Recognizing occupational and environmental hazards
Session details
Date:
Time:
Location:
Zoom videoconferencing
Didactic presentation by:
Victoria Arrandale
Session objectives
At the end of this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe the common types of occupational hazards
- Identify the occupational exposure limits that may apply to an individual worker
- Develop questions that will help to better understand a worker’s occupational exposures
- Understand where a worker or health care provider can look for support on questions of workplace exposure
Session resources
Didactic presentation: Recognizing occupational and environmental hazards
In this presentation, Dr. Victoria Arrandale describes the common types of occupational hazards, identifies rules and regulations that may apply to the occupational exposure of an individual worker, develops questions that will help to better understand a worker’s occupational exposures, and discusses how to better understand where a worker or health care provider can look for support on questions of workplace exposure.
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Ergonomics in the Workplace: Understanding the Law
Learn more about occupational health and safety laws related to ergonomics and ways to address hazards due to poor ergonomics. Source: Government of Ontario
Filing a Workplace Health and Safety Complaint
Learn how to file a complaint if you have a workplace health and safety or workplace harassment concern and believe your employer is not correcting the situation. Source: Government of Ontario
Guide to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
The Guide to the OHSA guide is intended to provide an overview of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA). The OHSA sets out the rights and duties of all parties in the workplace, as well as the procedures for dealing with workplace hazards and for enforcement as needed. The guide explains what every worker, supervisor, employer, constructor and workplace owner needs to know about the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It describes workplace parties' rights and responsibilities in the workplace and answers, in plain language and the questions that are most commonly asked about the Act. Source: Government of Ontario
Health Care Practitioners & the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act (WSIA)
Learn more about how the WSIA can help health care practitioners better understand and interact with workplace safety and insurance system. Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario will help pay for a lawyer to represent a client if they qualify financially and have a legal issue that Legal Aid Ontario covers. Source: Legal Aid Ontario
Legal Aid Ontario Specialty Clinics
Specialty clinics represent specific individuals (e.g., seniors, people living with HIV/AIDS), deal with specific area of law, and service clients throughout Ontario. Some clinics also specialize in areas of law for low‑income clients who are marginalized for other reasons. Source: Legal Aid Ontario
Manual Handling Assessment Charts (the MAC tool)
The Manual Handling Assessment Charts (MAC) is a tool to help users identify high-risk workplace manual handling activities. Employers and safety representatives can use the tool to assess the risks posed by lifting, carrying and team manual handling activities. Source: UK Government Health and Safety Executive
Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW)
Learn more about the comprehensive occupational health services and information provided by the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) and their impartial advice for unionized workers. Their clients include workers, joint health and safety committees or representatives, unions, employers, health professionals, community groups, legal clinics, students and members of the public. Source: Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers
Office of the Worker Advisor (OWA)
Learn more about how the Office of the Worker Advisor (OWA) can help you with workplace insurance matters if you are a non-unionized injured worker, or a survivor of an injured worker. Source: Office of the Worker Advisor
Ontario e-laws: Occupational Health and Safety Act
Learn more about the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to enable you to educate your patients on their rights under the OHSA. The Ontario e-laws website is the online version of the OHSA. Source: Government of Ontario
Reprisals Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act
Learn more about reprisals and the Ontario law that protects workers from health and safety hazards at work. It gives important rights to workers, such as the right to refuse unsafe work, and gives the Ministry of Labour the power to inspect workplaces and investigate complaints. It is against the law for an employer to threaten or punish you because you followed health and safety laws or tried to enforce them. Source: Office of the Worker Advisor
What are My Rights as a Worker in Ontario?
Learn more about workers' rights in Ontario. Source: Settlement.org
WSIB Form 8: Health Professional's Report
Health professionals use this form for:
- Patients who are claiming benefits under the WSIB insurance plan for an injury/illness related to work, or
- You think that the cause of your patient's injury/illness is workplace factors
Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
- Patients who are claiming benefits under the WSIB insurance plan for an injury/illness related to work, or
- You think that the cause of your patient's injury/illness is workplace factors
Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
WSIB Musculoskeletal Program of Care (MSK POC)
Learn more about the WSIB musculoskeletal program of care, a community-based health care program designed for early care of people with musculoskeletal injuries to help them recover and return to or stay at work. Source: Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
About presenter
Dr. Victoria Arrandale is an assistant professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto and a registered occupational hygienist (ROH). She also leads a working group on data and intelligence as part of Ontario’s Occupational Disease Action Plan, an initiative to align the province's health and safety system activities related to occupational exposure and disease.
Arrandale’s research focuses on the measurement of workplace exposures and the assessment of exposure in occupational epidemiology. Her work has examined exposures in a variety of workplaces including mining, construction, nail salons and electronic waste recycling facilities.
Case presentations
Most of the learning in ECHO happens through presenting and discussing case presentations. If you have a case you would like to present, please submit a completed case presentation form to the ECHO OEM project coordinator.
Physicians presenting a case may bill OHIP for case conferences (billing codes K707 or K701).