Hygiene and Occupational Safety:

Occupational Safety:

Occupational Safety is the set of knowledge, techniques, and non-medical actions aimed at eliminating or
at least reduce the risks of material damage and personal injuries. The action of Workplace Safety must
is eminently preventive, to detect and analyze the root causes of risk and seek their elimination or mitigation
reduction. In every project, whether productive, service-oriented, infrastructure, urban planning, or recreational, they must be taken into account.
taking into account security, hygiene, and environmental conditions from the development stage or conception
constructive phase up to the operational or productive stage, with the associated costs needing to be internalized
implementation of proper management.

It has the following objectives:

1. Preserve the psychophysical integrity of the people who carry out activities in a company and of the goods of the
same

This duty of preservation extends not only to the internal personnel but also to the contracted personnel.
any reason, the visits, and the suppliers

3. Preserve the company's assets

4. Avoid damage to the community and environment resulting from the company's activity

In our country, the fundamental regulatory norm on the subject is Law 19587, known as the 'Law on Hygiene and Safety in...
the Work " . Its validity dates back to 1972, published in the Official Gazette on 04/28/1972

Danger: Source or situation with the capacity to cause harm in terms of injury (damage to the body), property damage,
damage to the environment or a combination of both.

Risk: Combination of the frequency or probability that may arise from the materialization of a hazard

Risk assessment: A process through which the necessary information is obtained for the organization to be
conditions for making an appropriate decision regarding the opportunity to take preventive actions and, in that case, about
the actions that must be taken

DANGER: it is any source of energy, psychological and behavioral factors, that when not controlled lead to a
potential cause of accident.

RISK: It is the assumed effect of an uncontrolled hazard, and its probability of occurring, causing some injury.
disease or damage.

We wonder: what are the differences?

Danger is present at all times, whether at work, at home, as a rescuer, or in traffic.

On the contrary, risk is the result of not taking the actions and measures that minimize danger.

FÍSICOS: ILUMINACIÓN RUIDO ESTRES TERMICO RADIACIONES IONIZANTES RADIACIONES NO IONIZANTES

QUÍMICOS: CONTAMINANTES QUÍMICOS- VAPORES ORGÁNICOS CONTAMINANTES QUÍMICOS- GASES CONTAMINANTES
CHEMICALS - CONTAMINATING AEROSOLS - METALS

BIOLOGICAL: They are made up of a set of microorganisms, toxins, biological secretions, tissues, organs.
human, animal and plant bodies

MECHANICS: LOAD AND UNLOAD VIBRATIONS ERGONOMICS in all aspects

PSYCHOSOCIAL FACTORS: WORK ORGANIZATION WORK PACE AUTONOMY WORK CLIMATE

PARTICIPATION

Health:

Health is not merely the absence of disease but also an optimal state of physical, mental, and social well-being.
Health is not something that is possessed as a common good, but rather a way of functioning in harmony with one's work environment and
leisure and way of life in general.

Since the work environment constitutes an important part of the total environment in which man lives, health
it depends on the working conditions.

Accident:

Accidents are sudden, violent events, with traumatic and damaging effects, which due to their nature, must be avoided.
Within the framework of preventive safety, resulting in the prevention of accidents being the fundamental guideline.

ACCIDENT OF

WORK, in article 6, when it defines it as: a sudden and violent event occurring due to the fact or occasion of
work, or in the journey between the worker's home and the workplace (in itinere).

INCIDENT: understood as the fact or dangerous situation that does not cause harm to the worker.
Well, its occurrence can determine at some point, the WORK ACCIDENT.

Incidents are unplanned and unforeseen events that, by some 'coincidence', could cause damage or injury.
they did not produce them

A more comprehensive way to analyze an accident and the probable causes that intervened in it could be the
elementos que interrelacionan en un accidente de trabajo:

- Agent.- It is the object or substance most closely related to the injury, e.g.: machines, tools, manuals,
chemical substances, powders, among others

The Agent's Part.- These are the parts that directly cause the injury (saw, drill bit, hammer, press,
blade

Unsafe Condition - These are working conditions that do not comply with safety standards and therefore
they present a high risk of workplace accidents, e.g. dirty and slippery floors, inadequate lighting
- Type of Accident.- It is the mechanism by which contact is established between the injured person and the object that
causes the accident. e.g.: being squeezed between one or more objects, falling at the same level

- Unsafe Act.- It is the violation of a procedure that is normally regulated and accepted as safe (to carry out a
operation without authorization, working either very quickly or too slowly

- Human Factor.- It is the mental or physical characteristic that has a predisposition to accidents, either due to
individual predisposition (accident-prone personality), as well as by improper attitudes (not following orders, not
understand the instructions, nervousness

There are also indicators to consider:

FREQUENCY INDEX

Express the number of workers injured, in a period of one year, per one million hours worked.

LOSS INDEX

The loss index reflects the number of workdays lost in the year for every thousand workers.
exposed.

INDEX OF DECREASE

The absenteeism rate indicates the number of workdays that are lost on average in a year for each worker.
accident-prone.

INCIDENCE INDEX FOR DEATHS

The incidence rate for deaths indicates the number of workers who die, in a period of one year, per each
one million exposed workers.

An accident is, moreover, a business problem that abruptly interrupts the usual functioning of the
organization that disrupts the company's progress

Industrial safety is an operational philosophy of the organization that must be applied with the same conviction as
that quality is sought in production

It is a priority to prioritize techniques that study and regulate the prevention of unsafe acts and conditions.
causes of work accidents.

It is the responsibility of EVERYONE: authorities; employers and employees

Unsafe conditions must be eradicated: they stem from the environment in which workers perform their tasks, citing
as an example:

Inadequate structures and facilities

Absence of fire protection measures

Equipment without maintenance

Defective or inadequate tools

Lack of order or cleanliness

Unsafe acts: depend on the actions of the worker themselves

Lack of training and ignorance of preventive measures for accidents

• Característcas personales: Confianza excesiva, Irresponsabilidad.

Operations without training

Operate equipment without authorization

Block or remove security devices

Do not use protective equipment

AVOID CONTAMINATION: To spread or imbue an object or the air with pathogenic germs or harmful substances.
health

Atmospheric

Of the waters

Sonora

Industrial Hygiene

There are different ways to characterize Hygiene, although we can express that it represents the 'Prevention and control of
risks generated in or from the workplace that can affect health and well-being, cause significant
discomfort and inefficiency of workers or individuals in the community

Or: Industrial Hygiene would be the 'discipline responsible for identifying, evaluating, and controlling contaminants of origin.
labor.

It is the discipline aimed at the recognition, evaluation, and control of the agents to which workers are exposed.
your workplace and that can cause an occupational disease.

1. Theoretical Hygiene: It is responsible for developing the assessment criteria. Regarding the scheme, theoretical hygiene will be
what contribution the evaluation criteria make to determine whether the situation is safe or dangerous for the worker.

2. Field Hygiene: It is responsible for identifying and measuring the contaminants present in the work environment.
the one that would act at the stages of identification and measurement that appear in the scheme.

3. Analytical Hygiene: This branch would be closely related to field hygiene. It refers to laboratory techniques.
used to identify and measure workplace contaminants. Field hygiene measures and identifies contaminants in
The workplace and analytical hygiene take samples at the workplace and analyze them in the laboratory. It would be
indicated, fundamentally, in chemical pollutants.

4. Operational Hygiene: It would be the branch responsible for controlling, eliminating or reducing levels of contaminants in the workplace.
Working environmental conditions

As a first idea on this aspect, it involves considering that exposure to environmental conditions of the
Workplaces should not pose a risk to the safety and health of workers.

On the other hand, essential safety conditions are the environmental conditions of the workplaces.
they should not constitute a source of discomfort or annoyance for workers.

When we refer to such "conditions", it ultimately means that within the framework of security it is necessary to
controlar y evitar la presencia de los enunciados factores de riesgo. Todo lo que será combatdo con un programa de
security, and the adoption of collective or personal protections as appropriate and assumed.

Regulations of Law 19.587, approved by Decree 351/79.

The ANNEXES of law 19587 are presented below, identified with Roman numerals, in the following detail,
allowing you to form knowledge of the exact regulation contained in our law, everything that
must be fully aware:

Chapter 1: Establishments

Chapters 2, 3, and 4: Medical Service and Occupational Health and Safety

Chapter 5: Project, installation, and/or modification of establishments.

Chapter 6: Provision of Drinking Water

Chapter 7: Industrial Drains

Chapter 8: Thermal Load

Chapter 9: Environmental Pollution

Chapter 10: Radiations

Chapter 11: Ventilation

Chapter 12: Lighting and Color

Chapter 13: Noises and vibrations

Chapter 14: Electrical Installations

Chapter 15: Machines and Tools

Chapter 16: Devices that can develop internal pressure

Chapter 17: Jobs with Special Risks

Capítulo 18: Protección contra incendio

Chapter 19: Equipment and personal protective elements

Chapters 20 and 21: Selection and Training of Personnel

Chapter 22: Statistics on work accidents and diseases

We call PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT: Any article designed to act as a barrier that protects
the body or a limb of the worker, from blows, falls, abrasions, punctures, and wounds, or in an element that
absorbs or retains a harmful substance or radiation, preventing injury or illness.

Annual Hygiene and Safety Plan Formation 12

CONCEPT: It means the advisory on hygiene, safety, and health at work to companies, organizations, and individuals with
or non-profit with a number greater than 5 workers, applying and complying with current legislation (Laws 19587 and
24557)3, whose objective is to preserve the integrity and physical-psychological health of workers.

a. Training tasks (General and specific courses):

b. b. Measurements and Evaluations of work environments

c. Risk prevention

d. Legal advice and updates legal boards

e. Programs for contract management

f. Special programs

g. Safety programs in construction according to Res. SRT

h. 051/97, 911/97, 319/99:

i. Programs for fire management.

j. MAXIMUM OBJECTIVE: Implementation of management system under National and International standards
function to the client's requirements, the technician can advise on the possibility of implementing a
Management system IRAM 3800 and OSHAS 18001, which are certifiable standards.

k. EMERGENCIES, how to act.

If the employer becomes aware of a work accident or occupational disease, they must file a report.
formal before the ART and send the injured party to the medical provider authorized by the ART

If the employer does not report the incident, the worker himself can do it before the ART or the service providers.
enabled.

If the employer is not affiliated with any ART, they will be responsible to the workers and their beneficiaries for
provide all the medical and monetary benefits provided for in Law No. 24,557.

Work Accident or Occupational Disease

A work accident is considered any sudden and violent event that occurs by the act of or in the occasion of work, such as
likewise those occurring between the worker's home and the workplace, as long as the worker does not
modify or change the route for reasons beyond the work

Occupational diseases are those that result from the performance of tasks.
labor relations.

Accident Report

The employer is obligated to report to the insurer any work accident or occupational disease that
Their workers suffer.

The worker themselves, their beneficiaries, or any person who has been able to file the complaint will also be able to do so.
knowledge of the work accident or occupational disease.

The complaint will be directed to the Insurer, but it may be presented to the service provider that it
enabled for that purpose.

When the complaint is filed directly with the Insurer, it must take the necessary precautions to ensure that
the worker receives the benefits in kind immediately.

In the event that the worker, their beneficiaries, or any person who has knowledge of the accident
of work will file the complaint in writing with the ART, it must contain a relationship of the facts, the
identification of the parties (Worker / Employer) and the signature of the complainant.

It is responsible for providing all the medical and monetary benefits established by law, immediately after
to be notified of the work accident or occupational disease.

Medical Benefits The ART is obligated to provide, in case of contingencies provided by law, the following
benefits in kind:

a) Medical and pharmaceutical assistance.

b) Prosthetics and orthopedics.

c) Rehabilitation.

d) Personal reclassification.

e) Funeral services.

Medical and pharmaceutical assistance, prosthetics and orthopedics, and rehabilitation must be provided as long as they persist.
the symptoms or even their complete healing.

Monetary Benefits

The insurance company must provide the worker with a monthly monetary benefit until they are granted discharge or until it is fulfilled.
a year since his accident.

Durante los primeros 10 días de ausencia del trabajador, las prestaciones dinerarias estarán a cargo del empleador.

High
The discharge must be granted in writing and notified to the worker.

Upon being discharged, the worker must present themselves to their employer to resume work activities.

In the event of disagreeing with the granted discharge, you must inform your employer so that they can request a
re-entry to the ART, or directly request re-entry to the ART.

If a satisfactory response is not obtained, the worker can initiate a procedure before the Medical Commission.
corresponding due to discrepancy in the registration.

Percentage of Disability

In case there is a sequel resulting from the accident, the percentage of disability will be estimated and notified by
the ART after the work release or after the year of the accident (whichever comes first).

The worker may accept the percentage granted by the ART or reject it.

In the event that the % is accepted, an agreement may be signed, which will then be approved by the Office of
Approvals and Visa, the Medical Commission or authorized bodies.

If it had not been agreed upon, the worker can initiate a procedure at the nearest medical commission to their home.

Superintendence of Labor Risks (SRT)

In addition to enforcing the objectives outlined in the Occupational Risk Law, in the Superintendency of Risks of
Work can make inquiries, request information, and report the non-compliance of ART and employers.

Certification and Visa Offices (OHV)

The OHV are responsible for homologating all agreements presented by the Risk Insurer of
Work (ART) related to the percentage of disability signed between the ART and the worker, as long as the percentage is
less than 66% and is definitive.

These offices are composed of doctors who will certify whether the granted and agreed percentage corresponds to the
permanent disability of the victim.

Medical Commissions

The Medical Commissions intervene, at the request of the worker, in the following cases:

When the ART has rejected the complaint submitted by the employer or worker, denying the labor nature of the
accident or the professional nature of the illness.

When the worker does not agree with the ART regarding the permanent disability determined by the
same.

When you do not agree with the ART regarding the medical treatment received.

When the complaint is made to the ART, it has not accepted or rejected the claim.

When you do not agree with the discharge granted by the ART
HYGIENE PLAN

Organized the internal or external service of a hygiene and safety technician.

First aid kit

3. Occupational health service that can also be internal or external.

4. Conducting entry, periodic, and exit medical examinations.

5. Control and promote the elimination of unhealthy areas

6. Keep proper medical records for each employee with their file.

7. Continuous supervision of Hygiene and Safety in all areas and for all individuals

8. Maintain commitment and solidarity relationships with sick employees and their families.

9. Controlar el nivel de prestadores de las ART

Arbitrate all preventive measures to eliminate health risks to workers.

11. Strict control and measurements in the processes and environments of each of the risks, chemical avoiding
intoxications, dermatosis, respiratory problems, contaminations with the appropriate personal protective equipment
the collectives.

12. Preventive control with Physical Risks, levels of environmental noise, machinery, temperature, due
lighting, pollution, radiation both ionizing and non-ionizing.

13. Promote special controls for cases of biological risks, adopting the highest rigor for this.
protection from pathogenic microorganisms, and any other substance.

14. Work on the personal and family lifestyle habits of all workers to detect possible risks.
collaterals in health.

15. Carry out preventive vaccination campaigns.

16. Work on health education programs, primarily to eliminate addictions.

17. Interconsultations between the medical service and section heads to evaluate behaviors and conduct of
employees, especially if any kind of 'mismatch' is evident.

18. The control carried out through Hygiene aims to protect the health of the worker by keeping them away from risks.
labor relations, which could be stated as:

Working environmental conditions: gathering all types of physical circumstances that surround the employee. It is the so-called
ambient physical, in which factors such as lighting, atmospheric conditions like temperature, stand out,
noise; chemical and biological pollutants as already stated.

Condiciones vinculadas con eltempo de trabajo, en lo cual influye la extensión de la jornada, si es diurna o nocturna,
number of overtime hours, schedule of days off and breaks linked to their organic and psychological recovery.

Social conditions related to the so-called 'work climate' directly linked to relationships.
interpersonal relationships among employees and hierarchies, to highlight and prevent situations of workplace violence or stress.
SECURITY PLAN

1. For the approach to this aspect, theories have demonstrated that motivational behaviors have contributed
positive results in the reduction of accidents, understood as developments of premiums towards the areas of
minor accidents; jobs interacted with family groups for raising awareness of the whole group that
surround the worker.

2. Integrated and systematic training should be promoted to verify the true acquisition of the
basic safety knowledge, understanding positions, use of PPE, correct handling and suitable for the
tarea, comportamiento ante el riesgo, ante las emergencias, capacitación en obra, con efectvización de simulacros.

3. The instruction must be ensured for the entire group without differences or separations.

4. Reflect on incidents that have occurred to seek commitment and ideas to prevent them from happening again.

5. Security technicians must perform monitoring and audits in each of the work environments to
personally verify the existence of unsafe acts or practices that need to be corrected, in order to advance in the
zero risk proactivity.

6. Evaluate and assess the staff regarding performance evidenced in relation to Safety, as such an attitude is
a value that should be added to the concepts of productivity, as positive factors.

7. Educating in the interpretation of signs and signals.

8. Conduct awareness campaigns on safety and hygiene measures, with positive messages and images.

9. The company must be responsible for marking danger zones, as well as for the products.
that have high risk.

10. Teach programs that achieve training in security, which develop a package of processes such as:
First aid, techniques to prevent accidents, handling of hazardous equipment, behaviors in the face of
emergency; use of safety elements that are necessary for the tasks to be completed.

11. Responsibility programs in the handling and use of helmets, prevention in the case of using motorcycles.

12. Information about the contracted insurance, with the necessary evidence, and cards in case they exist.

13. Implement programs with medical professionals that encourage quitting smoking, education regarding
Cholera, drug addiction, AIDS, Chagas.

14. Generate incentives for compliance with the entire security program that can consist of money or well in
another interesting prize.

Occupational Health

DEFINITION: To define the framework of Occupational Health, we take the

definition of the World Health Organization (WHO) that conceptualizes it as: "A multidisciplinary activity,"
aimed at promoting and protecting the health of workers by preventing and controlling diseases and
accidents, and the elimination of the factors and conditions that endanger health and safety at work.
Additionally, strive to generate and promote safe and healthy work, as well as good work environments and organizations.
enhancing the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers and supporting the improvement and maintenance of their
work capacity; while also seeking to empower workers to lead their social and economic lives
products and effectively contribute to sustainable development. Occupational health allows for enrichment
human and professional at work.

The health of the worker is one of their fundamental rights, as well as being a human right that is protected by
international treaties. It is the responsibility of those who generate the risk to proactively address this right to health.

Organizar un programa de salud con medidas preventvas para antciparse a los hechos de accidentes o enfermedades.

It consists of the planning, organization, execution, control, and evaluation of all those activities aimed at
preserve, maintain and improve the individual and collective health of workers in order to prevent workplace accidents
and occupational diseases.

The main objective of an Occupational Health program is to provide safety, protection, and care to the
employees in the performance of their work.

You must train the entire organization in First Aid so that everyone can provide this assistance in case of being
necessary until the ambulance or emergency service arrives.

The objective of Occupational Health is to ensure that workers are free from any harm to their health.
caused by the conditions in which they carry out their activities and by the equipment, tools, machinery and
substances they manipulate in their work. Likewise, it tries to ensure a pleasant and free environment.
discomforts

LAW OF HYGIENE AND SAFETY IN THE WORKPLACE LAW No. 19,587 Bs. As., 21/4/72

National Decree Number: 351 - Regulatory of the Law on Hygiene and Safety.

Resumen: La Prevención de los riesgos y la reparación de los daños derivados del trabajo se regirán por esta LRT y sus
regulatory standards.

Article 6 - "The regulations concerning the hygiene conditions of the work environments must consider
primordially:

a) design characteristics of industrial plants, establishments, premises, centers and workplaces, machinery,
teams and procedures followed in the work;

b) physical factors: cubage, ventilation, temperature, thermal load, pressure, humidity, lighting, noise, vibrations and
ionizing radiation;
c) environmental pollution: physical and/or chemical and biological agents;

d) industrial effluents.

Article 7 - "The regulations for safety conditions at work shall primarily consider:

a) facilities, equipment and accessories; utensils and tools: location and maintenance;

b) protection of machines, installations, and devices;

c) electrical installations;

d) personal protective equipment for workers;

e) prevention of workplace accidents and occupational diseases;

f) identification and labeling of harmful substances and marking of dangerous and particularly dangerous places;

g) prevention and protection against fires and any kind of accidents.

Work Risks Law 24.557 October 3, 1995.

Resumen: La Prevención de los riesgos y la reparación de los daños derivados del trabajo se regirán por esta LRT y sus
Regulatory norms The background of this law was the accident law 9688 and its reforms, which only made
approach when the damage had already occurred, which made the conceptual change introduced by the current law notable.
Objectives

Reduce workplace accidents through the prevention of job-related risks.

Repair the damages resulting from work accidents and occupational diseases, including rehabilitation of
damaged worker.

Inevitable and necessary objectives if prevention was not satisfactory.

Promote the retraining and redeployment of affected workers. This objective aims to reconvert the workforce.
reassign the worker who suffers from the disability resulting from an occupational illness or accident
work

Accidents and illnesses

It is any sudden and violent event that occurs due to or in connection with work that produces psychological harm.
and/or verifiable physical condition in the health of the worker, which incapacitates him to perform his usual work.

It also provides coverage for accidents occurring 'in itinere', that is, those that occur during the journey.
direct and habitual between the worker's home and the workplace; the worker may declare in writing before the
employer, within 72 hours before the insurer, that the itinerary is modified for study reasons,
concurrent employment or care of a sick non-cohabiting direct relative.

In all cases that may cause variations in the usual route communicated by the worker, the same law
And regulations impose special duties to be fulfilled, everything that must be communicated to the employee beforehand.
so that he knows how he should behave.
These duties may be cited as:

The employee must notify the employer in writing of such circumstance prior to the modification.

b. The contingency must always be an external fact not caused or provoked by the worker themselves through fault or intent.
in which case the ART does not respond.

c. In the case of attending to a non-cohabiting sick family member, this must be adequately proven.
employee, in response to the request of the ART.

d. If the event occurs when the employee moves from one job to another, the ART that responds is the
corresponding to the work reason for their transfer, without prejudice to the internal repetitions that are made
insurance companies.

occupational disease

The labor law does not define the concept of 'Occupational Disease', as it does with Work Accidents.

That is why, for its illustration, we can identify the disease that the LRT refers to as 'Professional' as everything
process that becomes slow, with worsening evolution, caused by the repetition of movements or reiteration of
presence in environments affected by physical, chemical, biological, mechanical factors, which directly impact the
organically or psychologically, causing him permanent damage, which generates work incapacity, all the
que previamente le obligará a solicitar carpetas médicas por tal motvo.

In cases of illness, the ART must provide the same benefits as in work accidents.

They are excluded from this law:

a) Work accidents and occupational diseases caused by the worker's intent or by force majeure
misses work

b) The worker's disabilities that existed prior to the initiation of the employment relationship and were documented in the examination
pre-employment carried out according to the guidelines established by the enforcing authority.

This second assumption will be verified with the mandatory pre-employment medical examination for the employer.

The statistical analysis of workplace accidents is fundamental, as it draws from past experience and its investigation.
Data will arise to determine prevention plans.

Allows the analysis to reflect, in turn, the effectiveness and the result of the safety standards adopted.

The fundamental objectives of statistics are:

Detect, assess, eliminate or control the causes of accidents.

Provide the appropriate foundation for preparation and implement general and specific preventive standards.

Determine direct and indirect costs.

Compare specific periods for the purpose of evaluating the application of the guidelines provided by the Service and their
relationship with the indices published by the enforcement authority.
ERGONOMICS

It is a scientific discipline of a multidisciplinary nature that studies the relationships between man and the activities he undertakes.
and the elements of the system in which it is immersed, with the purpose of reducing physical and mental burdens.
individual's psychic characteristics and adapting products, systems, workstations, and environments to the characteristics,
limitations and needs of its users; seeking to optimize its effectiveness, safety, comfort, and overall performance
system

Ergonomics is defined as the scientific discipline that studies the design of systems where people perform.
your work. These systems are called 'work systems' and are broadly defined as 'the sector of
environment on which human work has an effect and from which the human extracts the information it needs to
work. The objective of the ergonomist is to describe the relationship between human beings and all the elements of
work system.

It is important to highlight that in the relationship between the person and the work system we can emphasize two aspects.
relatively different. On one hand, we have the purely physical aspect that refers to the structure
muscular and skeletal of the person

Prevention.

Law 24.557 in Section A of Article 1: "Reduce occupational accident rates through the prevention of risks of
work

RISK FACTORS:

THE MAN

2) THE MACHINE, DEVICE, EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

THE ENVIRONMENT

4) THE PROCEDURES

CONTINUOUS MONITORING: The organization of a comprehensive Hygiene and Safety program imposes a control attitude.
continuous monitoring, through the implementation of H and S standards, which must be efficiently explained to
at all levels, to then ensure that the instructions and explanations are fulfilled without variations or
inconveniences.

The commitments that the program must contain are:

Environmental protection, including pollution prevention and waste management.

Safety and health in the workplace, as well as eliminating or, if not possible, minimizing occupational risks.

The compliance with current applicable legislation and the regulatory framework signed by the organization, must extend to
the fulfillment of the specific requirement that applies to the organization.

Continuous improvement that ensures effective performance regarding the environment and health and safety at work.

The integration, therefore, of these commitments into the general management system of an organization.

The definition of an integrated system must encompass all aspects related to the matter, considering the aspect
environmental, health, safety, hygiene, prevention, risk analysis, pollution, emergency control, and
special planes.

The planning of the Integrated Management System includes:

Identification, evaluation, and control of environmental aspects and occupational risks.

• Legal requirements and other requirements.

Objectives, goals, and programs

These premises are:

There must be commitment and leadership from the organization's management.

All applicable current legislation and that subscribed by the organization must be identified.
It should be based on the continuous improvement of the integrated system performance.

It is a permanent activity. The objectives, goals, and programs cannot be static, but rather dynamic.

It is fundamentally based on preventive action and not on corrective action. Effectiveness should be measured fundamentally.
for the performances.

It is a priority to prevent risks both in normal and abnormal conditions, as well as in potential situations that
may happen.

The system must be measurable. It will only be effective if one is able to measure and evaluate the situation in which one finds oneself.
organization, where you want to go and what is needed.

In both systems, the identification and evaluation techniques are similar, and even some are identical, so that
They can be integrated. It is very important that the measurements are made on prospective indicators.

It is everyone's task.

It is achieved through training.

OHSAS 18001 addresses the following key areas:

Upon prior evaluation of the general conditions, it begins with:

Planning to identify, evaluate, and control risks

Application of the management program that contains the OHSAS

To encompass the entire structure of the organization with the mandate of responsibility

Develop the values of Training, awareness, and competence

Develop the Consulting and budgets for efficient communication

Carry out the monitoring to control the functioning of the program

Prepare measures for an effective emergency response.

Permanently measure, monitor, and implement corrective and preventive measures to maintain an improvement.
performance.

This program is set up for the organization, all the structure, but also for the eventual participants,
to be applied to clients and the public in general.

This means that the hygiene, health, and safety management program for its effectiveness must be adhered to by all.
people, to exercise efficiency in the quality of the subject Hygiene, Health and Safety at work.

Occupational Medicine and Toxicology

If we consider that the working environment is the group of natural and artificial factors present in the areas of
work and that are potentially capable of influencing the worker and affecting their health, revisiting the precepts
Established by Ramazzini in the 18th century, it is an ethical responsibility to ensure that working conditions are such
that allow the human being to realize themselves as a person through their work, that it serves as sustenance for themselves and their
family, and not that it becomes a cause of disease.

For Argentine legislation, an occupational disease is defined in Law 24557/95, which created the Risk system.
of Labor. The law in its article 2 (modified by Decree 1278/2000) establishes that:

a) Professional diseases are those included in the list that will be prepared and reviewed
the Executive Power, in accordance with the procedure of article 40 section 3 of this law. The list will identify agents.
risk, clinical pictures, exposure, and activities in the ability to determine occupational disease.
diseases not included in the listing, along with their consequences, will not be considered compensable, with the only
exception to the provisions in the following clauses.

b) Professional diseases will also be those that, in each specific case, the Commission
Central medical determines as caused by direct and immediate cause of the execution of the work, excluding the
influence of factors attributable to the worker or external to the work.

For the purposes of determining the existence of these contingencies, the following conditions must be met:

i) The worker or their beneficiaries must initiate the process by submitting a justified petition to the
Jurisdictional Medical Commission, aimed at demonstrating the concurrence of risk agents, exposure, scenarios.
clinical activities with direct causal efficiency regarding their ailment.

ii) The Jurisdictional Medical Commission will process the petition with the hearing of the interested party or parties as well as of the
employer and the ART; ensuring due process, will produce the necessary evidence and issue a resolution
duly based on rigorous scientific expertise.

In no case will the status of occupational disease be recognized for that which is an immediate or remote consequence.
foreseeable, of factors unrelated to work or attributable to the worker, such as the predisposition or liability to contract
determined ailment.

c) When the existence of an occupational disease is invoked and the ART considers that it is not present
provided for in the list of occupational diseases, the procedure in paragraph b must be substantiated. If the Commission
Jurisdictional Doctor understood that the illness fits within the provisions defined in that clause, it
will inform the ART, which, from that opportunity and until the worker's situation is definitively resolved,
will be required to provide all the benefits outlined in this law. In such case, the Medical Commission
Jurisdictional should immediately require the intervention of the Central Medical Commission to validate or
rectify that opinion. If the pronouncement of the Central Medical Commission did not validate the opinion of the Commission
Jurisdictional Doctor, the ART will cease the provision of benefits under its charge. If the Central Medical Commission
The validation of the ruling shall, if applicable, simultaneously establish the percentage of disability of the
damaged worker, for the purposes of the payment of the monetary benefits that corresponded. Such a decision, of
scope limited to the individual case resolved, the modification of the list of occupational diseases will not matter.
in force. The Central Medical Commission must issue a decision within 30 days of receiving the commission's request.
Jurisdictional Medicine.
d) Once the Central Medical Commission has issued its ruling, possible actions will be available.
repetition in favor of those who would have faced benefits of any nature, against those who result in
definitively responsible for having assumed them.

In summary, we can synthesize that an occupational disease is the pathology acquired by the worker.
within the work environment that, due to the characteristics and modality of the task performed, causes psychological damage and/or
physical in his health and incapacitates him from performing his usual work. The worker's incapacities are excluded.
pre-existing conditions prior to the initiation of the employment relationship and validated in the pre-employment examination

The main regulation for prevention in Argentina dates back to 1972 and is still in force (Law 19587 and Dec. 351/79).
Currently, there is extensive regulation related to these topics, being incorporated as one of the objectives of the
Law 24557 on the prevention of work risks as a safeguard for the Occupational Health of workers

Resolution SRT 37/2010 redefined the medical examinations that must be conducted as a preventive measure.
workers with the aim of detecting any condition related to work activity at an early stage
performed. These tests have a direct connection with the contaminating agents detected in the area
labor, according to what is established in Dec. 658/966.

Occupational medicine is thus positioned as a discipline that ensures compliance with all
aforementioned legal concepts. Physical, mental, and social well-being is not achieved casually. Health
so it is the result of a comprehensive work among the different actors involved in the problem: society,
companies and the human being itself.

Occupational Medicine must respond to these demands through primary prevention actions (examinations
pre-employment and periodic examinations), secondary prevention (early diagnosis and early care) and tertiary care
(treatment, relocation and rehabilitation of the affected worker)

The notion of occupational disease originates from the need to distinguish the diseases that affect the overall group of
the population of those who are the direct result of the work that a person does, because they generate rights and
different responsibilities than the first ones. Among the factors that determine occupational diseases
we have: Biological variability; in relation to the same occupational risk or pathogenic condition, not everyone gets sick and the
Those who get sick do not all do it at the same time and with the same intensity. Multicausality; the same disease.
It can have different causes or work-related and non-work-related factors that act at the same time and contribute to its
triggering. Clinical nonspecificity; most occupational diseases do not present a clinical picture
specific that allows relating the symptoms with a certain job. Exposure conditions; the same
the agent can present different harmful effects depending on the conditions of exposure and the route of entry into the organism.

To attribute a professional character to a disease, it is necessary to take into account some basic elements that
they allow to distinguish them from common diseases: AGENT; there must be an agent in the work environment that
Due to its properties, it can cause harm to health; the notion of the agent extends to the existence of conditions.
of work that involve an overload to the organism as a whole or to part of it. EXPOSURE; there must exist the
demonstration that the contact between the affected worker and the harmful agent or working conditions is capable of
to cause harm to health.

DISEASE; there must be a clearly defined disease in all its anatomical-pathological clinical elements and
therapeutic, or harm to the body of workers exposed to the agents or conditions mentioned above.
CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP; there must be clinical, pathological, experimental, or epidemiological evidence.
considered in isolation or concurrently, that allow establishing a sense of cause-effect between the pathology
defined and the presence at work.
The introduction, in the legislation on occupational diseases, of the notion of damage prior to the disease.
It stimulates prevention because it involves an action that most of the time corresponds directly to the company.
involved and not only the insurance organization, which in practice can only act after the disease is declared.
This requires implementing health surveillance programs, identifying agents and risk factors, and the population.
exposed to them, the intensity of the exposure and the indicators that will be used for the early investigation of damage.

3.2 - Occupational Disease - Definition and List:

It is the pathology acquired by the worker within the work environment due to the characteristics and modality of the task.
performed, causes psychological and/or physical damage to his health and incapacitates him to fulfill his usual work. The PEN
the list of officially recognized occupational diseases established by Decree 658/96 will be reviewed
annually. Diseases that are not included in this list as well as their consequences will in no case be
considered as recoverable. They are excluded:

Occupational diseases caused by the worker's intent or external force to the work.

The disabilities of the worker existing prior to the initiation of the employment relationship and verified in the examination.
pre-occupational.

The diseases not included in the list as well as their consequences

Work accident - Definition:

The Argentine law (Law 24557) considers a work accident to be any sudden and violent event that occurs due to the
fact or on the occasion of the work that produces a verifiable psychological and/or physical damage to the health of the worker, that it
incapacity to fulfill his/her usual work.

Conceptually, the main difference that can be identified is that an accident is something sudden, while
a occupational disease is a slow process that involves modifications in the organism. In addition, the diseases
professionals are limited by law, while accidents do not have a specific list, making their limit constrained
for the work activities carried out.

It is recommended in this section to review the updated list of occupational diseases in force according to Decree 658/96.
and Decree 1167/2003

Occupational epidemiology helps us in the administration and planning of occupational health management in the field of
human group with which one is working, in the risk assessment and in the evaluation of the effectiveness of the
medical treatments that are being applied in the population. It also provides us with tools for the study of the
effectiveness of the preventive measures applied. The principles of epidemiological research can also be
used by a good number of people who do not consider themselves epidemiologists although it is necessary to have
with knowledge of statistical techniques and scientific research methodologies. This is the objective of this brief course
give a brief and general overview of what occupational epidemiology encompasses, being the company’s occupational physician who
must address any epidemiological analysis by working together with the hygiene and safety service in order to
carry out an adequate and comprehensive management of occupational health

Some of the applications of Epidemiology in occupational health management are:

Identification and search for causes.

Work risk control.

Determination of permissible exposure levels.

Establishment of preventive priorities.

Determination of expected rates and normal values.

Identification of the factors that promote health.

Evaluation of occupational health services.

Study of other risk factors.

The main objective of occupational epidemiology is prevention, through the identification of the consequences.
for health, of exposures in the workplace. This objective underscores the preventive approach of epidemiology.
of work. In fact, all research conducted in the field of occupational health and safety should
to have preventive purposes. Consequently, epidemiological knowledge can and should be applied quickly.

Another objective of occupational epidemiology is to use the results obtained in specific environments to reduce or
eliminate dangers in the population under study. Thus, in addition to providing information about the effects
for the health of exposures in the workplace, the results of studies on occupational epidemiology
They also serve to estimate the risk of the general population subjected to doses lower than the same exposures.
Environmental pollution caused by industrial processes and products usually generates lower levels of exposure.
that the experienced ones in the workplace.

ARTICLE 1 - Applicable regulations and objectives of the Law on Labor Risks (LRT).

1. The prevention of risks and the repair of damages arising from work shall be governed by this LRT and its regulations.
regulatory.

2. The objectives of the Law on Occupational Risks (LRT):

a) Reduce workplace accidents through the prevention of work-related risks;

b) Repair the damages resulting from workplace accidents and occupational diseases, including rehabilitation.
of the affected worker;

c) Promote the retraining and relocation of affected workers;

d) Promote collective labor negotiations to improve prevention measures and benefits.

repairers.

ARTICLE 20.

1. The ART will grant workers who suffer from any of the contingencies provided for in this law the following
benefits in kind

a) Medical and pharmaceutical assistance:

b) Prosthetics and orthopedics:

c) Rehabilitation;

d) Professional requalification; and

e) Funeral service.

2. The ART may suspend monetary benefits in the case of unjustified refusal by the victim, determined.
for the medical commissions, to receive the benefits in kind from items a), c) and d).

3. The benefits referred to in section 1, subsections a), b), and c) of this article shall be granted to the
damaged until full recovery or while the disabling symptoms persist, according to how it
determine the regulations.

In this way, Argentine legislation imposes the obligation on the employer (either by themselves or through the Insurer
of the contracted Occupational Risks) to carry out the necessary medical examinations to ensure complete rehabilitation
of the person or through these exams determine the degree of impairment or remaining incapacity in order to carry out the
corresponding indemnity calculation.

Generally, these exams are limited to what is required by law. That is to say, it is unlikely that an employer or ART will conduct
exam status exceeding the requirements established in the legislation. Preventive: we can categorize within
from this concept to those that are carried out to anticipate an event or fact related to health and not to
consequence of a given event. These are the ones that provide the most information when it comes to managing health.
successful labor and oriented towards the needs of the group of employees.

Argentinian legislation also requires the performance of these exams, but unlike the previous ones, the employer
may exceed the scope of the exams required by law and implement a health prevention policy that
it is aimed at consciously improving the quality of life of its employees. This line of thinking is linked to
with the ethics and business commitment to society (reflected in its employees) and the values that are upheld as
company.

ARTICLE 4 — Obligations of the parties.

1. Employers and workers covered by the LRT, as well as the ART, are required to adopt
las medidas legalmente previstas para prevenir eficazmente los riesgos del trabajo.

Among the mandatory medical exams for workers, some are the responsibility of the employer and
others from the workers' compensation insurer.

As provided by Res. SRT 37/2010 (which repealed Res. SRT 43/97) of the Superintendence of Occupational Risks
(SRT), en virtud de la potestad dada a la SRT en el Decreto 1338 Art. 9, los exámenes de salud que deben ser realizados a
the workers are as follows:

Article 1 - Medical examinations in health.

It is established that the medical examinations in health included in the work risk system are the following:

1. Preocupacionales o de ingreso; 2. Periódicos; 3. Previos a una transferencia de actvidad; 4. Posteriores a una ausencia
prolonged, and 5. Prior to the termination of the employment relationship or exit.

Some are under the responsibility of the employer and others under the responsibility of the ART, without prejudice to the possibility that both
agree on something different (for example, that an exam conducted by the employer is carried out through the service providers.
from the ART). MEDICAL PROVIDERS. The occupational risk system is structured, in this aspect, in a similar way
to the health system, hiring insurers and self-insured individuals to their providers on a capitation basis or by
service. This is complemented by the possibility of having your own centers.
Resolution 37/2010 establishes the requirement that the centers where medical examinations are conducted and the
assistance benefits must comply with existing regulations in the matter. In this way, it seeks to
safeguard the health of the worker from unscrupulous practices regarding their care.

Art. 8º — Profesionales y centros habilitados.

The exams established in this resolution must be carried out in complementary centers or facilities.
(fixed or mobile) authorized by the health authority and under the responsibility of an occupational physician authorized before
the corresponding authority.

Regarding pre-employment examinations, it should be noted that they are mandatory and the employer's responsibility, without
to the detriment of the possibility of reaching an agreement with the ART for their execution. The execution of the same is
important and mandatory for the company, as it will be required at the time of the employee's onboarding.
system by the ART. Its function is to determine the psychological and physical fitness of the worker for performance.
job position, although without losing sight of the fact that they should not be used as tools of discrimination in the
staff selection. Furthermore, they are extremely useful for delineating potential future responsibilities, as they allow
detect pre-existing pathologies at the beginning of the employment relationship, for those jobs in which eventually
risk agents were present (Decree No. 658/96). If this assumption occurs (that diseases arise
pre-existing), pre-employment exams will be approved or, where appropriate, audited by agencies or entities
public, national, provincial, or municipal that have been authorized for such purposes by the Superintendence of
Work Risks.

Periodic examinations have the function of early detection of conditions caused by work or the
risk agents to which the worker may be exposed due to their tasks, with the aim of
to prevent or limit the consequences of the development of occupational diseases. They also assist in the diagnosis of
Innocent diseases. They are mandatory in tasks where there is exposure to risk agents (Dec.
658/96). They are the responsibility of the workers' compensation insurance companies when there is exposure to risk agents, and in
employer's liability when such exposure is not verified.

The criterion for exposure to a risk agent is a topic that continuously generates discussions. For example, a
a case that generates controversies is if a person works in an environment where the production process exists.
aliphatic hydrocarbons or mercury, but they are confined and not detected in the work environment. In this
In fact, there is technically no permanent exposure, but it can occur accidentally.

The employer has the obligation to carry out the corresponding environmental measurements and if these measurements
work environment evidence the non-existence of the contaminant, the ART would not be obliged to carry out the examinations of
risk. But from a preventive occupational health management perspective, the employer should carry out with some
periodicity of the tests aimed at detecting the exposure or accidental contact of personnel with pollutants
that exist in their production process. This is the only way to ensure that a worker has suffered a
contamination with the product, if the accidental event that caused the exposure was not reported as an accident
labor

Another situation that may arise is the existence of the risk agent, but at levels lower than those established.
by law (Res. 297/03). In this case, a preventive criterion is to consider the personnel exposed when contact with the
The agent is given for at least 50% of the workday or the concentration of the contaminant exceeds 50% of the value.
established limit. This definition must be agreed upon between the employer and the corresponding ART.

Related to the entrance and exit exams are the exams prior to the transfer of activity,
Well, their objectives are similar. These are exams that must be conducted before an effective change of tasks.
They are mandatory when the changes imply the beginning of a possible exposure to one or more risk agents.
not related to the tasks that the worker previously carried out. In this case, it is the employer's responsibility to
responsibility for its execution.

The exams following a prolonged absence are also covered by legislation and their importance
It is based on detecting non-work-related pathologies, fulfilling a function similar to pre-employment assessments. Like these, it must
to be carried out prior to the reintegration of the worker. Who has the responsibility of
performing them is the ART, provided that the employer informs their insurer of such a situation. If they are not performed, one runs
the risk of assuming as work-related ailments not linked to the activity or having to incur preventable expenses
to demonstrate the lack of connection between the pathology and the work performed.

The graduation exams aim to verify the health status of the worker at the time of the
disengagement. On one hand, they allow for the timely detection and treatment of occupational diseases and
disabling sequelae. On the other hand, they help the employer and the insurer to verify the health status upon discharge and
to protect oneself - at least to some extent - from possible responsibilities. The exit exams have a character
opting (although its implementation is more than advisable due to its possible consequences, since besides that
These exams certify the employee's status upon leaving the job, and have a preventive nature in the legal field.
The employment relationship can be terminated as long as the established deadlines are respected. As a rule, it...
it is advisable to carry them out before finalizing the contract since, after the worker is no longer linked, it can be very
difficult in its realization. The execution of these tests is the responsibility of the ART.

All medical examinations are mandatory for the worker, who must provide it as a declaration.
sworn, the information about their medical history and conditions that affect them and of which they are aware,
always safeguarding the right of the interested party to the protection of information in the realm of privacy
considered sensitive. The examinations must always be carried out in centers authorized by the health authority and
under the responsibility of an occupational physician, duly authorized by the competent authority. Without this,
lack all validity.

Resolution 37/2010 establishes the content of pre-employment and specific medical examinations according to
risk. These parameters establish the baseline, allowing the employer to conduct more in-depth examinations or
specificity, which can be agreed upon with your ART regarding the benefits.

Occupational Toxicology

Toxicology is the science that studies chemical substances and physical agents in terms of their ability to produce
pathological alterations in living beings, while studying the mechanisms of production of such alterations and the
means to counteract them, as well as the procedures to detect, identify and determine such agents and evaluate
its degree of toxicity.

Toxic, on the other hand, is any substance that can produce some harmful effect on a living being, altering its
vital balances

For its part, pharmacology is the science that studies the responses of an organism to chemical stimuli.
to know their rational use as medications

From the perspective of Hygiene and Safety at work, the area of knowledge that involves Toxicology is
always linked to the concept of prevention, but also in the area of contingency.

In order to prevent and develop Hygiene and Safety plans at work focused on risks and toxic agents.
that may be present in the studied work activity.
It is essential in any workplace prevention program to conduct a detailed study of the existing agents, their
concentrations, means of contact with the personnel performing the tasks and the possibilities of accidental release
of the toxic.

With this information, all the corresponding analyses of the personnel must be carried out based on the information.
toxicological available, develop general prevention plans.

As an initial premise, we must take into account the following points: Identification of existing toxic products
in each workplace. Survey of the toxicological sheets of each identified element Preparation of
monitoring and measurement programs for the identified chemicals in the workplace and environment. Analysis of possibilities of
replacement of the product (as long as it is possible from the production process and that the possible replacement element
does not have more unfavorable toxic effects than the original) Study of the possibilities of isolating the toxin in order to
avoid contact with the environment or its release during the process. Definition of occupational health programs
corresponding to the effects of each toxin and concentration present in the workplace. Preparation of
epidemiological follow-up programs in the exposed group. Risk analysis and HazOp or What If study for
each of the situations and processes where toxins are used, outlining the different possible scenarios of
emergency situations, identifying the entire universe affected by this situation.

Preparation of emergency and contingency plans for each of the identified scenarios.

It is of crucial importance in Hygiene and Occupational Safety programs in any industry where there is the
presence of toxic products a thorough elaboration of emergency scenario analyses. As well as
It is vital to analyze and monitor all liquid and gaseous effluents that, as industrial waste, are discharged into
the exterior of the establishment since these can cause general effects on the surrounding population of the property
industrial.

Argentinian legislation has approached this issue from an environmental perspective, as the damage caused by pollution with
Toxins generated by various industrial processes in the community have had very serious effects.

In relation to the last point, we will briefly review some events related to toxins used in processes.
industrial workers who, accidentally, due to ignorance and sometimes negligence, have affected not only the staff
labor exposed to toxins but have also caused ailments to the community as a whole.

The following are some of the many toxicological accidents and their consequences in communities.
neighbors to the areas of influence of industries, several of which have moved the global society and marked
a before and after in safety standards and in the way risks arising from these are managed
processes.

Basic glossary and definitions

Both in the previous articles and in the rest of the development of the content of these modules, we will refer to
various technical terms that is advisable to review to avoid confusion. To expand the content it is recommended
Review the article 'Glossary of Toxicological Terms. IUPAC (Duffus et al. 1993. Spanish Toxicology Association).'
Toxicología: estudio de las sustancias tóxicas y sus efectos. Tóxico: Sustancia que puede producir algún efecto nocivo
about a living being, altering its vital balances. Venom: toxic with intentional use to produce harmful effect
Xenobiotic: toxic external to living organisms.

Dose: the amount of a substance to which a person is exposed over a specified period of time.
Usually: mg of substance per kg of body weight per time. Exposure dose: amount of substance available.
in the environment Absolute lethal dose (DL-100). Minimum amount of a substance per unit of body weight that kills
the totality of animals tested under defined conditions. Median lethal dose (DL50). Dose, calculated
Statistically, from a physical chemical agent (radiation) that is expected to kill 50% of the organisms of a
population under a defined set of conditions. Median lethal dose accumulated. Total amount administered of a
substance associated with the death of half the animal population when the administered doses are fractions
from the DL50. The estimated total amount may vary with the size of the fractions and with the observation time Dose
lethal minimum (DLmin). The smallest amount of substance that introduced into the organism causes the death of some animal.
of experimentation under a defined set of conditions. Absorbed dose (of a substance). Amount of
substance that enters an organism or is incorporated into organs or tissues, expressed by unit of weight or volume Bio-
availability: amount of the substance or portion of the dose that exerts some action on the organism. Accumulation.
Successive retainments of a substance by a target organism, an organ, or a part of the environment, that
lead to an increase in the amount or concentration of the substance in them Acute. Exposures or effects on
short term. Environment. What surrounds or is near. Set of all conditions and external influences to which it is subjected.
sometimes, at a certain moment, the system under study Work environment. Conditions surrounding the place
work. Bioactivation. Metabolic conversion of a xenobiotic to a more toxic derivative by the actions of the host.
organism. Bioaccumulation. Progressive increase in the amount of a substance in an organism or part of it, such as
consequence of the absorption rate exceeding the body's capacity to eliminate the substance. Potential of
bioaccumulation. The ability of an organism to concentrate a substance, directly from the environment or,
indirectly through food Absorption coefficient (in biology). Relationship between the amount of substance
absorbed and administered; in the case of exposure to particles via respiratory route, the coefficient is the ratio between the
cantdad absorbida y la que llega a los pulmones Concentración. Cantdad de una sustancia, expresada en peso o en
moles (S), per unit of weight or volume of the medium in which it is found (C=S/Kg; C=S/L). It can be expressed as
percentage (wealth). It is not synonymous with dose Minimum lethal concentration (CLmin). The lowest concentration of a
toxic substance in an environment that kills some individuals of experimental organisms under a set of
defined conditions Average weighted concentration over time (TLV-TWA). It is the limit value established for a
normal workday of 8 hours and a 40-hour workweek, to which almost everyone may be exposed
workers repeatedly day after day, without manifesting adverse effects Absolute lethal concentration (CL-100). Minimum
concentration of a substance in the environment that kills 100% of the organisms of a species
tested under defined conditions. Median lethal concentration (LC50). Concentration, statistically calculated, of
a substance in the environment, which is expected to kill 50% of the organisms in a population under a set of
defined conditions. Dose-response curve. Graphical expression of the relationship between dose and the proportion (%) of the
individuals of a population who experience or do not experience a certain effect. CMP (Maximum Permissible Concentration)
weighted average concentration over time) . Weighted average concentration over time for a normal workday of 8 hours/day
and a 40-hour workweek, which is believed to be exposed to almost all workers repeatedly day
three days without adverse effects. (Res. SRT 295/2003) CMP-CPT (Maximum permissible concentration for short periods of
time) Concentration at which it is believed that workers can be continuously exposed to a
short time space without suffering: 1) irritation, 2) chronic or irreversible damage to tissues, or 3) narcosis to degree
sufficient to increase the likelihood of accidental injuries, making it difficult to escape from a dangerous situation by oneself
to substantially reduce work efficiency, and as long as the daily CMP is not exceeded. (Res. SRT 295/2003)
CMP-C (maximum permissible concentration - threshold value). It is the concentration that should not be exceeded under any circumstances.
moment during a presentation at work. (Res. SRT 295/2003) Reason: relationship between 2 magnitudes Rate: relationship
between 2 magnitudes over a specific period of time Mortality rate: Number of deceased / Population in a year
Morbidity rate: Number of sick / Population in a year Proportion: comparison with the ratio of a number of
elements and the total of the set to which it belongs. Epidemic: disease that attacks in a period of time and place
determined to a group of people. Pandemic: disease that attacks a group of individuals over a period of time.
people in a vast geographical area.

5.3-Epidemiological studies in toxicology

Reviewing the concepts covered in unit 3 on occupational epidemiology, we remember that they consist of
The main objective is the prevention in the workplace of contamination or poisoning due to chemicals or others.
products used in the industry. We had mentioned that some of the applications of Epidemiology in management
occupational health is:

Identification and search for causes.

Control of occupational risks.

Determination of permissible exposure levels.

Establishment of preventive priorities.

Determination of expected rates and normal values.

Identification of the factors that promote health.

Evaluation of occupational health services.

Study of other risk factors.

In this way, epidemiological studies provide us with valuable information to develop plans for
occupational safety in the industry

The main objective of epidemiological surveillance in labor activities is to prevent in the health process -
disease related to exposure to pollutants that are addressed from toxicology.

This surveillance program allows the collection, analysis, and interpretation of information gathered through activities.
of monitoring, measurement, and environmental and biological observation. It must be part of the existing Health System in the
company that allows to detect and characterize risks and, depending on the structure, size, and dynamics of the
organization, with the following stages: Environmental surveillance: monitoring of the different pollutants in the
work environment. It includes air, water, and food. Monitoring of medical exams: follow-up on the
results of periodic risk analyses based on the pollutants determined in the Health and Hygiene Plan
Labor. Monitoring of risk factors: follow-up of the identified physical, chemical, and psychological risk factors.
the company. Monitoring of conditions: tracking of the care provided by the medical service.

The objective of carrying out this surveillance program is to anticipate the consequences of occupational exposure.
to say prevention. But it also serves to evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken and thus determine if
The measures taken are correct or should be reviewed or reformulated.

From an epidemiological point of view, it is crucial that standardization of cases be carried out, detailing elements
keys and common ones in order to be able to compile statistics. Without statistical data, studies cannot be carried out.
epidemiological.

With these data, specific indicators must be developed to monitor the progress of a disease.
effectiveness of a treatment or evolution of the planned monitoring plans. The indicators are basic tools
for all sustainable management over time as they allow seeing the temporal behavior of any part of the
process in which one wants to focus.

The concept of toxicity is the ability of a substance to cause biological damage in a living organism.
as long as it has reached the action point or target organ.

Thus, toxic action is a purely chemical and not physical mechanism, excluding thermal consequences or
mechanics. In this sense, a burn produced by an acid or an alkali, despite having a thermal content
due to the reaction, is the result of a toxic action on the affected cells. On the contrary, a burn generated by
a cryogenic liquid (nitrogen or oxygen for example) is not a toxic action but the injuries produced are to
root of a thermal action.

Occupational poisoning falls within this large subgroup, considering that, as a premise in environments
of work, no one anticipates or seeks as a consequence an intoxication. Therefore, these must have as etiology the
accidental exposure. Environmental intoxications: it is the poisoning caused by pollutants present in the environment
environment where we perform our tasks. It can be given by exposure to heavy metals, compounds
organochlorines, atmospheric pollutants, hydrocarbon derivatives, etc. Food poisoning: in the
In the food industry, there is a risk of poisoning due to the use of chemicals that may result in
harmful due to failures in the conservation chains that lead to the spoilage of food and
generation of toxins specific to this process, such as botulinum toxin.

Another of the toxins present in food products are the derivatives from the use of pesticides, both natural and
agrochemicals.

It is undeniable that food hygiene is much stricter today than it was 10 years ago, covering the market of
drinking water.

This point is crucial to consider when analyzing the risks of intoxications in environments.
work-related. Generally, food intoxications are acute and reversible, but they affect large
numbers of people. It is enough to think about the economic harm that it can mean for any industry the
massive absenteeism of staff due to food poisoning in the plant cafeteria. Poisonings
iatrogenic: they are those poisonings generated by self-medication or by undesired effects derived from
therapeutic protocols.

Occupational poisonings: within this subgroup we include those poisonings that occur directly
related to the entry of a toxic substance used in the production process and that occur within the
physical limits of the establishment. According to Argentine legislation, these intoxications can be classified as a
work accident (unique event) or occupational exposures that trigger an occupational disease.

Assessment of occupational exposure

We can define biological evaluation as the indirect assessment of professional exposure to harmful agents,
measuring in an appropriate biological medium either the concentration of the agent itself or its metabolites.

The concept of biological evaluation has been used for several decades in clinical practice and in the field of
Toxicology to establish the correlation between occupational exposure and manifestations in the body.

The objective of biological control is to detect as early as possible the exposure to a contaminant.
of the workers, even before significant biological alterations or biological manifestations appear.
These analyses also serve in the workplace to: Set acceptable exposure standards Detect sensitivity
of the workers or particular impacts Detect the existence of occupational poisoning or rule it out.

ERGONOMICS

With Resolution 886/15, it has been possible to systematize and facilitate the evaluation of working conditions that
contribute to the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD), direct, mixed, and femoral hernias, hernia
lumbar-sacral disc herniation with or without root involvement affecting a single column segment and primary varices
bilaterals, as established in Article 1 of Resolution SRT 886/15, and the necessary actions to
prevent them

The effective periodic control of the progress and compliance of these improvements will be carried out according to form No. 4 of the
Annex I of Resolution SRT No. 886/15.

The task of risk identification, assessment, definition of improvements, and management is not an individual task but rather the
product of teamwork, in compliance with the provisions established in Resolution MTEySS N° 295/03 regarding
that ergonomics must be participatory and the implementation of an Integrated Ergonomics Program (PEI).

It is necessary for the PEI to be a stable and permanent process, with which from the validity of Resolution SRT No.
886/15 must be implemented in all areas of activity, whether they are private or national public organizations,
provincial or municipal.

This stable process requires the implementation of an Ergonomics Commission recognized by the Management.
from the company and coordinated by a representative of the Health and Safety Services.

The Commission will be suitably composed, according to the size and complexity of the company, by
representatives of Health and Safety Services, Engineering, Maintenance, Production, and the necessary actions
to prevent them.

The Present Practical Guide aims to comply with Article 6 of Resolution SRT No. 886/15. It
it may be modified according to the needs of the users, aiming to facilitate compliance with the Standard.

Once the Commission is established, its members should be trained by their Coordinator (according to their
knowledge in ergonomics) or by external personnel with knowledge in ergonomics.

In a manner similar to other production or quality processes, it is advisable that the PEI be documented.

Resolución 295/2003 MINISTERIO DE TRABAJO, EMPLEO Y SEGURIDAD SOCIAL 09-nov-2003 Resumen:

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ON ERGONOMICS AND MANUAL HANDLING OF LOADS ARE APPROVED, AND ON
RADIATIONS. MODIFICATION OF DECREE N° 351/79. RESOLUTION N° 444/91MTSS IS HEREBY REPEALED.

Current Legal Standards on Health and Safety at Work

Introduction
The present list contains, basically, a statement of normative instruments related to prevention.
primary and secondary health of workers.

The preparation of this document was conceived through a thematic classification of ten selected aspects for this purpose.
which are ordered chronologically, except for the first point ('General Norm'), which is ordered by hierarchy
normative first and chronological order later.

The list is updated according to the news published in the Official Bulletin of the Argentine Republic.

Preliminary considerations on the health and safety of workers within the regulatory framework.

Workers' Health and Safety is a constitutional right, as stipulated in Article 14.

from the Constitution of the Argentine Nation and in the other treaties and conventions on human rights
approved by the Congress of the Argentine Nation (Art. 75 inc. 22), such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Humans, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its article 7, paragraph b): "The States
The parties in this Pact recognize the right of every person to enjoy equitable working conditions and
factors that assure you in particular: …

Safety and hygiene at work; (Laws 23.313 and 26.663 that approve the Facultative Protocol), the Convention
American Convention on Human Rights 'Pact of San José of Costa Rica' and its Additional Protocol on Human Rights
in the field of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights —San Salvador Protocol— (Law 24.658) which establishes in
Article 7 (Fair, equitable, and satisfactory working conditions) paragraph e.: "The States Parties to this Protocol
reconocen que el derecho al trabajo al que se refiere el artculo anterior, supone que toda persona goce del mismo en
fair, equitable, and satisfactory conditions, for which those States will guarantee in their national legislations,
specifically: ... Safety and hygiene at work;

Previously, in the National Constitution of 1949, Chapter III (Rights of workers, of the family, of old age and
from education and culture), article 37, point 5°, the health and safety of the worker was declared a special right:
Right to the preservation of health - The care of the physical and moral health of individuals must be a concern
primordial and constant in society, which is responsible for ensuring that the labor regime meets requirements.
appropriate hygiene and safety measures, do not exceed normal limits of effort and allow for proper timing
of recovery through rest.

1. General

Laws

Law (Decree Law) 19.587/1972 on Hygiene and Safety at Work (Official Gazette 28/04/1972)

Law 24.557 on Occupational Risks. (B.O. 13/09/1995)

Law 26.773: Regime for the arrangement of compensation for damages resulting from work accidents
occupational diseases. (B.O. 10/26/2012)

Decrees

Decree 4159/1973: Declares 'Day of Hygiene and Safety in the Workplace' in the Argentine Republic, on April 21.
of each year. (B.O. 06/07/1973)

Decree 351/1979: Regulation of Law 19.587 on Hygiene and Safety in the Workplace.
Decree 506/1995: The National Nuclear Regulatory Agency (ENRN) is empowered to issue regulations regarding safety
radiological and nuclear. The ENRN will assume all the powers and functions assigned to the CNEA by Dec. 842/58, Art. 79
from Dec. 5423/57 and Art. 62 of the Regulation of Law 19.587 approved by Dec. 351/79, without prejudice to its validity.
from the resolutions adopted by the CNEA. (B.O. 04/17/1995)

Decree 708/1996: It is established that employers who qualify may access the self-insurance regime.
second level of compliance with hygiene and safety regulations, without prejudice to what is established in article 8°
of Decree No. 170/96. (Official Bulletin 08/05/1996)

Decree 491/1997: Workers are incorporated into the scope of application and the system created by Law No. 24,557.
domestic workers, those linked by non-labor relationships, and self-employed workers.

Resolutions of the Ministry of Labor

Res. 523/1995 MTSS: The Art. 58 of Annex I of Decree 351/79 on Provision of Drinking Water is modified.
26/12/1995)

Res. 113/2002 SRT: Adheres to the declaration of April 28 as the 'National Day in Memory of Workers'
Deceased and Injured in the Course of Work. (Official Bulletin 06/05/2002)

Res. 230/2003 SRT: Obligation of insured employers and self-insured employers to report all
work accidents and occupational diseases to their ART and to the SRT. Obligation to investigate accidents
mortals, occupational diseases and serious accidents. The Res.23/97 SRT (B.O. 20/05/2003) is repealed.

Resolution 953/2010 SRT: Safety criteria regarding tasks performed in confined spaces. (Official Bulletin 15/07/2010)

Res. 960/2015 SRT: Establishes safety conditions for the operation of Forklift Trucks.
07/05/2015)

Protocols

Res. 84/2012 SRT: Protocol for Measuring Lighting in the Workplace. (Official Bulletin 30/01/2012)

Res. 85/2012 SRT: Protocol for Measuring Noise Level in the Workplace. (B.O. 30/01/2012)

Res. 861/15 SRT: Protocol for Measuring Chemical Contaminants in the Air of a Work Environment. (Official Bulletin
23/04/2015)

Res. 886/15 SRT: Ergonomics Protocol. (B.O. 04/24/2015)

Res. 900/15 SRT: Protocol for the Measurement of Grounding Value and the Verification of the Continuity of Masses
in the Work Environment. (B.O. 28/04/2015)

Res. 3345/15 SRT: Maximum limits are established for the tasks of moving heavy objects, and for the tasks of
push or pull of heavy objects. Definitions. (B.O. 29/09/2015)

Res. 523/2007 SRT: The 'National Guidelines for Management Systems of Safety and Health in the
Work. (B.O. 04/17/2007)

Construction

Decree 911/1996: Hygiene and Safety Regulations for the Construction Industry. (B.O. 14/08/1996)
Resolution 231/1996 SRT: Regulation of Decree 911/1996. (Official Gazette 11/27/1996)

Agro

Decree 617/1997: Hygiene and Safety Regulations for Agricultural Activity. (B.O. 11/07/1997

Mining

Decree 249/2007: Hygiene and Safety Regulation for Mining Activity: (Official Bulletin 23/03/2007)

Health and Safety Services at Work

Resolution 313/1983 MT: The authorization of technicians in the specialty for the exercise of the position referred to is established.
Article 35 of Annex I of Decree 351/79. (Official Bulletin 11/05/1983)

Decree 1338/1996: Services of Medicine and Hygiene and Safety at Work. Equivalent workers. They are repealed.
Titles II and VIII of Decree 351/79. (Official Bulletin 28/11/1996). Art. 11 modified by art. 24 of Decree 491/1997. (Official Bulletin
04/06/1997)

Res. 905/2015 SRT: The functions that the Occupational Health and Safety Services must develop are established.
and Occupational Medicine in compliance

Decree 1167/2003: Modifies the List of Occupational Diseases provided in article 6, section 2, paragraph a) of Law No.
24.557. (B.O. 03/12/2003)

Res. 37/2010 SRT: Medical examinations in health are established to be included in the risk system of
Work. The Resolutions SRT 43/97, 28/98, and 54/98 are repealed. (B.O. 27/01/2010)

Res. 295/2003 MTESS: Approve technical specifications on ergonomics and manual lifting of loads, and on
radiations. Annexes II (Thermal Load), III (Environmental Pollution), and V (Noise and Vibration) are replaced in the
Decree No. 351/79. The Resolution M.T.S.S. No. 444/91 (Official Gazette 21/11/2003) is repealed.

The Stockholm Convention is an international treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment.
environment against Persistent Organic Pollutants, establishing measures to eliminate them, and when
this cannot be possible, to reduce emissions and discharges of these pollutants.