Pamela Tau Lee, BS¹, Laura Stock, MPH², and Gail Bateson, MPH¹. (1) Labor Occupational Health Program, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, 2223 Fulton St., 4th Fl, Berkeley, CA 94720-5120, 510-643-7594, ptlee@uclink4.berkeley.edu, (2) Labor Occupational Health Program, Berkeley School of Public Health, 2223 Fulton St, 4th Fl, Berkeley, CA 94720-5120

Inevitably after most industrial accidents, fingers will point to human error. In December of 1998, following several refinery accidents, the county of Contra Costa in California passed a new industrial safety ordinance (ISO 98-48). The ordinance requires refineries and other large chemical plants to develop new written safety plans that use a human factors approach that analyses the causes of errors and identifies solutions. The goal of the ordinance is to protect community and worker health from toxic accidental releases. This presentation will discuss the involvement of workers and management in defining a “human factors” approach to safety that looks beyond human error to underlying systems that increase the risk of accidents. An examination of the benefits and challenges will look at the concrete implementation of this approach and explore the outcomes three years since it’s introduction. Participants will be able to list key components of a human factors approach to safety; discuss the impact this approach may or may not have on protecting health.

Learning Objectives:

• List components of a human factors approach; discuss challenges and impact on worker and community health

Keywords: Environmental Health Hazards, Occupational Safety

Related Web page: www.lohp.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Handout (.ppt format, 491.0 kb)