Jordan L Knight, Darrah K Sleeth, Rodney R Larson, Leon F Pahler
BHP Billiton, Miami, AZ, USA. Jordan.knight099@gmail.com
Workplace health & safety 2013 AprThis study analyzed data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Chemical Exposure Health Database to assess contaminant exposures in general medical and surgical hospitals. Seventy-five inspections conducted in these hospitals from 2005 through 2009 were identified. Five categories of inspections were conducted, the three most common being complaint-based, planned, and referral-based inspections. Complaint-based inspections comprised the majority of inspections-55 (73%) of the 75 conducted. The overall violation rate for all inspection types was 68%. This finding was compared to the violation rates of planned inspections (100%), referral-based inspections (83%), and complaint-based inspections (62%). Asbestos was the hazardous substance most commonly sampled and cited by OSHA in hospitals, with 127 samples collected during 24 inspections; 31% of the total 75 inspections resulting in one or more violations were due to asbestos. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.
Jordan L Knight, Darrah K Sleeth, Rodney R Larson, Leon F Pahler. An analysis of OSHA inspections assessing contaminant exposures in general medical and surgical hospitals. Workplace health & safety. 2013 Apr;61(4):153-60
PMID: 23521143
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