Safety Handbook In Workplaces

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Safety Handbook

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SAFETY HANDBOOK 2

Safety Handbook

The workplace is not entirely safe for the workers that toil and moil to deliver output in

their areas of expertise. Therefore, employers have to ensure that their workers have at least a

conducive environment for exemplary performance and remarkable adherence to work ethics.

Furthermore, the scientific world is prone to biological agent contamination. In this accord, it is

essential that effective control strategies are employed to contain the potential risks emanating

from the contamination. Biological agents are microorganisms like fungus, bacteria, protozoans

that can provoke an infection, an allergy and also can be used as biological weapons. Due to their

microscopic nature, they can elicit pathological issues without knowledge of the victim. They

have the ability to replicate fast and cause infections in small doses. In light of this, this

handbook tries to elucidate the various biological agents that employees are exposed to, the

primary exposure mechanisms for biological agents, and their methods of evaluation and control.

Various Types Biological Agents

Various biological agents that cause hazardous and deleterious effects to the employees

in the workplace and the medical conditions associated with the agents are as illustrated below.

Anthrax is an acute infectious disease caused by a spore-forming bacterium called

Bacillus anthracis. The mode of transmission is entirely dependent on the physical contact with

anthrax-infected animals and contaminated animal products.

Furthermore, the Avian flu is a deadly disease for birds. Culling of infected and exposed

birds is the most prominent control strategy for both human health and agricultural sector.

Moreover, Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF) is a medical condition that is highly

contagious, and it emanates from infection with Ebola virus. Viral hemorrhagic fever is due to

several strains of the Ebola virus. Tularemia in rabbit is another biological agent that affects

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people in the workplace. Bacteria Yersinia pestis cause plague and the mode of transmission is

through direct contact or consumption of uncooked food.

Control Biological Agents

There are various methods to control biological agents as illustrated below

Immunization of people at high risk of exposure to biological agents. The immunization

process readies the body for the invasion of the body by the respective pathogen. Immunization

implores the immune cells to develop antibodies against the pathogen causing biological agents.

Furthermore, education of employees on the fundamentals of handling the specimens

with a lot of care and maintain personal cleanliness is vital for combating the spread of biological

agents. Employee education equips employees dealing with hazardous biological agents with

vital skills to minimize contamination.

Control of discharged wastes from biological plants and biological research

organizations. Disposal of wastes that have active biological agents should be conducted with

utmost caution so as to minimize employee exposure (Prasad, 2009).

Employees who are exhibiting symptoms of infection or infected with the biological

agent should seek medical attention. Early medical attention improves the employee’s chances of

surviving the ailment emanating from exposure to biological agents.

Isolation of the infected people from the uninfected individuals should be encouraged to

limit the spread of biological agents.

Mechanism Action of Biological Agents

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Pathogenic Bacillus anthracis secrets two potent toxins during its infection referred to as

lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF). The two interact synergistically to block Rab11/Sec154

exocyst-dependent endocytic recycling, resulting in reduction in Notch signaling and Cadherin-

dependent adhesion at the adherence junction (Australia, 2010).

For Brucella to successfully induce pathogenicity it has to undergo four steps like other

biological agents: adherence, invasion, establishment and dissemination of the host.it can infect

macrophages suggesting that antibody or complemented phagocytosis. It can stay and replicate,

inhibiting phagosome-lysosome fusion through rapid acidification of the phagosome from the

subsequent uptake. Therefore, phagosome of the macrophages is an intracellular niche for this

pathogen. Lastly, the accumulated bacteria are disseminated to other host cells.

Moreover, a new class of biological agent mechanism is the selective adhesion molecules

(SAM). There is an interaction between leukocytes and the endothelium that allows leukocytes to

migrate from the vascular space into tissues where they cause inflammation; the integrins are

leukocyte membrane glycol proteins with both beta-1 and beta-7 subunits. Beta-1 and Beta-7

subunits interact with the endothelial glands and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and mucosa

address ion cell adhesion molecule-1 that mediate trafficking of leukocytes into the gut mucosa.

The process ends using monoclonal antibody (Australia, 2010).

Evaluation

As much as the recommendations are put forward to curb the spread of infections caused

by biological agents some of them can penetrate and cause many life threating diseases in the

community. The fact that some biological agents are airborne and thus spread at very high rates

renders the control techniques advance to combat employee exposure ineffective.

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Furthermore, quarantining infected workers elicit a feeling of absolute solitude and

alienation. In this accord, it is fundamental that intensive counseling is conducted to achieve

mental stability and psychological support for the infected employees. Such strategies would

instill positive attitude among the workers in the fight against biological agent exposure in the

workplace.

In conclusion, biological agents are microscopic organisms that are harmful and elicit

deleterious effects on the infected individuals. In this accord, it is vital to ensure that strict

regulations and strategies are formulated and implemented to foster employee safety in the

workplace. In light of this, the employer is mandated to guarantee employee safety and working

conditions that are free from exposure to biological agents. On the other hand, the employee has

a responsibility to promote individual safety by adhering to the stipulated procedures.

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References

Australia. (2010). Security sensitive biological agent (SSBA) standards: Standards for the

handling, storage, disposal and transport of security-sensitive biological agents and

suspected security-sensitive biological agents. Barton, A.C.T: Department of Health and

Ageing.

European Agency for Safety and Health at Work. (2003). Biological agents. Luxembourg: Office

for official pubs. of the E.C.

NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Detection of Biological Agents for the Prevention of

Bioterrorism, & Banoub, J. H. (2011). Detection of biological agents for the prevention

of bioterrorism. Dordrecht: Springer.

Prasad, S. K. (2009). Biological agents. New Delhi: Discovery Pub. House.

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