What are the different types of hazards? | Risk Assessment Training | iHASCO

Hazards can be put into different types or groups. We’ve included some typical examples of these groups but it’s by no means an exhaustive list!
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VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
To make it easier to identify hazards it may be helpful to sort them into different types or groups. Here we’ve included some typical examples - it’s by no means an exhaustive list!
Let’s start with physical hazards - these are generally easy to identify, such as badly positioned or frayed cables, liquid spills, damaged ladders, unguarded or poorly sited equipment or machinery, leaking pipes or uneven flooring. Working at height or in confined spaces also belong in this group.
Your workplace may have chemical hazards, such as bleaches, disinfectants, paints, acids, hair dyes, solvents, pesticides, gases or fumes.
You may need to consider biological hazards such as viruses and toxins - which could be carried in bird droppings, spoiled food and stagnant water. Blood and other body fluids, fungi and mould are also biological hazards.
If you use equipment think about the mechanical or ergonomic hazards, such as hazards specific to the equipment, machinery, tools or vehicles you use. Think about workstation design. Think about the strain put on people by their type of work, body positions and working conditions - things like poor posture, frequent lifting, awkward repetitive movements and vibration.
Environmental hazards include extreme temperatures and exposure to sunlight or ultraviolet rays and exposure to things which cause pollution, such as lead, mercury, asbestos, even noise pollution.
And, organisational or psychosocial hazards are hazards that can have an adverse effect on a person’s mental health or wellbeing. These can be the most difficult to pin down - such as conflict, discrimination, lack of respect, victimisation, sexual harassment, being over-worked or things not working properly. They can go unnoticed in the short-term but have long-term effects.
And, of course, some hazards can belong to more than one group - an oil spill, for example, is both a physical and a chemical hazard, so your risk assessments need to consider all the possibilities.