Lesson 2: What is a Hazard?
Completion requirements
A hazard is anything that can cause injury or loss.
-
A safe place would have no hazards, however most hazards can't be removed, they can only be controlled and the risk reduced.
-
Hazards can be found everywhere: at home, in school, in all workplaces.
-
Hazards in the workplace can cause injuries/death, a loss of income, property damage, environmental damage and a loss of production and profits
-
A hazard can be something as simple as a ladder left lying around. It can also be something like a chemical substance used in a workplace.
Hazard identification, assessment and control can help prevent injuries
- Identification is seeing a hazard and knowing what it is; there are five types of hazards that will be discussed later in this section
- Assessment is knowing the risk of each hazard; is the hazard a high, medium or low risk
- Control is what may be done to limit the hazard from causing harm or loss; there are 3 methods of control, which you will learn about later in this section