American Journal of Industrial Medicine

Question: Describe the American Journal of Industrial Medicine. Answer: 1. What are the four most common physical, occupational hazards to the eye? Job-related eye injury occurs each day. In the United States each day, about 2000 workers suffer from eye injury related problems. The majority of these injuries result from projectile from small particles, objects striking the eye from a distance forcefully. Metal slivers, wood dust, wood slivers, wood chips that are ejected from the tools used for cutting or shaping wood. Accidents may happen when these particles are windblown, or they may fall from above. Sometimes objects like nails or staples, even shards of woods can penetrate the eye and result in a permanent loss of vision. Blunt trauma to the eye or eye socket too can cause irreversible Damage to the eye and face. Industrially used chemicals are very toxic and corrosive. Chemical burns from splashes of these chemicals can harm the eye, eyelids and other parts of the face. Cleaning products, polishing products are also harmful to the eye if it goes into the eye. Heat is also another factor in the wood industry that may cause harm to the eye. Thermal burns from welders, UV radiation burns damages the cornea, eye tissues, and surrounding areas. In addition to this other common eye injuries, causes include acquiring infectious diseases, and an infectious disease may occur from any pre-existing injury or ocular exposure. The disease may be transmitted through any tear or injury in the mucous membrane of the eye. Injury to the mucous membrane of the eye results in direct exposure of bacteria into the delicate interior of the eye. Infections like minor conjunctivitis, reddening, soreness can occur. In severe cases, diseases like HIV, avian influenza, and other diseases may occur (LEWIS, 2016). Thus, the main hazards include: Machine hazards Flying objects, projectiles Fire and explosion Electrical hazards 2. What are four common complications resulting from an industrial eye injury? Complication resulting from an eye injury can be divided into some segments: Results of eye injury from Wood Dust include eye irritation, dermatitis along the eye socket, allergic effects, mucosal and non-irritant allergies. Sometimes in an Immunocompromised person, Caner may also develop. An eye injury can result in dryness and obstruction of the optical ducts. Prolonged and frequent headaches can result from the eye injury. Injury to the eye can result in loss of vision, reduced vision, cornea damage, optical nerve damage. 3. Is there any particular danger from wood particles aside from eye injuries and what industrial hygiene measures are needed to protect employees from an eye and other types of injuries from wood particles? Wood particles like wood dust, wood chips, wood slivers can penetrate the eye causing loss of vision, allergies, inflammation, damage to the cornea, eyeball, optical nerve, eye socket and so on. The danger from the wood particles includes death if the wood particle penetrates into the eye and straight into the brain. The particle can cause bleeding in the brain, or it may stop blood supply in a part of the brain, it may also cause fluid pressure in the brain to increase. The pressure can cause the person to experience blackouts, hemorrhages and strokes in more severe cases; it can cause paralysis due to brain function hampering (LEWIS, 2016). Personal Protective Equipment are devices, garments, other safety gadgets worn by workers on the job to remain safe against injuries, or harmful effects of hazardous machinery or chemicals used in the industry (Arcury et al., 2015). Typically the protective gears that are used in woodworking industry are: Hard hats: They protect the head and face from broken pieces of wood and other projectiles from the machines. Safety glasses, goggles, shields that cover the face and eyes. Protective hard material gloves Aprons, vests that protect the body, groin, legs and so on Back protections, lower back support that protects the spinal cords Safety shoes that are slip-resistant and can protect the feet from corrosive chemical spillage or any accidental falls Protective earplugs, earmuffs that can protect the ears of workers from the loud noise of the Machines Overalls: overalls made from highly resistant polymers can help protect the workers from spillages of cleaning supplies, chemicals, polishing serum and so on. Masks: Gas Masks, Respirators can be used for preventing inhalation of fumes or smokes that can cause allergies and irritation of the lungs, nose and the respiratory tract. Eye protection specifically will require appropriate measures to guard against flying particle, paint splashes, and other chemical hazards. A good ANSI approved eye gear is required for eye protection. Criteria for a good eye gear are: they should be able to protect the person adequately. The eye gear should be comfortable to wear, the line of vision should not be restricted by the eye gear, they should not cause any limitations to the worker in the field because it increases the risk of accidents to occur. The eye gear should provide freedom of movement and vision. The protective gear should be durable. It should be easy to clean and disinfect. The gear should not heavy or interfere with the functioning of other protective gear the workers has to wear (Arcury et al., 2015) References Arcury, T. A., Summers, P., Rushing, J., Grzywacz, J. G., Mora, D. C., Quandt, S. A., ... Mills, T. H. (2015). 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