Question 1 of 7: Environmental Hazards

Question 1: Environmental Hazards (20 marks: 7/7/6)

Question text not reproduced: the examination questions are © Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Open the official past paper (linked at the top of this page) to read the question, then follow the worked solution below.

(i) Typical Environmental Hazards

• Environmental hazards are the physical, chemical and biological agents present in the workplace environment (as opposed to a specific machine) that can harm health, usually through prolonged exposure. They are the "surroundings" a worker is immersed in.
• Physical: noise, vibration, extremes of temperature (heat/cold stress), abnormal pressure, ionizing radiation (X-rays, gamma) and non-ionizing radiation (UV, microwave, laser), poor illumination.
• Chemical: airborne dusts, fumes, mists, gases, vapours; toxic, corrosive or asphyxiating substances.
• Biological: bacteria, viruses, fungi, moulds.
• Often measured against occupational exposure limits because harm depends on dose (concentration × time).

(ii) Effects of Environmental Hazards

• Acute — immediate effects: burns, poisoning, heat stroke, radiation burns, asphyxiation.
• Chronic — long-term, cumulative effects from repeated low-level exposure: noise-induced hearing loss, occupational lung disease (silicosis, asbestosis), dermatitis, cancers, systemic organ damage, reproductive effects.
• Physiological/comfort — heat stress, fatigue, reduced performance, stress.
• Effects may be local (at the point of contact) or systemic (carried through the body), and some are irreversible or have long latency (delayed onset).

(iii) Sources of Environmental Standards

• Legislation/regulation — occupational health & safety acts and regulations (in Canada, each province’s OH&S Act plus the Canada Labour Code, Part II federally; hazard communication via WHMIS/GHS) that set legally enforceable limits, with the CCOHS as the national resource.
• Consensus/technical bodies — e.g., ACGIH (Threshold Limit Values), NIOSH (Recommended Exposure Limits), OSHA (Permissible Exposure Limits), ISO, CSA, ANSI.
• Scientific research — toxicology, epidemiology and industrial-hygiene studies establishing dose–response relationships that underpin the limits.
• Employer/industry standards — internal codes that may be stricter than the legal minimum.
• Standards derive from a balance of health protection, technical feasibility and measurement practicality, and are periodically revised as knowledge grows.