Work Site Safety

In 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated that half the population of the United States—approximately 154 million people—were employed in the public- and private-sector labor force. Each day, a significant number of these individuals suffer injury, disability, and death from workplace incidents. Given that workplace injuries and illnesses are largely foreseeable and preventable, workplace safety and health (also referred to as occupational safety and health, or OSH) is a broad discipline concerned with protecting the safety, health, and welfare of people engaged in work or employment. Professionals in this field include industrial hygienists, occupational health physicians, occupational health nurses, occupational safety and health specialists (e.g., certified safety specialists, safety engineers), epidemiologists, ergonomists, occupational health psychologists, and health communicators.

Under the Occupational Safety and ...