What is an occupational health hazard?
The term “hazard” refers to the potential to cause harm. In the case of a workplace health hazard, the harm is to a worker’s health and usually takes the form of an illness. Occupational illness is defined in OHSA Section 1 as a condition that results from exposure in a workplace to a physical, chemical or biological agent to the extent that the normal physiological mechanisms are affected and the health of the worker is impaired. Hazards also include an occupational disease for which a worker is entitled to benefits under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997. An occupational health hazard can therefore be thought of as something in the workplace that is capable of making a worker sick. The “sickness” can vary in severity from a headache or skin rash to a fatal illness such as cancer.
