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Absorbed Dose(radiation):
Quantity of energy imparted by ionising radiation to unit mass of matter such as tissue. Unit: Gray, symbol: Gy. 1 Gy = 1 joule per kilogram.
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Absorption (noise):
The use of a material or structure to absorb noise energy and prevent its reflection.
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Absorptive Silencers:
Used to reduce noise from gas exhausts and gas jets by providing an absorbing medium at the exit of the jet. They attenuate more at higher frequencies.
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Acceleration:
Magnitude of vibration measured in ms-2 based upon an average acceleration level (Root Mean Square) measured by an Accelerometer.
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Accelerometer:
Instrument for measuring vibration that is weighted, or has a filter which reduces the sensitivity of the instrument to less damaging high and low frequency vibrations.
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Acceptable Risk:
A risk which is considered not to interfere with the normal conduct of life, provided that we are satisfied that reasonable precautions are in place. It is normally taken to be in the region of one in a million of a seriously adverse occurrence. See also Unacceptable Risk and Tolerable Risk.
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Accident Costs:
See Direct Costs, Indirect Costs, Insured Costs and Uninsured Costs.
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Accident Rates:
See Frequency Rate, Incident Rate, Severity Rate and Mean Duration Rate.
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Accident Ratios:
Triangular concepts introduced by Heinrich and Bird (among others) whose studies illustrated a relationship between major injuries, minor injuries and no-injury accidents.
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Accident1:
An unplanned event, arising out of an unsafe act or unsafe condition, which causes injury or damage or has the potential to do so. (The Key Consultancy Ltd)
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Accident2:
An undesired circumstance(s) which gives rise to ill health, injury, damage, production losses or increased liabilities. (HSG65). The term accident is now out of favour with the HSE who acknowledge its connotations with chance and misfortune which may lead some to adopt an attitude of inevitability in their treatment of these events. See Incident.
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ACoP:
Approved Code of Practice.
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Acoustic Haven :
An enclosure or cabin possessing noise attenuation characteristics where a worker can obtain relief from the need to constantly wear hearing protection devices.
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Act of Parliament:
Statutory code voted in by both Houses of Parliament which implements Government policy on social behaviour.
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Activated Charcoal Tube:
See Adsorption Tube.
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Active Monitoring:
Activity directed towards checking compliance with an organisation’s OH&S management system.
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Activity:
Attribute of an amount of a radionuclide. It is used to describe the rate at which transformations occur in it. Unit: becquerel, symbol: Bq. 1 Bq = 1 transformation per second.
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ACTS:
Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances. An official committee which sets occupational exposure limits based upon assessments made by WATCH and taking into account, among other things: risks, evidence of health effects, socio-economic implications etc.
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Actus Reus:
An event or state of affairs which is forbidden by the criminal law – ‘the guilty act’, or (in civil law) the act which directly leads to a breach of the duty of care.
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Acute Effects (health):
The immediate effect of a chemical, biological or physical agent after a single exposure.
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Adsorption Tube:
Atmospheric monitoring device comprising a small glass tube filled with charcoal adsorbent material. Air is drawn through the tube by means of a pump and any contaminant present is then adsorbed onto the charcoal. The charcoal is subsequently removed and analysed to determine the nature of contaminant and/or concentration.
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Aerodynamic Diameter:
The diameter of a hypothetical sphere of unit density (ie sg = 1.0) having the same terminal settling velocity as the particle in question, regardless of the particle's geometric size, shape and density.
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Aerosol:
A suspension of any solid particles or liquid droplets in air.
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Agent of Change:
See Change Agent.
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AIDS:
A syndrome caused by the human immunodeficiency virus which attacks the body’s immune defence mechanism. The virus is transmitted via body fluids and workers most at risk include doctors, dentists and emergency services.
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Air Cleaning Device:
A component of a ventilation system which removes contaminants from outgoing or incoming air.
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ALARA:
As low as reasonably achievable – an expression used in risk reduction which defines a stricter standard than ALARP by requiring a test of technical feasibility and current knowledge to be taken into consideration.
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ALARP:
As low as reasonably practicable – an expression used in risk reduction to define a standard or point at which (the cost of) additional risk reduction measures would be grossly disproportionate to the benefits achieved.
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Alienation:
Condition experienced by an individual when their needs are not being fulfilled, leading to withdrawal or possible aggression.
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Allergen:
Any substance, usually a protein, which, taken into the body, makes the body hypersensitive (allergic) to it. See allergy.
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Allergic Dermatitis:
A condition of the skin occurring on subsequent exposure to a substance to which a person has become sensitised. Once sensitised, only a small dose is sufficient to cause a reaction.
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Allergy:
Special sensitivity to an allergen manifesting itself in asthma like symptoms, rashes, hay fever and eczema amongst other things.
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Alpha Particle:
A particle emitted by a radionuclide consisting of two protons plus two neutrons.
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Alpha Radiation:
A form of particulate radiation which causes ionisation. It is made up of swiftly moving nuclei of positively charged helium atoms. Because of their limited powers of penetration alpha particles present their main risk from contamination inside the body when alpha emitters are inhaled or ingested.
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Alternating current (AC):
Electrical current which varies in direction and magnitude having the characteristics of a sine wave oscillation.
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Alternative Means of Escape:
An additional exit route provided where initial travel distance in a room exceeds the specified minimum.
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Alveoli (plural):
The minute air sacs of the lungs where respiration occurs (Alveolus singular).
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Alveolitis:
Inflammation of the alveoli of the lungs caused by an allergic reaction. See Extrinsic Allergic Alveolitis.
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Ames Test:
A method for determining the carcinogenicity of substances based upon the belief that carcinogens induce gene mutation. Instead of animal testing, bacteria grown in a culture medium is used and mutant colonies observed and counted.
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Amosite:
Brown asbestos.
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Amplitude (noise):
The peak pressure level of a sound wave with respect to normal air pressure (i.e., maximum compression (+ve) or maximum rarefraction (-ve).
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Anemometer:
Instrument used for measurement of air speed. See Hot Wire Anemometer and Rotating Vane Anemometer.
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Anthrax:
A sometimes fatal zoonose which affects the skin or lung. It is transmitted through the inhalation of spores or contact with the skin. The bacteria which occurs primarily in animals can survive outside the host in the ground for many years. Occupations most at risk are those treating animal skins and hides.
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Anthropology:
A branch of the behavioural sciences concerned with the study of whole communities and societies seeking to illustrate interdependence and interrelatedness of social groups within them. Broadest study of mankind ie, mind, body, environment, race, evolution.
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Anthropometry:
The scientific measurement of the human body.
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Antigen:
A substance foreign to the body which causes the production of antibodies. See Lymphocyte.
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APF:
Assigned Protection Factor.
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Aplastic Anaemia:
The cessation of red corpuscle production in bone marrow caused by exposure to benzene, trinitrotoluene, irradiation and organic insecticides.
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Appointed Person1:
A person who is not a first aider but is appointed and trained by an employer to carry out duties involved in the management of a first aid emergency.
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Appointed Person2:
Arising out of PUWER, a person with suitable and sufficient training who is appointed in writing by an employer to inspect and test guards and/or protection devices on power presses.
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Approved Code of Practice:
A device introduced by s16 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by which the Health and Safety Commission may approve industrial standards and working practices which meet the requirements of a particular set of Regulations. ACoPs give advice on how to comply with the law and have special legal status in so far as they may be used in evidence to support a prosecution (or a defence) for breaches of Regulations.
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Aptitude:
The ability to deal with aspects of the environment. An innate ability to perform a particular behaviour.
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Arc Eye:
An extremely painful conjunctivitis including photophobia (unwillingness to look at light) follows a few hours after exposure to ultra-violet radiation used in welding. The condition usually involves the cornea as well as conjunctiva (keratoconjunctivitis).
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Area Sampling:
The collection of samples of airborne concentrations of substances hazardous to health by placing a sampling device at selected points in a workplace which may produce a representative sample of the contamination which exits.
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Argyria:
Silver-blue skin discolouration caused by long-term exposure to silver salts.
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Argyris (Chris):
Management guru whose main relevance is his work into the effects of organisational control on the growth trends of a healthy personality.
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Article 100a:
See Article 95.
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Article 118a:
See Article 137.
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Article 137:
Article of the Single European Act aimed at harmonising the standards of safety of people at the workplace.
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Article 95:
Article of the Single European Act aimed at removing the barriers to trade for new machinery and equipment.
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Asbestos:
Potently toxic material known to cause cancer in humans and fibrotic disease. See asbestosis.
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Asbestosis:
A prescribed disease which occurs predominantly in the deep lung producing fibrotic nodules which gradually conglomerate reducing lung function and causing breathing difficulties. Also notifiable under RIDDOR (see Mesothelioma).
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Aspergillosis:
A prescribed disease caused by exposure to the Aspergillus fungus commonly associated with asthma-like symptoms. It can occasionally grow in the eye or heart valves with serious consequences. Occupations at risk include farming and horticulture.
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Asphyxiant:
A substance which has the properties to suffocate a living being. See Simple Asphyxiant and Chemical Asphyxiant.
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Assessed Risk:
The level of risk (of a particular outcome) as valued by expert opinion and generally based upon relevant data, knowledge and experience, and probabilistic conclusions. See also Estimated Risk.
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Assigned Protection Factor:
The level of respiratory protection that can realistically be expected to be achieved in the workplace by 95% of adequately trained and supervised wearers using a properly functioning and correctly fitted respiratory protective device.
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Assumed Protection Value (APV):
A prediction of the noise reduction possible to achieve in real use, usually calculated as the mean attenuation minus one standard deviation.
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Asthma:
See Occupational Asthma.
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Atom:
The smallest portion of an element that can combine chemically with other atoms.
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Atomic Absorption Spectrometry:
An analytical technique which involves the absorption of light energy by an atomic vapour. The wavelength at which absorption occurs is characteristic of the element; and the degree of absorption is a function of the concentration of atoms in the vapour.
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Atomic Mass:
The mass of an isotope of an element expressed in atomic mass units, which are defined as one-twelfth of the mass of an atom of carbon-12.
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Atomic Number :
The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom which determines its chemical properties.
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Attention Mechanism:
Component of human functioning which allows us to select particular information from the vast amount detectable by the senses.
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Attenuation:
The noise reduction achieved by control measures in dB.
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Attenuation Data:
Information provided by a supplier of hearing protection devices about the attenuation properties of their products.
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Attitude:
A predisposition to think, act or feel in a particular way about a particular issue.
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Audiometry:
A technique used for assessing the degree of hearing loss in a person.
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Audit:
See Safety Audit.
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Authorised Person:
A senior manager or authority in a company whose responsibility is to issue a permit to work. See also Responsible Person.
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Authority:
The ability to get things done because one’s orders are seen to be legitimate or justified – legitimate power.
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Autoignition Temperature:
The lowest temperature at which a substance will ignite spontaneously (ie without the presence of a source of ignition).
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Automatic Guard:
A protective device linked to the action of a machine which moves the guard into position when the machine cycle begins, and in the process moves the operator away from the danger zone.
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A-weighting:
A mathematical weighting of the audible frequencies designed to mimic the response of the human ear to noise. It takes account of the fact that the ear is less sensitive to noise at very high or very low frequencies than it is at frequencies in the middle of the audible range
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