Glossary of safety and health terms

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Act	The Williams-Steiger Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. (84 Stat. 1590 et seq., 29 U.S.C. 651 et seq.)
Action level	The exposure level (concentration in the air) at which OSHA regulations to protect employees take effect. Exposure at or above action level is termed occupational exposure.
Acute effect	An adverse effect on the human body with symptoms of high severity coming quickly to a crisis.
Acute exposure	An exposure to a toxic substance which occurs in a short or single time period.
Acute toxicity	Acute effects resulting from a single dose of, or exposure to, a substance. Originally used to denote effects in experimental animals.
Adjacent spaces	When describing confined space, those spaces bordering a subject space in all directions, including all points of contact, corners, diagonals, decks, tank tops, and bulkheads.
Aerosol	A solid particle or liquid droplet suspended in the air. An aerosol is larger than a molecule and can be filtered from the air.
Affected employee	An employee who works in an area in which energy control procedures are implemented, as in lockout/tagout. An affected employee and an authorized employee may be the same person.
Applied load	The working loads to which mechanical equipment are subjected when lifting and/or moving lines or other materials.
Area director	The employee or officer regularly or temporarily in charge of an Area Office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, or any other person or persons who are authorized to act for such employee or officer.
Article	As used in the Hazard Communication standard, an article is a manufactured item other than a fluid or particle: (i) which is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture; (ii) which has end use function(s) dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during end use; and (iii) which under normal conditions of use does not release more than very small quantities, e.g., minute or trace amounts of a hazardous chemical, and does not pose a physical hazard or health risk to employees.
Asphyxiant	A gas that is essentially non-toxic, but can cause unconsciousness or death by lowering the concentration of oxygen in the air or by totally replacing the oxygen in breathing air.
Authorized person	One to whom the authority and responsibility to perform a specific assignment has been given by the employer.
Auto-ignition temperature	Temperature at which a material will self-ignite and sustain combustion without an outside ignition source.
Biomechanical stressor	The physical conditions of a workstation, tool setup, and work processes that place stress on the body.
Carcinogen	A substance capable of causing cancer.
Carpal tunnel	An anatomic feature in the wrist formed by the wrist bones and the trans-carpal ligament through which the median nerve and the nine digital flexor tendons pass.
Carpal tunnel syndrome	A repetitive motion injury caused by the compression and entrapment of the median nerve where it passes through the wrist into the hand — in the carpal tunnel.
CAS number	A CAS number is used to accurately identify chemicals through the use of a unique Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) registry number.
Ceiling limit	The maximum amount of a toxic substance allowed being in workroom air at any time during the day.
Certified Industrial Hygienist	A certification awarded by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene to individuals meeting established criteria.
Certified Safety Professional®	A certification awarded by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals to individuals meeting established criteria.
Chemical pneumonitis	Inflammation of the lungs caused by accumulation of fluids due to chemical irritation.
Chronic effect	An adverse effect on the human body with symptoms that develop slowly over a long period of time or which recur frequently.
Chronic exposure	Long-term contact with a substance.
Combustible	Able to catch on fire and burn.
Compliance safety and health officer	A person trained and authorized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor to conduct inspections.
Confined space	A space that: (1) Is large enough and so configured that an employee can bodily enter and perform assigned work; (2) Has limited or restricted means for entry or exit; and (3) Is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.
Conjunctivitis	Inflammation of the conjunctiva, the delicate membrane that lines the eyelids and covers the eyeballs.
Cumulative trauma disorder	(CTD) A disorder of the musculoskeletal and nervous system that may be caused or aggravated by repetitive motions, forceful exertions, vibration, mechanical compressions, sustained or awkward postures, or by exposure to noise over extended periods of time.
Dangerous atmosphere	An atmosphere that may expose employees to the risk of death, incapacitation, impairment of ability to self-rescue, injury, or acute illness.
De minimus	Violations of existing OSHA standards which have no direct or immediate relationship to safety or health. Such violations of the OSHA standards result in no penalty and no requirement for abatement.
Dyspnea	A sense of difficulty in breathing; shortness of breath.
Emergency action plan	A plan for a workplace, or parts thereof, describing what procedures the employer and employees must take to ensure employee safety from fire or other emergencies.
Emergency release	An emergency spill or release refers to the after effects of an unintended release of hazardous, toxic, or explosive substances.
Employee	An employee of an employer who is employed in a business of his employer which affects commerce.
Employer	A person engaged in a business affecting commerce who has employees, but does not include the United States or any State or political subdivision of a State.
Energy-isolating device	Any mechanical device that physically prevents the transmission or release of energy. These include, but are not limited to, manually-operated electrical circuit breakers, disconnect switches, line valves, and blocks.
Exit route	A continuous and unobstructed path of exit travel from any point within a workplace to a place of safety (including refuge areas). An exit route consists of three parts: the exit access; the exit; and the exit discharge. (An exit route includes all vertical and horizontal areas along the route.)
Extremely hazardous substance	Any one of over 300 hazardous chemicals on a list compiled by EPA to provide a focus for State and local emergency planning activities.
First aid	For the purposes of 29 CFR 1904, “first aid” means: (A) Using a non-prescription medication at nonprescription strength (for medications available in both prescription and non-prescription form, a recommendation by a physician or other licensed health care professional to use a non-prescription medication at prescription strength is considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); (B) Administering tetanus immunizations (other immunizations, such as Hepatitis B vaccine or rabies vaccine, are considered medical treatment); (C) Cleaning, flushing or soaking wounds on the surface of the skin; (D) Using wound coverings such as bandages, Band-Aids®, gauze pads, etc.; or using butterfly bandages or Steri-Strips™ (other wound closing devices such as sutures, staples, etc., are considered medical treatment); (E) Using hot or cold therapy; (F) Using any non-rigid means of support, such as elastic bandages, wraps, non-rigid back belts, etc. (devices with rigid stays or other systems designed to immobilize parts of the body are considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); (G) Using temporary immobilization devices while transporting an accident victim (e.g., splints, slings, neck collars, back boards, etc.); (H) Drilling of a fingernail or toenail to relieve pressure, or draining fluid from a blister; (I) Using eye patches; (J) Removing foreign bodies from the eye using only irrigation or a cotton swab; (K) Removing splinters or foreign material from areas other than the eye by irrigation, tweezers, cotton swabs or other simple means; (L) Using finger guards; (M) Using massages (physical therapy or chiropractic treatment are considered medical treatment for recordkeeping purposes); (N) Drinking fluids for relief of heat stress.
Flammable liquid	As defined in OSHA's 1910.106 standard, a flammable liquid means any liquid having a flashpoint at or below 199.4°F (93°C). Flammable liquids are divided into four categories.
Flashpoint	The minimum temperature at which a liquid gives off vapor within a test vessel in sufficient concentration to form an ignitable mixture with air near the surface of the liquid.
Floor hole	An opening measuring less than 12 inches but more than one inch in its least dimension, in any floor, platform, pavement, or yard, through which materials but not persons may fall; such as a belt hole, pipe opening, or slot opening.
Floor opening	An opening measuring 12 inches or more in its least dimension, in any floor, platform, pavement, or yard through which persons may fall; such as a hatchway, stair or ladder opening, pit, or large manhole. Floor openings occupied by elevators, dumb waiters, conveyors, machinery, or containers are excluded from this subpart.
General Duty Clause	Section 5.a.1 of the OSH Act which states, “Each employer shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which is free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees.”
Guard	A barrier that prevents entry of the operator’s hands or fingers into the point of operation.
Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC)	As defined in OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard, a “Hazard not otherwise classified (HNOC)” means an adverse physical or health effect identified through evaluation of scientific evidence during the classification process that does not meet the specified criteria for the physical and health hazard classes addressed in §1910.1200. This does not extend coverage to adverse physical and health effects for which there is a hazard class addressed in §1910.1200, but the effect either falls below the cut-off value/concentration limit of the hazard class or is under a GHS hazard category that has not been adopted by OSHA (e.g., acute toxicity Category 5).
HAZWOPER	Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response, regulated under §1910.120.
Healthcare professional	Physicians (PHCPs) or other licensed healthcare professionals (LHCPs) with the appropriate license, registration or certificate that allows them to provide a relevant opinion.
Health hazard	A chemical which is classified as posing one of the following hazardous effects: acute toxicity (any route of exposure); skin corrosion or irritation; serious eye damage or eye irritation; respiratory or skin sensitization; germ cell mutagenicity; carcinogenicity; reproductive toxicity; specific target organ toxicity (single or repeated exposure); or aspiration hazard. The criteria for determining whether a chemical is classified as a health hazard are detailed in Appendix A to §1910.1200—Health Hazard Criteria.
Immediate release area	The area, process, or machine which is creating the hazardous spill.
Incidental release	An “incidental release” is a release of a hazardous substance which does not pose a significant safety or health hazard to employees in the immediate vicinity or to the worker cleaning it up, nor does it have the potential to become an emergency.
Inspection	Any inspection of an employer’s factory, plant, establishment, construction site, or other area, workplace or environment where work is performed by an employee of an employer, and includes any inspection conducted pursuant to a complaint filed under 1903.11(a) and (c), any re-inspection, follow-up inspection, accident investigation or other inspection conducted under section 8(a) of the Act.
Ischemia	Insufficient blood flow to an area, resulting in lack of oxygen and nutrients for tissue to function properly.
Ladder	A ladder is an appliance usually consisting of two side rails joined at regular intervals by cross-pieces called steps, rungs, or cleats, on which a person may step in ascending or descending.
Lockout/tagout	Procedures using an energy isolating device which prevents machinery from energizing and/or a tag that alerts employees about the need for equipment to not be started.
Lost workdays	The number of calendar days (consecutive or not) after, but not including, the day of the injury or illness during which the employee was unable to work, whether or not the employee was scheduled to work.
Lower flammable limit	The minimum concentration of gas or vapor in air below which it is not possible to ignite the vapors.
Medical treatment	Includes treatment administered by physician or by registered professional personnel under the standing orders of a physician. Medical treatment does not include first aid treatment even though provided by a physician or registered professional personnel.
Musculoskeletal disorder	(MSD) An illness of the soft tissues of the upper extremities, shoulders, neck, back, hips, legs or feet and toes cause primarily by workplace risk factors, such as sustained or repeated exertions or awkward postures and manipulations.
Nephrotoxin	A substance that causes injury to the kidneys.
Neurotoxin	A material that affects the nerve cells and may produce emotional or behavioral abnormalities.
Occupational exposure limits	Maximum allowable concentrations of toxic substances in workroom air to protect workers who are exposed to toxic substances over a working lifetime.
Odor threshold	The lowest concentration of a substance’s vapor, in air, that can be smelled.
Paresthesias	An abnormal sensation of tingling and numbness.
Percent volatile	The percentage of a chemical that will evaporate at ordinary temperatures. A high volatile percentage may mean there is more risk of explosion, or that dangerous fumes can be released. Evaporation rates are a better measure of the danger than the percent volatile measure.
Physical hazard	A chemical that is classified as posing one of the following hazardous effects: explosive; flammable (gases, aerosols, liquids, or solids); oxidizer (liquid, solid or gas); self-reactive; pyrophoric (liquid or solid); self-heating; organic peroxide; corrosive to metal; gas under pressure; or in contact with water emits flammable gas. See Appendix B to §1910.1200—Physical Hazard Criteria.
Pinch point	Any point other than the point of operation at which it is possible for a part of the body to be caught between the moving parts of a press or auxiliary equipment, or between moving and stationary parts of a press or auxiliary equipment or between the material and moving part or parts of the press or auxiliary equipment.
Point of operation	That point at which cutting, shaping, boring, or forming is accomplished upon the stock.
Pyrophoric gas	A chemical in a gaseous state that will ignite spontaneously in air at a temperature of 130 degrees F (54.4 degrees C) or below.
Raynaud’s syndrome	A painful condition affecting the fingers or toes, caused by compromised circulation.
Recordable occupational injuries or illnesses	Any occupational injury or illness which results in: Death, Days away from work, Restricted work or transfer to another job, Medical treatment beyond first aid, or Loss of consciousness. An injury is also recordable if it involves a significant injury or illness diagnosed by a physician or other licensed healthcare professional, even if it does not result in any of the above conditions.
Repetitive strain injury	Injuries resulting to soft tissues from repeating the injurious activity beyond the body’s ability to heal itself.
Reproductive effects	Exposure that results in infertility, impotence, loss of sex drive and birth defects.
Restricted work	For the purposes of 29 CFR Part 1904, restricted work occurs when, as the result of a work-related injury or illness: You keep the employee from performing one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or from working the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work; or A physician or other licensed health care professional recommends that the employee not perform one or more of the routine functions of his or her job, or not work the full workday that he or she would otherwise have been scheduled to work.
Safety data sheet (SDS)	Written or printed material concerning a hazardous chemical that is prepared in accordance with specifications in the Hazard Communication standard.
Short-term exposure limits	The airborne concentration of a material to which it is believed that workers can be exposed continuously for a short period of time without suffering from harm.
Solvent	Usually a liquid in which other substances are dissolved. The most common solvent is water.
Standard	A standard that requires conditions, or the adoption or use of one or more practices, means, methods, operations, or processes, reasonably necessary or appropriate to provide safe or healthful employment and places of employment.
Standard threshold shift	As used in §1910.95, a standard threshold shift is a change in hearing threshold relative to the baseline audiogram of an average of 10 dB or more at 2000, 3000, and 4,000 Hz in either ear.
Subpart Z	Toxic and Hazardous Substances, the last subpart of 29 CFR 1910. Contains permissible exposure limits for air contaminants, Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3.
Tagout device	Any prominent warning device, such as tag and a means of attachment, which can be securely fastened to an energy-isolating device in accordance with an established procedure. The tag indicates that the machine or equipment to which it is attached is not to be operated until the tag-out device is removed in accordance with the energy control procedure.
Teratogenic	Capable of causing birth defects.
Threshold limit value	The airborne concentration of a material, representing conditions under which it is believed that nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed without adverse health effects.
Toxic substance	Any substance that has the capacity to produce personal injury or illness through ingestion, inhalation, or absorption through any body surface.
Uncontrolled release	The accidental release of a hazardous substance from its container. If not contained, stopped, and removed, the release would pose a hazard to employees in the immediate area or in areas in the path of the release, or from its by-products or its effects.
Upper explosive limit	The maximum concentration of a flammable vapor above which ignition will not occur even on contact with a source of ignition.
Upper flammable limit	The maximum concentration of gas or vapor in air above which it is not possible to ignite the vapors.
Volatile organic compound	A fast evaporating substance used in coatings and in paints as they evaporate very quickly.
WHMIS	A Canadian workplace safety rule that requires the creation and availability of material safety data sheets, warning labels on hazardous materials, and employee education and training.
Z List	The OSHA tables of permissible exposure limits (PELs) for air contaminants, found in Subpart Z, Toxic and Hazardous Substances, §1910.1000. Contains Tables Z-1, Z-2, and Z-3.

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