ENVIROMENTAL HAZARDS
An environmental hazard is any hazard that present a danger to a surrounding environment. Environmental hazards in the workplace can range from something as simple as cleaning products not stored properly to the improper handling of bodily fluids.

Hazards can be categorized in five types: 1- Chemical 2- Physical 3- Mechanical 4- Biological 5- Psychosocial

* WHY SHOULD WE EVALUATE THE WORKPLACE ENVIRONMENT? * When people are working in situations that suit their physical and mental abilities, the correct fit between the person and the work task is accomplished. People are then in the optimum situation for learning, working and achieving, without adverse health consequences, e.g. injury, illness. * WHAT WORK ENVIRONMENT FACTORS SHOULD BE ASSESSED? * When assessing the workplace environment, consideration should be given to individual human characteristics such as age, sex, experience, physical stature etc., and how well these human characteristics match the physical environment. Appropriate design of workplace environments will ensure that they accommodate a broad variety of human characteristics. * The four main categories of physical characteristic that need to be considered in the work environment are: 0 clearance, e.g. headroom, legroom, elbow-room, access; 1 arm reach, which has a bearing on storage of materials; 2 posture, which has a bearing on the location of materials/equipment, heights of working surfaces; 3 strength * THE FOLLOWING ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS MAY REQUIRE CONSIDERATION IN YOUR WORKPLACE: 4 Noise. Excessive exposure to loud noise can irreversibly