15 Types of Physical Hazards and How to Prevent Them

Written by Michael Purser

Workplace injuries and fatalities are preventable. If you prepare to face the dangers present where you work, you can reduce your risk of suffering a serious on-the-job injury. Physical hazards are the most common safety threats you face on a day-to-day basis.

This article will help you understand the risks associated with most roles, including a list of 15 occupational hazard examples.

Types of Hazards

The risk factors workers face can be broadly classified by the way they inflict harm on the human body. Different regulatory bodies have different systems for classifying dangerous substances or situations.

The Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) provides three groups. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) breaks workplace safety risks in the health care industry into five categories.

For this discussion, we will divide hazards into three groups: biological, chemical and physical. Since this is an article about physical hazards, let’s make a quick list of other safety hazard examples.

Chemical

From bleach and hydrochloric acid to carbon monoxide and smoke, this group includes any kind of toxic irritant. Common risks include:

• Skin burns or blindness from exposure to bleach
• Burns to the lungs and other mucous membranes from inhaling chlorine gas
• Exposure to asbestos

Biological

Exposure to harmful biological agents usually results in illness, such as:

• Cancer resulting from repeated workplace carcinogen exposure
• Hantavirus contracted from rodent droppings
• Bloodborne pathogens acquired from bodily fluids

Types of Physical Hazards in the Workplace

While the examples above are harmful, they aren’t the focus of this article. Physical hazards usually involve tissue damage through the transfer of energy from an object to the human body. Since that’s a very broad generalization, let’s break down some of the most common types encountered on jobsites.

Environmental

These are the most common types you are likely to face at work. Risks range from getting a splinter to being caught in an arc flash.

More workers are injured each year by falling than any other environmental or physical hazard. Deadly falls from elevated surfaces and common slips or trips can both cause major injuries.

Confined spaces can be particularly deadly. A cramped area like the inside of a storage tank, an excavation or a trench could cause a structural failure or present an asphyxiation risk.

Not all environmental hazards will cut, crush or scald. Extreme temperatures are just as likely to cause injuries. Working in the sun or on a hot factory floor can lead to life-threatening heat stress. Winter work or a refrigerated warehouse can induce cold stress.

Most people become acclimatized to loud noises over time, but that doesn’t stop hearing damage. Hearing protection and noise reduction will reduce threats that are all too easy to ignore.

Those are just a few common scenarios. There are many more.

Environmental Hazard Examples:

• Eye damage from metal shavings or unprotected welding
• Fractures or sprains from falling from a ladder
• Repeat stress from poor posture or other ergonomic failures
• Concussions suffered from falling tools or debris
• Lacerations or amputations caused by missing or improper machine guarding

Radiation

Radiation isn’t just about glowing waste. Ionizing radiation is a devastating threat to human health. Most people will never experience acute radiation syndrome, but small, repeated radiation in industrial settings can lead to chronic health complications.

That includes frequent exposure to excessive ultraviolet (UV) radiation — the non-ionizing radiation in sunlight.

Radiation Hazard Examples:

• Thermal damage induced by microwave or radiofrequency machinery
• Overexposure to X-ray or computed tomography (CT) equipment
• Melanoma or other cancers caused by sunburns
• Blindness resulting from looking directly into lasers

Electrical

Electricity represents a significant danger to human tissue. An electrical shock occurs when a live current passes through the body, which can sear flesh or even stop a heart.

Electrocution (a fatal shock) is a serious threat when lockout/tagout standards or other crucial electrical safety procedures are ignored. Arc flashes are even more hazardous and can strike seemingly without warning.

Electrical Hazard Examples:

• Contact with exposed wiring leading to electric shock
• Fatal electrocution caused by completing an unguarded high-voltage circuit
• Injuries sustained following a sudden arc flash

Fire

There are dozens of causes of workplace fires, from poor storage of oily rags to an uncontrolled release of molten steel. Surprisingly, kitchen mishaps are the leading cause of office and store fires. But any uncontrolled burn is dangerous.

Fire Hazard Examples:

• Smoke inhalation and lung irritation
• Third-degree burns from prolonged contact with flames
• Fatal asphyxiation or immolation

How to Prevent Physical Hazards

Benjamin Franklin’s famous adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” still applies. Careful preparation, sound prevention strategies and the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE) can mitigate almost any kind of occupational risk.

OSHA Education Center is the leading provider of online safety training, offering more than 150 safety courses. All are available 100% online, allowing you to train at your pace from any internet-connected device.

Sign up for any of our industry-leading training courses today to protect yourself, your colleagues and your employees from all kinds of physical hazards in the workplace!