogram

EL                   Exposure limits

ELF                 Extremely low frequency

ELISA              Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

EM                  Electromagnetic

EMC                Electromagnetic compatibility

EMF                Electromagnetic field

EMG                Electromyography

EMI                 Electromagnetic interference

EMS                Environmental management system

EMT                Emergency medical technicians

EN                   European Norms (Standard)

ENG                Electroneurography

EOG                Electro-oculographic

EP                   Evoked potentials

EPA                 Environmental Protection Agency (US)

EPM                Electronic performance monitoring

EPRI                Electric Power Research Institute

ER                   Endoplasmic reticulum

ERC                 Educational Resource Program

EREMP           Emergency Radiological Environmental Monitoring Programme

ERG                Eastern Research Group

ERIC                Educational Resources Information Center

ES                   Emergency stop

ESA-IRS          European Space Agency’s Information Retrieval System

ESCAP            Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific

ESD                 Emergency shut-down valves

ET                   Environmental technology

ET                   Effective temperature

ETS                 Environmental tobacco smoke

ETSI                European Telecommunication Standards Institute

EU                   European Union

EUC                 Equipment under control

F

FAO                 Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations

FBR                 Fast breeder reactors

FCAW              Flux core arc welding

FCC                 Fluid catalytic cracking

FCI                  Freezing cold injuries

FDIS                Final Draft International Standard

FDP                 Fibrin degradation products

FEMA              Federal Emergency Management Agency (US)

FEP                 Free erythrocyte protoporphyrin

FEV₁               Forced expiratory volume in 1 second

FFP                 Firm fixed price

FFPAF             Firm fixed price award fee

FFR                 Fume formation rate

FGR                 Fume generation rate

FID                  Flame ionization detector

FIET                International Federation of Commercial, Clerical and Technical Employees

FIFRA              Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (US)

FINNIDA          Finnish International Development Agency

FM                   Frequency modulation

FMEA              Failure mode and effect analysis

FO                   Objective fit

FOPS              Falling-object protective structures

FPA                 Fire Protection Association

FPHS               Farmers’ Preventive Health Service

FRC                 Functional residual capacity

FREM              Fire risk evaluation method

FRG                 Federal Republic of Germany

FRPP               Flame-resistant polypropylene

FRS                 Call restraint system

FS                   Subjective fit

FSH                 Follicle stimulating hormone

FTAS               Framingham Type A Scale

FTP                 File transfer protocols

FVC                 Forced vital capacity

G

GAG                Glycosaminoglycan

GATT              General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

GDP                Gross domestic product

GDR                German Democratic Republic

GEENET         Global Environmental Epidemiology Network

GEMS             Generic error modelling system

GEMS/Food    Joint UNEP/FAO/WHO Food Contamination Monitoring Programme

GFI                  Ground fault interrupter

GFT                 General failure types

GHG                Greenhouse gases

GIFAP             International Group of National Associations of Agrochemical Manufacturers

GISBAU           Gefahrstoff-Informationssystem der Berufsgenossenschaften der Bauwirtschaft

GIT                  Gastrointestinal tract

GLP                 Good laboratory practice

GLR                 Gas cooled reactors

GLSP              Good large-scale practice

GLWQA           Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

G-M                 Geiger-Mueller

GC                   Gas chromatography

GMAW             Gas metal arc welding

GMO               Genetically manipulated organism

GMP                Good manufacturing practice

GNP                Gross national product

GOST              State standards on occupational health and safety in the Russian Federation

GRP                Glass-reinforced plastics

GTAW             Gas tungsten arc welding

H

HAP                 Hazardous air pollutants

HASS              Home Accident Surveillance System

HAV                 Hand-arm vibration

HAV                 Hepatitis A virus

HAVS              Hand-arm vibration syndrome

HAZMAT         Hazardous materials

HAZOP            Hazard and operability studies

HBIG               Hepatitis B immune globulin

HBsAg             Hepatitis B surface antigen

HBV                 Hepatitis B virus

HCC                 Hepatocellular carcinoma

HCG                Human chorionic gonadotrophins

HCIM               Human and computer-integrated manufacturing

HCL                 Health care leader

HCP                 Hearing conservation programmes

HCS                 Hazard Communication Standard

HCT                 Health care trainers

HCV                 Hepatitis C virus

HCW                Health care worker

HD                   Hodgkin’s disease

HDL                 High density lipoproteins

HDV                 Hepatitis D virus

HEG                Homogeneous exposure groups

HEPA              High efficiency particulate air filters

HEPA              High-efficiency particulate attenuator

HEPS              Health and Epidemic Prevention Station

HFRS               Haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome

HG                   Highest grade

HHS                 Hypothenar hammer syndrome

HID                  High-intensity discharge

HIP                  Hazard identification process

HIP                  Hot isostatic pressing

HiPox              High-pressure oxidation

HIV                  Human-immunodeficiency virus

HMO                Health maintenance organization

HMTRI             Hazardous Materials Training and Research Institute

HP                   Hypersensitivity pneumonitis

HPD                 Hearing protection devices

HPLC               High-performance liquid chromatography

HPP                 Health promotion and prevention

HPP                 Health protection and promotion

HPS                 Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome

HR                   Heart rate

HR                   Highly recommended

HRA                 Health risk appraisal

HRCT              High resolution computer tomography

HRDI                Human Resources Development Institute

HRGC              High-resolution capillary columns

HRM                Human resources management

HRT                 Hormone replacement therapy

HSDIP             Hygienic standards for design of industrial premises

HSE                 Health and Safety Executive (UK)

HSEES            Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance

HSI                  Heat Stress Index

HV                   High voltage

HVAC              Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning

HVBG              Central Federation of the Berufsgenossenschaften

HVL                 Half-value layer

HVLP               High volume, low pressure

HVR                 Hypoxic ventilatory response

HVT                 Half-value thickness

HWE                Healthy worker effect

HY                   High yield

I

IAAMRH          International Association on Agricultural Medicine and Rural Health

IACRS             Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety

IAEA                International Atomic Energy Association

IALI                 International Association of Labour Inspection

IAM                 International Association of Machinists

IAMAW            International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

IAOP               International Association of Outplacement Professionals

IAQ                  Indoor air quality

IARC                International Agency for Research on Cancer

IAS                  Institute for Occupational and Social Medicine

IASC                Inter-American Safety Council

IATA                International Air Transport Association

IBC                  Institutional Biosafety Committee

IBC                  Individual bulk containers

IBE                  International Bureau for Epilepsy

IBM                 International Business Machines

IBS                  Irritable bowel syndrome

ICAO               International Civil Aviation Organization

ICC                  International Chambers of Commerce

ICC                  Intraclass correlation coefficient

ICCA                International Council of Chemical Associations

ICCVAM          Interagency Coordinating Committee for the Validation of Alternative Methods

ICD                  International Classification of Disease

ICE                  Interleukin converting enzyme

ICEF                International Federation of Chemical, Energy and General Workers’ Union

ICEM               International Confederation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers’ Union

ICESCR           International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ICFTU              International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

ICI                   Industrial, commercial and institutional

ICIDH               International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps

ICIE                 International Centre for Industry and the Environment

ICME               International Council on Metals and the Environment

ICN                  International Council of Nurses

ICNIRP            International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection

ICOH               International Commission on Occupational Health

ICRP                International Commission on Radiological Protection

ICSU                International Council of Scientific Union

ICTU                Irish Congress of Trade Unions

ICWU               International Chemical Workers Union

I-E                   Internal-external

IC                    Integrated circuit

ID                    Inside diameter

IDB                  Inter-American Development Bank

IDC                  Industrially developing country

IDLH                Immediately dangerous to life and health

IDNDR             United Nations International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction

IDPIS               Integrated Drug and Poison Information Service (Thailand)

IDV                  Indinavir

IEA                  International Ergonomics Association

IEC                  International Electrotechnical Commission

IEEE                Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers

IES                  Illuminating Engineering Society

IFB                  Invitation for bid

IFBWW            International Federation of Building and Wood Workers

IFIESR             International Foundation for Industrial Ergonomics and Safety Research

IFRCRCS         International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

IFSG                International Fiber Safety Group

IGO                 Intergovernmental organizations

IHD                  Ischaemic heart disease

IHEA                International Hunter Education Association

IILS                 International Institute for Labour Studies

IISI                  International Iron and Steel Institute

IJC                   International Joint Commission

IJOEH              International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

IL2                   Interleukin-2

ILC                  International Labour Conference

ILCOS             International Lamp Coding System

ILGWU             International Ladies Garment Workers Union

ILO                  International Labour Organization

ILO                  International Labour Office

IMDG               International Maritime Dangerous Goods

IMIS                Integrated Management Information System

IMO                 International Maritime Organization

IMV                 Index of median values

INES                International nuclear events scale

INH                  Isoniazid

INIRC/IRPA     International Committee for Non-Ionizing Radiation of the International Radiation Protection Association

IOCC               Inter-Organization Coordinating Committee

IOCU               International Organization of Consumers Unions

IOE                  International Employers Organization

IOHA               International Occupational Hygiene Association

IOM                 Institute of Occupational Medicine

IOM/CAPM      Institute of Occupational Medicine, Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine

IOMC               Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals

IPAI                 International Primary Aluminum Institute

IPCC                Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

IPCS                International Programme on Chemical Safety

IPEC                International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour

IPEET             Inter-American Partnership for Environmental Education and Training

IPM                 Integrated pest management

IPM                 Inhalable particulate mass

IPM                 Inspirable particulate mass

IQ                    Intelligence quotient

IR                    Ionizing radiation

IR                    Infrared radiation

IRB                  Institutional Review Board

IREQ               Calculated required insulation value

IRPA                International Radiation Protection Association

IRPTC             International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals

IRR                  Infrared radiation

IRSST             Institute for Occupational Health and Safety Research (Quebec, Canada)

IS                    International Standard

ISA                  International Standards Association

ISA                  Instrument Society of America

ISBN                International Standard Book Number

ISCO               International Standard Classification of Occupations

ISIC                 International Standard Industrial Classification

ISO                  International Organization for Standardization

ISRS                International Safety Rating System

ISSA                International Social Security Association

ISSA                International Safety and Security Association

ITQ                  Individual transferable quota

ITS                  Index of thermal stress

ITV                  Interactive television

IUCN                International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources-World Conservation Union

IUD                  Intrauterine contraceptive device

IUPAC             International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

IVP                  Intravenous pyelogram

IWC                 International Whaling Commission

J

JAS                 Jenkins Activity Survey

JECFA             Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives

JISHA              Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association

JIT                   Just-in-time production

JMA                 Japan Medical Association

JMPR              Joint FAO/WHO Meeting on Pesticide Residues

JPCG               Joint Presidents Coordinating Group

JPG                 Joint Presidents Group

JSOH               Japan Society for Occupational Health

K

KSA                 Knowledge, skills and abilities

L

LADAPT          Ligue pour l’adaptation des diminués physiques au travail

LAMP              Lakewide management plan

LAN                 Local area network

LBP                 Low-back pain

LBW                Low birth weight

LCA                 Life-cycle assessments

LCD                 Liquid crystal display

LCI                  Life-cycle inventory

LCM                Lymphocytic choriomeningitis

LD                   Linz-Donowitz

LD₅₀               Lethal dose –50%

LDH                 Lactate dehydrogenase

LDL                 Low density lipoproteins

LEC                 Low-pressure liquid encapsulated Czochralski

LED                 Light-emitting diodes

LEL                 Lower explosive limits

LET                 Linear energy transfer

LEV                 Local exhaust ventilation

LFL                  Lower flammable limits

LH                   Luteinizing hormone

LHD                 Load-haul-dump

LI                     Lifting index

LISREL            Weight-least squares statistical analysis procedure

LIUNA              Laborers International Union of North America

LMC                Landell Mills Commodities

LMFBR            Liquid metal fast breeder reactors

LMM                Lentigo malignant melanomas

LNG                 Liquefied natural gas

LOAEL            Lowest observed adverse effect level

LOC                 Locus of control

LOEL               Lowest observable effect level

LOSC              Montego Bay Convention on the Law of the Sea

LP                   Liquid petroleum

LPE                 Liquid-phase epitaxy

LPG                 Liquefied petroleum gas

LPN                 Licensed practical nurse

LSF                 Low smoke and fire

LSF                 Low-solids flux

LTA                 Less than adequate

LTT                 Lymphocyte transformation test

LVD                 Low Voltage Directive

LWGR              Light water graphite reactors

M

MAC                Maximum allowable concentrations

MAIM              Merseyside Accident Information Model

MAK                Maximum workplace concentration

MALT              Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue

MAP                Membership Assistance Programmes

MARPOL         London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter

MAST              Michigan Alcohol Screening Test

MAT                Mobile access towers

MBA                Master of Business Administration

MBE                Molecular-beam epitaxy

MCM               Million cubic metres

MCQ                Multiple-choice questions

MCS                Multiple chemical sensitivities

MCV                Mean corpuscular volume

MD                  Machinery Directive

MDF                Medium-density fibreboard

MDT                Multidisciplinary teams

MED                Minimal erythemal dose

MEQ                Modified essay questions

MERCOSUR   Southern Market —Mercado Común del Sur

MeV                Million electron volts

MFF                 Metal fume fever

MG                  Mean grade

MGP                Manufactured gas plant

MHC                Mental health counsellors

MHW               Ministry of Health and Welfare

MI                    Mineral insulated

MIE                 Minimal ignition energy

MIG                 Metal inert gas

MIS                 Management information system

MITI                Ministry of International Trade and Industry

ML                   Maximum levels

MLSS              Mixed liquor suspended solids

MM                  Multiple myeloma

MM                  Maintenance management

MMC               Metal-matrix composites

MMF                Man-made mineral fibres

MMH               Manual materials handling

MMPI              Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Index

MMR               Measles-mumps-rubella

MMVF             Man-made vitreous fibres

MN                  Micronuclei

MNC                Multinational corporations

MOA                Ministry of Agriculture

MOCVD           Metallorganic chemical-vapour deposition

MOIA               Ministry of Industrial Administration

MOL                Ministry of Labour

MOPH             Ministry of Public Health

MOR                Mortality odds ratio

MORT             Management Oversight and Risk Tree

MPD                Minimum premarketing set of data

MPPD              Maximum Probable Property Damage

MPS                Mononuclear phagocyte system

MR                  Magnetic resonance

MRC                Medical Research Council

MRC                Metallic replacement cartridges

MRF                Material recycling facilities

MRI                 Magnetic resonance imaging

MRL                Maximum residue levels

MS                  Mainstream smoke

MSD                Motion Sickness Dose Value

MSDS              Material safety data sheet

MSF                Manufacturing-Science-Finance

MSHA              Mine Safety and Health Administration

MSI                 Musculoskeletal injuries

MSW               Municipal solid waste

MTBF              Mean time between failures

MTBM             Mean time between maintenance

MTD                Maximum tolerated dose

MTF                Modulation transfer function

MUB                Molasses urea block

MVC                Maximal voluntary capacity

MVK                Moolgavkar-Venzon-Knudson

MVLC              Maximal voluntary lifting capacity

MVOC             Microbial volatile organic compounds

MWe                Megawatts of electric power

MWL                Mental workload

MWR               Megawatts of refrigeration

MYR                Million ringgit

N

NA                   Negative affectivity

NADH              Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

NAEP              National Asthma Education Program

NAFTA            North American Free Trade Agreement

NAS                 National Academy of Science (US)

NASA              National Aeronautics and Space Administration (US)

NASA-TLX       NASA Task Load Index

NATO              North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBC                 Nuclear, biological, chemical

NBR                 Non-specific bronchial responsiveness

NC                   Nutrition counsellors

NC                   Numerically controlled

NC                   Numerical control

NCHS              National Center for Health Statistics (US)

NCI                  National Cancer Institute (US)

NCODD            National Committee on Occupational Disease Diagnosis

NCODPT         National Centre for Occupational Disease Prevention and Treatment

NCOHR            National Centre of Occupational Health Reporting

NCRP              National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements

NCTB              Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery

NCV                 Nerve conduction velocity

NDIR                Non-dispersive infrared detectors

NEETC            National Environmental Education and Training Center, Inc.

NEG                Nordic Expert Group

NEPA              National Environmental Policy Act

NES                 Neurobehavioral Evaluation System

NESC              National Electrical Safety Code

NESHAP          Aerospace National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants

NFCI                Non-freezing cold injuries

NFPA               National Fire Protection Association (US)

NGO                Non-governmental organization

NHANES          National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

NHIS                National Health Interview Survey

NHL                 Non-Hodgkins lymphoma

NHS                 National Health Service

NHZ                 Nominal hazard zone

NIC                  Newly industrialized countries

NICE                National Institute for the Improvement of Working Conditions and Environment

NIEHS             National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences

NIH                  National Institutes of Health (US)

NIHG               National Institutes of Health Guidelines (US)

NIHL                Noise-induced hearing loss

NIMBY             Not in my back yard

NIMH               National Institute for Mental Health

NIOSH             National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (US)

NiPERA           Nickel Producers Evironmental Research Association

NIPTS             Noise-induced permanent threshold shift

NIR                  Non-ionizing radiation

NK                   Natural killer [cell]

NM                  Nodular melanomas

NMR                Nuclear magnetic resonance

NMSC              Non-melanocytic skin cancers

NMWCC           National Maximum Workplace Concentration Committee

NOAEL            No observed adverse effect level

NOEL              No observable effect level

NOES              National Occupational Exposure Surveys

NP                   Nasopharyngeal

NPD                 Nitrogen and phosphorus detector

NPP                 Nuclear power plant

NPRI                National Pollutant Release Inventory

NR                   Not recommended

NR                   Noise reduction

NRC                 National Research Council (US)

NRL                 Natural rubber latex

NRPB              National Radiological Protection Board

NRR                 Noise Reduction Rating

NSAID             Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

NSC                 National Safety Council (US)

NSCLC            Non-small cell lung cancer

NSD                 National Safety Day

NSF                 National Science Foundation

NTCHS            National Technical Committee of Hygienic Standards

NTIS                National Technical Information Service (US)

NTOF              National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities

NUD                 Non-ulcer dyspepsia

NVOC              Non-volatile organic compound

NYC/TLC         New York City/Taxi and Limousine Commission

O

OA                   Occupational asthma

OAAAS            Occupational asthma associated with aluminium smelting

OAP                Occupationally acquired pneumonia

OARU              Occupational Accident Research Unit

OAS                Organization of American States

OATUU            Organization of African Trade Union Unity

OAU                Organization of African Unity

OBM                Organization behaviour management

OCD                Occupational cervicobrachial disorder

OCP                Organochlorine pesticides

OCR                Optical character reader

OD                   Optical densities

ODC                Occupational Disease Certification

ODIN               Organizational Service for On-going Examinations

ODM                Omni Diurnal Model

ODTS              Organic dust toxic syndrome

OECD              Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OECD              Organization for Economic and Cultural Development

OEH                Occupational and environmental health

OEL                 Occupational exposure limits

OES                Occupational Exposure Standards

OHAS              Open hybrid automated system

OHC                Occupational health counsellors

OHC                Occupational health centres

OHI                  Occupational health institutions

OHO                Occupational health organization

OHPP              Occupational health promotion physicians

OILPOL           Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil

OMB                Office of Management and Budget

OMNI               Occupational Medicine and Nursing Information

OMVPE           Metallorganic chemical-vapour deposition

ONAC              Office des anciens combattants

OP                   Occupational health physician

OPA                Occupational disease prevention

OR                   Odds ratio

ORSE              Optimal room surveillance equipment

OSHA              Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSTP              Office of Science and Technology Policy

OTA                Office of Technology Assessment

OTC                Over-the-counter

P

P&G                Proctor & Gamble

P&ID                Process and implementation diagrams

P/I                   Piping and instrumentation

PAW                Plasma-arc welding

P-E                  Person-environment

PA                   Positive affectivity

PAH                 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon

PAHO              Pan-American Health Organization

PAPR              Powered air-purifying respirator

PAQ                Position analysis questionnaire

PAR                 Population attributable risk

PAR                 Parabolic aluminized reflector

PAS                 Pellenberg Audit System

PB                   Barometric pressure

PBPK              Physiologically based pharmacokinetics

PBX                 Private branch exchange

PC                   Personal computer

PC                   Programmable controller

PCB                 Polychlorinated biphenyls

PCB                 Printed circuit board

PCHE              Plasma cholinesterase

PCI                  Pulverized coal injection

PCMR              Proportionate cancer mortality ratio

PCR                 Polymerase chain reaction

PEF                 Peak expiratory flow

PEL                 Permissible exposure limits

PEP                 Post-exposure prophylaxis

PES                 Programmable Electronic Systems

PET                 Positron-emission tomography

PETE              Partnership for Environmental Technology Education

PFAS               Personal fall arrest system

PFD                 Personal flotation device

PFU                 Plaque-forming units

PHC                 Municipal health centres in Finland

PHCW              Primary health care workers

PHEL               Physiological heat exposure limit

PHS                 Public Health Service (US)

PHWR              Pressurized heavy water reactors

PID                  Photo-ionization detector

PIRS                Passive infrared sensor

PLC                 Programmable logic controller

PLS                 Pregnant leach solution

PM                  Poor metabolizer

PMF                Progressive massive fibrosis

PMN                Premanufacture notification

PMR                Proportional mortality ratio

PMS                Premenstrual syndrome

PMV                Predicted Mean Vote

PNOC              Particulate not otherwise classified

PNS                 Peripheral nervous system

POAH              Pre-optic/anterior hypothalamus

POC                Performance operating characteristic

POM                Particulate organic matter

POMS             Profile of Mood States

POP                Persistent organic pollutants

POTW             Publicly owned treatment works

PPD                 Purified protein derivative

PPE                 Personal protective equipment

PPO                Preferred provider organization

PRA                 Pre-Retirement Association

PRD                 Product requirements document

PRN                 Planning of Required Nursing

PROBAS         Danish Product Register Data Base

PRV                 Pressure relief valves

PSA                 Prostate specific antigen

PSC                 Probabilistic safety criteria

PSL                 Priority Substances List

PSP                 Paralytic shellfish poisoning

PSS                 Particle size selective

PSS                 Progressive systemic scleroderma

PTO                Power-take-off

PTS                 Permanent threshold shift

PTSD              Post-traumatic stress disorder

PUF                 Polyurethane foams

PV                   Pressure-vacuum

PVD                 Physical vapour deposition

PWB                Printed wiring board

PWI                 Projects with Industry

PWR                Pressurized water reactor

Q

QALY              Quality adjusted life year

QFD                 Quality function deployment

QR                   Quick response

QRA                Quantified risk assessment

QWL                Quality of Working Life

R

R&D                 Research and development

RAC                 Recombinant Advisory Committee

RACB              Reproductive assessment by continuous breeding

RADS              Reactive airway dysfunction syndrome

RAMS              Russian Academy of Medical Scientists

RAP                 Remedial action plan

RAS                 Relative aerobic strain

RBC                 Red blood corpuscles

RBE                 Relative biological effectiveness

RBM                Raise boring machines

RBMK              Pressure tube large power boiling water reactors

RBMK              Power pressure-tube reactor

RCC                 Renal cell carcinoma

RCT                 Rational choice theory

RCW                Cold weather ration

RDF                 Refuse derived fuel

rDNA                Recombinant DNA

REL                 Recommended exposure limits

REM                Rapid eye movement

RES                 Reference Energy System

RES                 Reticuloendothelial system

RFP                 Request for proposal

R-R                  Response-response

RA                   Rosin active

RF                   Rheumatoid factors

RF                   Radiofrequency

RfD                  Reference dose

RFO                 Reduced-flow orifices

RH                   Relative humidity

RHR                 Rate of heat release

RHT                 Risk homeostasis theory

RID                  International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Rail

RIE                  Reactive ion etching

RIF                  Reduction in force

RMA                Rosin mildly active

RNA                 Ribonucleic acid

RNUR              Renault Organization

ROM                Run-of-mine

ROPS              Rollover protective structures

RPE                 Rating of perceived exertion

RPM                Respirable particulate mass

RR                   Relative risk

RSI                  Repetitive strain injury

RT                   Respiratory tract

RTB                 Retinol binding protein

RTECS            Registry of Toxic Effects of Chemical Substances

RTUM              Rehabilitation Technology Usability Model

RV                   Residual volume

S

SAB                 Spontaneous abortion

SAE                 Society of Automotive Engineers

SAG                Soviet Wismut Company

SAR                 Specific absorption rate

SAR                 Structure-activity relationships

SARA              Superfund Act Reauthorization Amendment (US)

SAT                 Soil-aquifer treatment

SAW                Submerged arc welding

SBN                 Single breath nitrogen

SBP                 Systolic blood pressure

SBR                 Styrene-butadiene rubber

SBS                 Sick building syndrome

SEER              Surveillance, epidemiology and end results

S-R                  Stimulus-response

S-S                  Stimulus-stimulus

SC                   Subcommittee

SCAT              Special casualty access teams

SCBA              Self-contained breathing apparatus

SCE                 Sister chromatid exchange

SCLC               Large cell carcinoma and small cell carcinoma

SCUBA            Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

SD                   Standard deviation

SDAG              Soviet-German Wismut Company

SDI                  Selective dissemination of information

SDQ                Safety Diagnosis Questionnaire

SDWA              Safe Drinking Water Act

SE                   Self-esteem

SEAT              Seat effective amplitude transmissibility

SED                 System ergonomic design

SEIU                Service Employees International Union

SELF               Ergonomics Society of French-Speaking Countries

SEMI               Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International

SEN/slide        Single-edge-notched/slide

SET                 Standard effective temperature

SEU                 Subjective expected utility

SEZ                 Special economic zones

SGA                Small for gestational age

SI                    Système international (International system of units of measurements)

SI                    Structured interview

SIA                  Semiconductor Industry Association

SIC                  Standard Industrial Classification

SIDS                Sudden infant death syndrome

SIL                  Safety Integrity Level

SIL                  Speech interference levels

SkBF                Skin blood flow

SLE                 Systemic lupus erythematosus

SLM                Sound level meter

SMAW             Shielded metal arc welding

SMC                Surface mount components

SME                Small- and medium-sized enterprises

SMORT           Safety Management and Organization Review Technique

SMP                Suspended particulate matter

SMR                Standardized Mortality Ratio

SMT                Surface mounting technology

SNAP              Sensory action potential

SNOMED         Systematic Nomenclature of Medicine

SNR                 Single Number Rating

SOC                Sense of coherence

SOGS              South Oaks Gambling Screen

SOLAS            International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea

SOP                Strategic Options Process

SPECT            Single photon emission computed tomography

SPES              Swedish Performance Evaluation System

SPF                 Sun protection factor

SPL                 Sound pressure level

SPM                Suspended particulate matter

SPRIA             Society for Participatory Research in Asia

SRR                 Standardized rate ratio

SS                   Sidestream smoke

SS                   Suspended solids

SSE                 Small-scale enterprise

SSM                Superficial spreading melanomas

STD                 Sexually transmitted disease

STEL               Short-term exposure limit

STEP              Sequentially timed events plotting procedure

SUVA              Swiss National Accident Insurance Organization

SUW                Solid urban wastes

SV                   Stroke volume

SV40               Simian virus 40

SVOC              Semi-volatile organic compounds

SWORD           Surveillance of Work-related Respiratory Disease

SXEW              Solvent extraction/ electrowinning process

T

TABP              Type A behaviour pattern

TAD                 Technical Inspection Service

TB                   Tracheobronchial

TBM                Tunnel-boring machine

TBS-GA           Tätigkeitsbewertungs System für geistige Arbeit (Task Diagnosis Survey-Mental Work)

TC                   Technical committees

TCC                 Transitional cell carcinoma

TCC                 Thermofor catalytic cracking

THP                 Total Health Promotion

TI                    Texas Instruments

TIG                  Tungsten inert gas

TLC                 Total lung capacity

TLD                 Thermoluminescent dosimeters

TLV                 Threshold limit value

TLV-STEL       Threshold limit values- short-term exposure levels

TLV-TWA        Threshold limit value-time weighted average

TNF                 Tumour necrosis factor

TNO                Dutch National Technical Institute

TOC                Total organic carbon

TOP                Technology, organization and personnel

TOS                Toxic oil syndrome

TPDA              Tellurium-radioiodinated fatty acid

TPM                Thoracic particulate mass

TQA                Total quality assurance

TQC                Total quality control

TQL                 Total quality leadership

TQM                Total quality management

TRGS              Technical rules for hazardous substances

TRI                  Toxic Release Inventory

TSCA              Toxic Substances Control Act (US)

TSD                 Theory of signal detection

TSNA              Tobacco-specific nitrosamines

TSP                 Total suspended particles

TSS                 Total suspended solids

TST                 Tuberculin skin test

TTE                 Total time exposed

TTS                 Temporary threshold shift

TUC                 Trades Union Congress (UK)

TUR                 Toxics use reduction

TUTB              European Trade Union Technical Bureau for Occupational Safety and Health

TVL                 Tenth-value layer

TVOC              Total volatile organic compound

TWA                Time-weighted average

TWAL              Time-weighted average limit

U

UAW                United Auto Workers

UDHR              Universal Declaration of Human Rights

ULPZ               Upper limit of the prescriptive zone

ULV                 Ultra-low volume

UN                   United Nations

UNCED            United Nations Conference on Environment and Development

UNCETG         United Nations Committee of Experts on Transport of Dangerous Goods

UNCHR            United Nations Commission on Human Rights

UNCLOS          United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea

UNCTAD          United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

UNCTC            United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations

UNDP              United Nations Development Programme

UNDRO            United Nations Disaster Relief Coordinator Office

UNECE            United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

UNEP              United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP-IRPTC   UNEP International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals

UNESCO         United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNFCCC          United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFPA            United Nations Fund for Population Activities

UNGA              United Nations General Assembly

UNICE             Union of Industrial and Employers Confederations of Europe

UNIDO             United Nations Industrial Development Organization

UNIPEDE         Union internationale des producteurs et distributeurs d’énergie électrique

UNRTDG         United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods

UNSCEAR       United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

UOEH              University of Occupational and Environmental Health (Japan)

USAID             United States Agency for International Development

USBLS            United States Bureau of Labor Statistics

USCFR            United States Code of Federal Regulations

USDA              United States Department of Agriculture

USDHHS          United States Department of Health and Human Services

USDOE            United States Department of Energy

USDOL            United States Department of Labor

USM                University Sains Malaysia

USNRC            United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

USOTA            United States Office of Technology Assessment

USPHS            United States Public Health Services

UST                 Underground storage tanks

UV                   Ultraviolet

UVA                 Ultraviolet radiation-A

UVB                 Ultraviolet radiation-B

UVC                 Ultraviolet radiation-C

UVGI               Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation

UVR                 Ultraviolet radiation

V

VA                   Visual acuity

VAV                 Variable volume

VC                   Vital capacity

VCR                 Vertical crater retreat

VDT                 Video display terminal

VDU                 Visual display unit

VLF                 Very low frequency

VMT                Vehicle mile travelled

VOC                Volatile organic compound

VPE                 Vapour-phase epitaxy

VPP                 Voluntary protection programme

VVS                 Vibration-related vasospastic syndrome

VWF                Vibration-induced white finger

W

WAA                Work-aggravated asthma

WANO             World Association of Nuclear Operators

WBC                White blood corpuscles

WBGT             Wet bulb globe temperature

WC                  Water closet

WCB                Workers’ Compensation Board

WCGS             Western Collaborative Group Study

WCI                 Wind Chill Index

WCL                World Confederation of Labour

WCS                Workers’ compensation system

WD                  Working draft

WEF                Work Environment Fund (Sweden)

WERC              Waste-management Education and Research Consortium

WFTU              World Federation of Trade Unions

WG                  Working group

WGT                Wet globe temperature

WHA                World Health Assembly

WHIMS            Wet high-intensity separator

WHMIS            Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (Canada)

WHO                World Health Organization

WHPA              Well head protection area

WLM                Working Level Month

WMA               World Medical Association

WRAP              Waste Reduction Always Pays

WRMD             Work-related musculoskeletal disorder

WTO                World Trade Organization

Y

YMCA              Young Men’s Christian Association

Z

ZCTU               Zambia Congress of Trade Unions

ZDV                 Zidovudine

ZeBWis            Wismut Central Care Office

ZIGUV             Central Information System of the BG

ZPP                 Zinc protoporphyrin

 

Back

The International System of Units is a decimal system of weights and measures which is based on and extends the metric system. It is abbreviated as SI in all languages.

SI includes seven basic units (see table 1). The metre, defined to be 1,650,763.73 wavelengths in vacuum of the red-orange line of the krypton-86 spectrum, is the SI unit for length. The kilogram, which is approximately 2.2 pounds avoirdupois and equals 1,000 grams (as defined by the platinum-iridium prototype kilogram held by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sèvres, France), is the SI unit for mass. It is the sole base unit that remains defined by an artefact. It is also the only SI unit with a prefix as part of its name and symbol. The second, or the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of the radiation corresponding to a specified transition of the caesium-133 atom, is the SI unit for time. The ampere is the SI unit for electric current. It is the constant current produced by one volt which, when maintained in two parallel conductors separated by one metre in vacuum, generates an electromagnetic force of 2 x 10^-7 N m^-1. The kelvin, which is equal to 1/273.16 of the thermodynamic temperature at the triple point of water, is the SI unit for thermodynamic temperature. The kelvin’s magnitude equals that of the degree Celsius; however, a temperature expressed in degrees Celsius is the numerical equivalent of the temperature in kelvins less 273.15. The mole is the SI unit for amount of substance; it contains as many elementary units of substance as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-12. Elementary units must be specified, as they may be atoms, electrons, ions, molecules, radicals, etc. The candela is the SI unit for luminous intensity. It equals the luminous intensity of the black-body radiation, in the perpendicular direction, from an area of 1/600,000 square metres at platinum’s freezing temperature (2,042 kelvins) under 101,325 pascals of pressure, which approximates the intensity of a single paraffin candle.

Table 1. SI base units

¹ "Weight” is often used to mean “mass”.
² The name “degree kelvin” and the symbol “degK” were declared obsolete
at a 1967 international conference.

SI also includes two supplementary units (see table 2). Radian and steradian are the dimensionless units for the dimensionless quantities plane angle and solid angle, respectively. Units for other quantities are derived from the seven basic and two supplementary units.

Table 2. SI supplementary units

Table 3 lists selected SI derived units expressed in terms of base units. Derived units with special names and symbols are listed in table 4. These may be used to express other derived units (see table 5). The two supplementary units may also be used to express derived units (see table 6).

The 16 prefixes used to create multiples and submultiples of SI units are listed in table 7. Since multiple prefixes cannot be used, these prefixes are used with gram (g), but not with kilogram (kg).

A number of units that are not part of SI are widely used, especially in the United States. Those which are considered acceptable for use with SI in the US are listed in table 8. A conversion table for SI units is provided in table 9.

Table 3. Selected SI derived units expressed in terms of base units

 

Table 4. SI derived units with special names

¹ In addition to the thermodynamic temperature (T) expressed in kelvins (see table 105.1), Celsius
temperature (t) is also used and is defined by the equation t = T – T₀ where T₀ = 273.15 K by
definition. The unit “degree Celsius”, which is equal to the unit “kelvin”, is used to express Celsius
temperature.  Here, the term “degree Celsius” is a special name substituted for “kelvin”.
However, a difference or interval of Celsius temperature can be expressed in either kelvins
or degrees Celsius.

Table 5. Examples of SI derived units expressed with special names

 

Table 6. Examples of SI derived units formed with supplementary units

 

Table 7. SI prefixes

 

Table 8. Units in use with SI

¹ Both “l” and “L” are accepted as symbols for litre.
² In some countries, such as the United States, “metric ton” is used instead of “tonne”.
³ The values of these units in SI units are not known exactly; the values must be obtained
through experiment. The electronvolt is the kinetic energy acquired by an electron passing
through a potential difference of 1 volt in a vacuum.  The unified atomic mass unit equals 1/12 of
the mass of the atom of the nuclide ¹²C.

 Table 9. Conversion of non-SI units to SI units

 

Acknowledgement: The information in the tables is based primarily on data from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

 

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Acids and Anhydrides,Organic: Chemical identification

 

Melting Point (ºC)

10^{- 5}

A worker not exposed to a neurotoxic substance will never develop any adverse neurotoxic health effects from that substance. Zero exposure leads to total protection against neurotoxic health effects. This is the essence of all primary prevention measures.

Toxicity Testing

New chemical compounds introduced into the workplace and in occupational settings should have already been tested for neurotoxicity. Failure to do pre-market toxicity testing can lead to workers’ contact and potentially severe adverse health effects. The introduction of methyl n-butyl ketone into a workplace in the United States is a classic example of the possible hazards of untested neurotoxicants being introduced into the workplace (Spencer and Schaumburg 1980).

Engineering Controls

Engineering controls (e.g., ventilation systems, closed production facilities) are the best means for keeping workers’ exposures below permissible exposure limits. Closed chemical processes that keep all toxicants from being released into the workplace environment are the ideal. If this is not possible, closed ventilation systems that exhaust ambient air vapours and are designed so as to pull contaminated air away from workers are useful when well designed, adequately maintained, and properly operated.

Personal Protection Equipment

In situations where engineering controls are unavailable to reduce workers’ contact with neurotoxicants, personal protective equipment must be provided. Because workplace neurotoxicants are many, and routes of exposure differ across workplaces and work conditions, the kind of personal protective equipment must be carefully selected for the situation at hand. For example, the neurotoxicant lead can exert its toxicity when lead-laden dust is breathed and when lead particles are ingested in food or water. Therefore, personal protective equipment must protect against both routes of exposure. This would mean respiratory protection equipment and adoption of personal hygiene measures to prevent consumption of lead-contaminated food or beverages. For many neurotoxicants (like industrial solvents), absorption of the substance through intact skin is a main route of exposure. Impermeable gloves, aprons and other appropriate equipment must therefore be provided to prevent skin absorption. This would be in addition to engineering controls or personal respiratory protection equipment. Considerable planning must be given to match personal protective equipment to the specific work being performed.

Administrative Controls

Administrative controls consist of managerial efforts to reduce workplace hazards through planning, training, employee rotation on job sites, changes in production processes, and product substitution (Urie 1992), as well as strict adherence to all existing regulations.
Workers’ Right-to-Know

While the employer bears the responsibility for providing a workplace or work experience that does not harm workers’ health, workers have the responsibility to follow workplace rules that are intended to protect them. Workers must be in a position to know what actions to take in protecting themselves. This means workers have the right to know about the neurotoxicity of substances with which they come into contact, and what protective measures they can take.

Worker Health Surveillance

Where conditions permit, workers should be regularly given medical examinations. A regular evaluation by occupational physicians or other medical specialists constitutes worker health surveillance. For workers known to be working with or around neurotoxicants, physicians should be knowledgeable of the effects of exposure. For example, low-level exposure to many organic solvents will produce symptoms of fatigue, sleep disorders, headaches and memory disturbances. For heavy doses of lead, wrist drop and peripheral nerve impairment would be signs of lead intoxication. Any signs and symptoms of neurotoxicant intoxication should result in reassignment of the worker to an area free of the neurotoxicant, and efforts to reduce workplace levels of the neurotoxicant.

 

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Emergency and security services exist to deal with extraordinary and threatening situations. The people who work in such services are therefore confronted with events and circumstances that lie outside the usual experience of human beings in their daily lives. Although each of the occupations has its own set of hazards, risks and traditions, they share several features in common. These include the following:

• long periods of relative quiet or routine interrupted abruptly by periods of intense psychological stress
• long periods of relative inactivity interrupted abruptly by periods of intense physical activity
• rigid codes of behaviour and high expectations for performance, often accompanied by detailed orders for how to do the job and high penalties for failure
• personal danger; the worker allows himself or herself to be exposed to hazards that are unusual for anyone else in the community
• a primary objective of rescuing or protecting others who are not able to save themselves
• a secondary objective of protecting property from destruction or damage
• teamwork under demanding conditions
• a rigid hierarchy or “chain of command” to reduce uncertainty and to make sure that procedures are followed correctly.

 

The form of organization and the means by which the mission of these services is carried out varies. The circumstances of the mission of a service affect the attitude and approach to the job; these differences are perhaps best understood by considering the object of control for each emergency service.

Firefighting is perhaps the most representative emergency and security service. This occupation arose historically as a way to limit property damage from fires, and started as a private service in which fire-fighters might save the businesses and houses of persons who paid insurance premiums but would let the property of others burn, even if they were right next door. Soon, society determined that private fire services were inefficient and that it would be much more practical and useful to make them public. Thus, firefighting became a municipal or local government function in most parts of the world. Private firefighting services still exist in industry, at airports and in other settings where they are coordinated with municipal services. In general, fire-fighters enjoy a great deal of trust and respect in their communities. In firefighting, the object of control, or the “enemy”, is the fire; it is an external threat. When a fire-fighter is injured on the job, it is perceived as the result of an external agent, although it might be an indirect assault if the fire were set by an arsonist.

Police services and the military are given the responsibility by society to maintain order, generally in response to an internal threat (such as crime) or to an external threat (such as war). Armed force is the essential means of accomplishing the mission, and the use of appropriate tactics and investigative techniques (whether criminal investigation or military intelligence) is standard procedure. Because of the high potential for abuse and misuse of force, society in general has imposed strict limitations on how force is used, especially toward civilians. Police especially are watched more closely than other emergency and security personnel to ensure that they use their monopoly on force correctly. This sometimes leads to the perception by police officers that they are not trusted. For the police and for soldiers, the object of control, or the “enemy”, is another human being. This creates many situations of uncertainty, feelings of guilt and questions about rights and proper behaviour that fire-fighters do not have to face. When police or soldiers are injured in the line of duty, it is usually the direct result of intentional human action taken against them.

Paramedical and rescue personnel are responsible for recovering, stabilizing and rendering initial treatment to people who are injured, ill or trapped in circumstances from which they cannot escape by themselves. Often they work side by side with fire-fighters and police. For them, the object of control is the patient or victim whom they are trying to help; the victim is not an “enemy”. Moral and ethical issues in these occupations are most prominent when the victim is partially responsible for his or her condition, as when a driver is intoxicated by alcohol or a patient refuses to take medication. Sometimes, victims who are not rational or who are angry or under stress may act in an abusive or threatening way. This is confusing and frustrating for paramedical and rescue personnel, who feel that they are doing their best under difficult circumstances. When one of these workers is injured on the job, it is perceived as almost a betrayal, because they were trying to help the victim.

Hazardous materials response teams are often part of fire services and have a similar organization on a small scale. They evaluate and take initial steps to control chemical or physical hazards that may present a threat to the public. Hazardous waste remediation workers are less tightly organized that these other occupations and exist to clean up a problem that has been around for a while. In both cases, the workers are dealing with a potential hazard in which the fundamental problem is uncertainty. Unlike the other occupations, in which it was clear who or what was the object of control, these workers are controlling a risk that may be difficult to identify. Even when the chemical or hazard is known, the future risk of cancer or disease is usually uncertain. Workers often cannot know whether they have been injured on the job because the effects of exposure to chemicals may not be known for many years.

Potential Occupational Hazards

The common hazard to all of these workers is psychogenic stress. In particular, they are all subject to so-called critical events, which are situations perceived to be of grave or uncertain but probably serious danger that a person cannot escape. Unlike a member of the general public, a worker in one of these occupations cannot simply walk away or leave the scene. Much of their own sense of self-esteem comes from how they handle just such situations. For workers who survive critical events, there is often a period of denial followed by a period of depression and distracted behaviour. Thoughts of what the worker has seen and a sense of guilt or inadequacy intrude on his or her thinking. It is difficult to concentrate, and the worker may have nightmares. The worst critical events are generally considered to be those in which victims have died because of a mistake or because it was not possible for the rescuer to save them, in spite of his or her best efforts.

Many of these occupations also involve the rescue and stabilization of people who may be ill with communicable diseases. The infections that most commonly present a problem are AIDS and HIV infection generally, hepatitis B and C and tuberculosis. HIV and hepatitis B and C viruses are both transmitted by human body fluids and may therefore pose a hazard to emergency response personnel when there is bleeding or if the worker is deliberately bitten. Emergency response personnel are now usually trained to consider all subjects (victims or criminals) as potentially infected and infective. HIV precautions are described elsewhere. Tuberculosis is transmitted by sputum and by coughing. The risk is particularly great during the resuscitation of persons with active cavitary tuberculosis, an increasingly frequent problem in economically disadvantaged inner city areas.

Injury is a risk common to all of these occupations. Fires are always unsafe, and the hazards of the fire itself may be combined with the risk of structures breaking apart, unstable floors, falling objects and falls from a height. Violence is a more common hazard of police and military combat services, obviously, because that is what they were created to control. However, aside from intentional violence there is a potential for hazards from traumatic incidents involving automotive traffic, mishandling of weapons and, especially in the military, occupational injuries in support areas. Hazardous materials workers may deal with a variety of unknown chemicals which may have a hazard of explosion or fire in addition to their toxic properties.

These occupations vary greatly in their potential for health problems. Aside from stress-related outcomes and the potential for communicable diseases mentioned, each occupation is different in its health concerns.

Preventive Guidelines

Each occupation differs in its approach to prevention. However, there are a few measures that are common to all or most of them.

Many services now require their workers to go through a process called critical event debriefing following such incidents. During these debriefings, the workers discuss the event in the presence of a trained mental health worker-how they feel about it, and their feelings about their own actions. Critical event debriefing has been shown to be very effective in preventing later problems, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome, following critical events.

Rigorous fitness screening at the time of hire is usually part of the selection process for police and fire personnel, and many services require these members to stay fit through regular exercise and training. This is intended to ensure satisfactory and consistent performance, but it has the additional effect of reducing the likelihood of injuries.

Infectious hazards are difficult to anticipate because victims may not show outward signs of infection. Emergency response personnel are now taught to use “universal precautions” in handling body fluids and to use protective equipment such as gloves and safety eyeglasses if there is a risk of coming into contact with body fluids. Often, however, such events are unpredictable or difficult to control if the victim is violent or irrational. Routine immunization with hepatitis B vaccine is advised where the risk is high. Disposable resuscitation equipment is recommended to reduce the risk of transmitting communicable diseases. Special care should be taken with needles and other sharp objects. Human bites should be cleaned thoroughly and treatment given with penicillin or a penicillin-like drug. When HIV infection has been confirmed in the person who was the source, or contamination and transmission may have taken place by needlestick or invasive contact with blood or body fluids, a physician’s advice should be sought about the advisability of prescribing antiviral drugs that reduce the chance of infection in the worker. Tuberculosis infection in an exposed worker can be confirmed by skin test and then treated prophylactically before it becomes a serious disease.

Other preventive measures are specific to the particular occupations.

 

Back

The decision to publish the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety was taken some 15 years ago, and its preparation lasted throughout the years 1966 to 1971. Since then a great deal of progress has been made in the knowledge and activities covered by this publication. Side by side with technological progress there have been great advances in methods of identifying, evaluating and controlling occupational hazards and providing health protection in the workplace. Toxic substances, dust in industry, mineral fibres, non-ionising radiation, allergy and occupationally induced cancer have been the subject of intensive experimental research and important epidemiological studies. Nevertheless, the changes that took place in working environments in the 1970s were not due merely to wider technical knowledge and awareness. A new trend began to take shape: the workers’ claim for a better quality of life at work and the increasing involvement of trade unions in health and safety protection in the workplace, the fuller support by employers of comprehensive occupational health and safety programmes and increasing efforts by governments to apply far-reaching measures in this field. This trend has been reflected in national and international legislation concerning the working environment and working conditions, which has advanced to an unprecedented extent. Thus the panorama of occupational health and safely, industrial hygiene and ergonomics has undergone profound changes in many member countries of the ILO, not only as regards the state of the art, but also as regards the practical application of these disciplines in the workplace…

It is 63 years since the ILO first established as one of its basic objectives “the protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out of his employment”. The objective is still the same, but the form and methods of this protection have evolved along with technical progress and economic development… International dissemination of the most recent scientific and practical knowledge in this field is an integral part of ILO activity—together with the traditional modes of action: standard-setting and technical co-operation—to promote the increased effectiveness of health and safety protection at work throughout the world. The new edition of the Encyclopaedia will make an important contribution to that great endeavour.

Francis Blanchard
Director-General
International Labour Office
Geneva, 1983

Occupational accidents and diseases remain the most appalling human tragedy of modern industry and one of its most serious forms of economic waste. The best estimates currently available on a world basis reckon the number of fatal injuries at the workplace at close to 100,000 annually. In some highly industrialised countries industrial accidents are responsible for the loss of four or five times as many working days as industrial disputes. In certain cases their cost is comparable to that of national defence. Industrialisation and the mechanisation of agriculture have made the problem acute in a much wider range of countries and occupations.

The economic burden on the community cannot be expressed in compensation costs alone. It also includes loss of production, disruption of production schedules, damage to productive equipment and—in the case of large-scale accidents—major social dislocations. But the economic burden is by no means the full measure of the human cost…
Originally, the main thrust of preventive action was to improve the unhealthiest working conditions and remedy the appalling lack of physical protection against the most dangerous occupational hazards. The first international standards were designed either to do away with the more flagrant abuses impairing health, such as the employment of very young children, over-long hours of work, the absence of any form of maternity protection, and night work by women and children, or to combat the risks most commonly encountered by industrial workers—anthrax, and lead or chronic phosphorus poisoning.

When the ILO passed beyond formulating these basic standards to grapple with the problem of social security, the first question it considered was compensation for occupational accidents and diseases. Workmen’s compensation legislation already existed in many countries; it was developed on the basis of ILO standards and its financial implications gave a powerful impetus to preventive measures. The ILO did much to bring about the standardisation of industrial injury and occupational disease statistics and the systematic collection of data on accident frequency…
Gradually this concentration of attention upon the most flagrant abuses and the highest accident and disease rates broadened into a more comprehensive approach designed to promote the highest standards of safety and health in all industries and occupations. The monumental Model Code of Safety Regulations for Industrial Establishments for the Guidance of Governments and Industry, first issued in 1949 on the basis of work initiated during the Second World War and periodically revised since, was an important step in this direction. It furnished an impetus which has now found expression in a wide range of codes of practice and guides to practice which are complementary to it. In the 1950s this broader approach was reflected in new comprehensive international standards for the protection of workers’ health, welfare facilities and occupational health services.

In the 1960s these were supplemented by a new series of specific provisions dealing with particular risks which had assumed increased importance. In factories, one accident in six is caused by machinery; hence the importance of international standards on the guarding of moving parts which regulate not only the use, sale and hire of machinery having dangerous parts but also its manufacture…

Modern industrial medicine has outgrown the stage where it merely involved first aid in the event of an accident and the diagnosis of occupational diseases; nowadays it is concerned with all the effects of work upon physical and mental health, and even with the impact of man’s physical or psychological disabilities upon his work…

Technological progress now moves far more swiftly than it did 40 years ago. There is every reason to believe that the pace will quicken still further. This second edition of the Encyclopaedia will therefore be merely the next stage in our work. But each stage is the indispensable foundation for its successor. During the coming years the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety will be an essential tool for humanising the working environment and improving the lot of workers the world over. In human and economic terms alike higher health and safety standards are a primary responsibility of enlightened social policy and efficient management. Neither can be effective without the comprehensive body of knowledge necessary to appraise the relevance of current information to policy and action. The present Encyclopaedia, which was prepared under the technical responsibility of Dr. Luigi Parmeggiani, Chief of the Occupational Safety and Health Branch, is designed to make readily accessible to all the comprehensive knowledge of these matters which is now available. In editing the Encyclopaedia, Dr. Parmeggiani has worthily maintained the traditions established by Dr. Luigi Carozzi, who laid the foundations of the industrial health work of the ILO.

Wilfred Jenks
Director-General
International Labour Office
Geneva, 1971

In 1919 the International Labour Conference at Washington requested the International Labour Office “to draw up a list of the principal processes to be considered as unhealthy”. But it was impossible in practice to draw up such a list, at least in a complete or final form, on account of the number and complexity of the operations which in some aspects could be considered unhealthy, the continuous evolution of industrial technique which does away with causes of disease in one direction, while giving rise to fresh possibilities of disease in another, and the indefinite character of the conception of “unhealthiness” which varies at different times and in different countries.

These considerations led to the idea of substituting for the list of unhealthy processes requested by the Conference, a sort of encyclopaedia which would analyse from the triple point of view of the work to be done, the worker employed, and the environment in which he worked, the various tasks involved in human labour, the properties of the substances dealt with, the operations involved in handling and working up these substances, the possible sources and carriers of intoxication and disease, the statistical data on the effects as far as known, the symptoms, the diagnosis, the therapeutic and prophylactic treatment, and the protective legislation already in existence.
It was a difficult task, and one which was bound to be open to the reproach of being neither complete nor final. But how could it be otherwise? No one can hope to fix once for all something which is living, evolving, progressive. Although, as was mentioned above, the evolution of technical practice in industry may create new dangers for the worker every day, yet the progress of this same technique and of industrial hygiene may, on the following day, do away with certain existing dangers, which must, notwithstanding, be recorded and analysed in this work. One of the virtues of this work is just the fact that it is not final. It seizes one moment in social life and in the progress of industrial hygiene, but it requires to be kept constantly up to date precisely because it is a scientific as well as a practical work.

This is its dual nature, as it is that of every piece of research undertaken by the International Labour Office, the strict purpose of which is to make science the servant of practical action. This Encyclopaedia is not a work of pure propaganda; it never sacrifices scientific objectivity to the ideas which the authors naturally have at heart. On the other hand, it is not purely a treatise on medicine or hygiene; it claims no originality in the treatment of the various questions; it does not claim to be an exhaustive study; on each subject it merely gives a summary of the existing position of science, with figures taken from statistics for the sake of example and not in support of any argument. It has tried to keep a middle path between a purely scientific work intended for the expert, and a popular manual. It is meant to supply workers, employers, their organisations, and practising doctors with the information necessary to enable them to discover, combat, and prevent occupational diseases, the economic consequences of which are as harmful to production as their social consequences are to the world of labour…

…The International Labour Office, in collaborating with these scientists for some years, has obtained a clearer consciousness of the scope of its mission. The Preamble to Part Xlll of the Peace Treaty [of Versailles] included among the urgent tasks of the Office the protection of workers “against sickness, disease and injury arising out of their employment”. The signatory States, in agreeing to this statement of principle, seem to have accepted the dictum of Beaconsfield that the health of the people is the most important of all problems. The Office has put at the disposal of those concerned a statement up to the actual position of science and has conveyed to the legislator the elements of physiology and physio-pathology necessary to him for setting up a code of industrial health; by collecting and concentrating this information in one work, and thereby increasing its range and appeal, the Office is continuing the work of those who, since the inception of “large-scale” industry, have endeavoured to protect human life, openly or insidiously menaced by new technical processes…

In ancient societies, dangerous and disagreeable tasks were reserved for criminals. Fourier, for all his fertile imagination, dared not foresee that the progress of industrial technique would one day lead to the suppression of unhealthy or dangerous occupations: he reserved filthy or dangerous work for his “small gangs”. Nowadays the problem is entirely different: the conscience of modern society realises that occupational diseases should not be reserved for certain persons, but that they should be made to disappear. The origins and the causes are now known, and all that is wanted is will and organisation. There are plenty of other sufferings and plenty of other infirmities to which mortals are exposed. As Puccinotti has said: “Life must be preserved for labour, and labour must be made harmless to life”. …

Albert Thomas
Director-General
International Labour Office
Geneva, 1930

It is a sobering thought that the prefaces to the preceding editions of this Encyclopaedia are still timely: occupational illnesses and injuries remain an unnecessary blight on the human landscape. Much progress has been made since the publication of the first edition of this work. Exposure to some extremely dangerous poisons, such as the deadly radium painted on watch faces to make them glow in the dark, or the crippling and disfiguring phosphorus that had been used as the combustible material in matches, have been completely eradicated. Governments have established regulations and have undertaken many noteworthy actions to guard against the entirely preventable tragedies of occupational death, disease and disability. The level of knowledge among all our constituents is vastly improved. The ILO itself has contributed to this progress with Conventions, Recommendations and Codes of Practice governing many workplace conditions, as well as with its many technical cooperation programmes and specialized publications. Equally important, the capability of medicine, science and engineering to solve problems, and to provide better means of recognition and of hazard prevention has dramatically increased. Social systems are in place for worker protection and for worker participation in decisions relating to their work environments.

Yet, despite tireless efforts to promote better working conditions, the ILO and others must still combat many forms of exploitation of working people, such as child labour, indentured servitude and clandestine work, with their inevitably hazardous and oppressive conditions. Tens of millions of others labour while exposed to chemical, physical and social hazards which drain their health and their spirits. Solutions to such problems of occupational injury and illness will not arise simply from issuing publications or obtaining advice from experts. The health and well-being of workers is an issue of social justice and the ILO stands above all for the ideal of promoting social justice in the world. Ultimately solutions are social as much as technical. It is not merely the lack of know-how that perpetuates the toll of death, disability and disease in the working population, it is the lack of the social means and the social will to do something about it. The societal basis for occupational safety and health is perhaps the most important reason for the ILO to publish the Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety. With its publication we present a panorama of the problems, and their technical and social solutions: we define the fields for action.

The Encyclopaedia’s popularity and influence have been enormous. Tens of thousands of copies have been in use throughout the greater part of this century. Earlier editions have been published in Spanish, French, Russian, Chinese, Hungarian and Serbo-Croatian. The Encyclopaedia is the most widely distributed publication of the ILO. The process of compiling the fourth edition has continued the tradition of reaching out to world experts, which the Office sees as essential to its continued growth and relevance. We have assembled a network of more than 2,000 specialists from over 65 countries who have extensively contributed their time, energy and expertise to the writing and reviewing of articles and the editing of chapters. Most major health and safety institutions, governmental, academic or private, from around the world, are contributing in one form or another to this immense undertaking, an act of generosity and support for which we are grateful. The hope and the intent is that this Encyclopaedia provide technical, theoretical and ethical underpinnings to the ongoing work of achieving the goal of social justice in a global economy.

Michel Hansenne
Director-General
International Labour Office
Geneva, 1998

No one profession holds the key to understanding and solving the problems of work-related hazards. The field of occupational safety and health is truly multidisciplinary.

The intent of the fourth edition of the International Labour Organization’s Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety is to present a panoramic view of the basic available information in the field. But what comprises the “field”? Let us consider an example.

How might a group of various experts approach health and safety issues that relate to long-term use of visual display units (VDUs), the now familiar computer screens? A physician, charged with the occupational health service for a group of VDU workers, might tend to schedule medical exams to look for signs and symptoms of physical illness. Eye examinations would be one logical component. VDU-specific eyeglasses might be one solution. The epidemiologist, on the other hand, would confront the problem statistically. She would want to gather data on the results of the examinations of a group of VDU workers and compare them to workers who did not engage in VDU work, in order to determine the relative risks of the job for various health outcomes. The occupational hygienist would focus on the environment and might measure the lighting levels or test for particular contaminants. The ergonomist could orient towards the design of the equipment itself and study the physical interactions between the machine and the worker. The psychologist would look towards organizational factors—the social structure in the workplace—concentrating on issues such as job demands, job control and electronic performance monitoring, while the basic researcher might be more interested in experiments on the biological mechanisms that could ultimately explain any effects observed. The educator might develop training materials for helping workers function optimally on the job. The trade unionist and the employer may be interested in the application of principles of occupational health to conditions of employment and contractual agreements. Finally, the lawyer and the government regulator might be considering still other pragmatic issues, such as compensation for injuries, or “proving” possible health effects for establishing workplace regulation.

Each of these approaches is a valid and important aspect of occupational health and safety and each complements the other. No one profession holds the key to understanding and solving the problems of work-related hazards. The “field” of occupational safety and health is truly multidisciplinary.

Multidisciplinarity is challenging to the encyclopaedia editor. Facts may be neutral, but the way in which they are comprehended, interpreted and applied is culture bound, where by culture we mean the integrated pattern of human belief, behaviour and knowledge. In technical fields, culture will be a reflection of the basic discipline of training, as well as of personal philosophy. Not only will what you are—a lawyer, hygienist, trade unionist or physician—guide your thinking, but who you are—whether you are a representative of government, labour or management, for example—will inevitably influence your perceptions of the universe, its demands, its effects. Where you developed your expertise will also matter, since the philosophical and practical underpinnings of science and medicine, too, are culture bound and hence not the same throughout the world. At the very least you will be bound by the realities of available resources and this will inevitably alter your perspective. A seasoned professional attempts to minimize such biases, but one look at the real world shows how pervasive they are.

The problems of multidisciplinarity have not been solved in this Encyclopaedia, and probably will never completely be solved anywhere, but a pragmatic approach has been developed here. The Encyclopaedia has been developed in parts, sections and chapters which correspond to the various disciplines that comprise occupational health and safety. It has been designed to provide the general user with background information on the major disciplines of occupational health and safety in an understandable manner that will, at the same time, be considered rigorous by professionals in those fields. We have attempted to provide sufficient depth and breadth of coverage to permit workers in one area to appreciate and be stimulated by the ideas and approaches of other disciplines in occupational health and safety. We have endeavoured to make the descriptions of hazard recognition and control as straightforward as possible, with a minimum of jargon. The overall structures is:

Volume I

• The Body and Health Care take a medical approach and provides information on disease, its detection and prevention, and occupational health services and health promotional activities.
• Prevention, Management and Policy covers legal, ethical and social policy aspects of the field, as well as educational and informational and institutional resources.
• Tools and Approaches provides insight into the disciplines which comprise the study and application of occupational health and safety: engineering, ergonomics, occupational hygiene, epidemiology and statistics and laboratory research.

Volume II

• Hazards spans the range of chemical, physical and social hazards, accidents and safety management methods that may be encountered around the world. The nature of the hazard is detailed, together with technical information on its recognition, evaluation and control.

Volume III

• Chemicals presents basic data on use in industry and chemical, physical and toxicological properties information on more than 2,000 chemicals categorized by chemical family
• Industries and Occupations takes a “how things work” and “how to control hazards” approach to all the major industries. The hazards associated with a variety of occupations which span several industrial sectors are presented in a hazard card format.

Volume IV

• Indexes and Guides provides a how-to-use the Encyclopaedia guide; lists of tables and figures and collaborating institutions; and indexes of chemical substances, cross-references, subjects and authors cited.

 

Several thousand internationally recognized experts have been called upon to be writers and reviewers of this Encyclopaedia. They have been drawn from virtually all the major institutions around the world and we have attempted to assure that international perspectives are represented because such perspectives are not the same everywhere and it is the responsibility of the International Labour Organization to promote the free interchange of different conceptualizations. Further, problems and solutions vary around the globe and it makes good sense to seek out the expertise of those who personally know and understand the issues.

In this Encyclopaedia we have planted an occupational health and safety garden with facts, figures and interpretations to assist in the blossoming of safe and healthful working conditions around the world. The seeds have been sown in more or less orderly disciplinary groupings, so that the reader, once becoming familiar with the garden paths, can create any bouquet of facts that she or he wants. The indexes in the fourth volume provide a more detailed map, including a valuable index guide to the essential cross-referencing of information. The experienced reader will soon learn what is planted where and will be able to make his way along a favoured route.

The electronic version of this work has additional navigational aids, with its built-in hyperlinks and specialized search facilities. By judicious creation of searches, the astute CD-ROM user could even plant an entirely new and rearranged garden of his or her own.

The Encyclopaedia is not, of course, one hundred per cent complete. Isolated facts are missing. Some notions may be outdated even before we go to press. This is the sign of an active and creative field of human endeavour. This Encyclopaedia could not have been written without the countless hours of work of individuals from around the world. The reader will find the names of our collaborators in the lists of authors and editors, and in the Directory of Experts which is published in the electronic version of this work. Most of these individuals came to the effort with the full support and assistance of the institutions with which they were affiliated. Volume IV contains a non-exhaustive list of these collaborating institutions, as well.

We are grateful for the extensive support in this worldwide effort. Of course, the individual viewpoints presented are ultimately those of the authors and not of their institutions or the International Labour Office. We hope that the compendium of ideas presented here will hasten the day in which occupational death and disease is a rarity in the world.

Jeanne Mager Stellman
Editor-in-Chief
Geneva, 1998