Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

5.6 
Accident categories
There are several categories of accident, all of which will 
be dealt with in more detail in later chapters. The princi-
pal categories are as follows:
➤
contact with moving machinery or material being 
machined
➤
struck by moving, fl ying or falling object
➤
hit by a moving vehicle
➤
struck against something fi xed or stationary
➤
injured while handling, lifting or carrying
➤
slips, trips and falls on the same level
➤
falls from a height
➤
trapped by something collapsing
➤
drowned or asphyxiated
➤
exposed to, or in contact, with a harmful substance
➤
exposed to fi re
➤
exposed to an explosion
➤
contact with electricity or an electrical discharge
➤
injured by an animal
➤
physically assaulted by a person
➤
other kind of accident.
5.7 
Health risks
Risk assessment is not only concerned with injuries in 
the workplace but also needs to consider the possibility 
of occupational ill-health. Health risks fall into the follow-
ing four categories:
➤
chemical (e.g. paint solvents, exhaust fumes)
➤
biological (e.g. bacteria, pathogens)
➤
physical (e.g. noise, vibrations)
➤
psychological (e.g. occupational stress).
There are two possible health effects of occupational 
ill-health.
They may be 
acute
which means that they occur 
soon after the exposure and are often of short duration, 
although in some cases emergency admission to 
hospital may be required.
They may be 
chronic
which means that the health 
effects develop with time. It may take several years for 
the associated disease to develop and the effects may 
be slight (mild asthma) or severe (cancer).
Health risks are discussed in more detail in 
Chapter 14.