Contenido:

OCCUPATIONAL RISK FACTORS ON BOARD

The following are included among the risk factors and agents that can cause professional illnesses or workplace accidents:

The following are the different ways in which the above risk agents can harm the worker's health (contact or entrance routes):

• Respiratory tract (inhalation, suffocation).
• Skin and mucus (contact).
• Digestive system (accidental ingestion).
• Blood (inoculation).
• Joint and skeleton system (traumatism).
• Senses (sight, hearing, etc.).

DETERMINING FACTORS FOR ACCIDENTS IN THE WORKPLACE

Much has been written about the role of material factors (unsafe conditions) and man factors (unsafe actions) in the causing of accidents. At the end of the day, all accidents in the workplace can be attributed to human error, whether it is the engineer who designed the ship, the official who authorised the ship's navigation or the person responsible for periodical check-ups, the ship's owner who implements the working conditions on board or the crew who carry out their work with a certain degree of attention and care.

However, it is a waste of time to argue about the degrees of responsibility of each one. What is important is to highlight the importance of accident prevention in the business world, in a way that from the very conception of the ship, safety is a part of its design and its exploitation plan.

On a ship that is already in use and, therefore, has little possibility for redesign, the possibility of modifying work practices exists, as does implementing a policy of information / training for crew members, installing safety mechanisms and hiring a large enough and well-prepared crew to deal with dangerous situations.

In the specific case of Maritime fishing, it is essential to prevent risks derived from the fishing and landing of the catch (whether on deck, in the tunnel or in the hold). Emergency procedures and individual protection are also important, as is the need for training, good on board living conditions, rest breaks and work organisation.

There are national and international regulations for the prevention of on board accidents and professional illnesses, as well as codes of practice too numerous to mention here (IMDG, SEVIMAR, MARPOL etc. of the IMO; Conventions and recommendations of the ILO; European Union directives etc.). All of these can be consulted in the nearest Administration centres (Harbour Masters, Centres of Safety and hygiene in the workplace, etc.).

Bearing in mind that most regulate, almost exclusively, the prevention of maritime accidents and the structural security of the ship, it is also essential to consult the general legislation on Prevention of Work-Related Risks.

DETERMINING FACTORS IN THE APPEARANCE AND SEVERITY OF A PROFESSIONAL ILLNESS

Among these factors and circumstances are:

• Concentration of the pollutant in the workplace environment: to make an acceptable evaluation it is common to compare those values with the values found in the table of occupational exposure limits - called "TLV Values" in the USA when dealing with chemical agents, and Professional exposure limits (PEL) in the EU-.
• Exposure time to the agent: this is intimately related to the concentration of the agent. A certain agent a determined agent causes greater injury the longer it acts on the organism. The table of professional exposure limits mentioned Anteriorly usually refers to an average working day of 8 hours, and so it is necessary to make appropriate adjustments to suit maritime working which is usually more intensive (12 hours or more).
• Individual susceptibility of the worker, in other words, the greater or lesser vulnerability of the organism to the risk factor, for example suffering from Anterior illnesses or disabilities, inadequate diet, natural resistance, etc.
• Simultaneous exposure in the workplace itself to two or more risk factors (for example, high temperatures and the presence of toxins absorbed through the skin, which increases the harmful effect).
• Work related circumstances, such as for example, dirt, high environmental temperature, greater physical effort (this will increase the absorption of the pollutant through the respiratory tract).