Republic of the Philippines

ILOCOS SUR POLYTECHNIC STATE COLLEGE

Tagudin Campus
Tagudin, Ilocos Sur

Laboratory High School

Disaster and Risk Reduction Management

LESSON 2

Types Of Hazards
In this lesson we will be considering majorly the different types of hazards.
Before we get into the main point of discussion, let us have a recap of what an hazard is.

What is an Hazard?
An hazard is anything, situation, environment or behavior that has the potential
to cause injury, ill health, or damage to person(s), property or the environment.

Anything can be an hazard depending on its current state. For example, a

vehicle at its parking state is not an hazard, but when moving, it constitute an hazard.
The same can be said about a person in his sober state; in a sober state he is no
hazard, but when intoxicated with mind altering substances, he will become an hazard
to person around him.

Lets get back to the subject matter:

Types of hazards
There are different types of hazards, they include:

1. Physical hazard: A physical hazard is an agent, factor or circumstance that

can cause harm with or without contact. Examples are: Slippery floors, objects
in walkways, unsafe or misused machinery, excessive noise, poor lighting, fire,
etc.
2. Chemical hazards: A chemical hazard is a type of occupational hazard
caused by exposure to chemicals in the workplace. Exposure to chemicals in
the workplace can cause acute or chronic detrimental health effects. Examples
include: Gases, dusts, fumes, vapors and liquids.
3. Ergonomic hazards: Ergonomic hazards are physical conditions that may
pose risk of injury to the musculoskeletal system, such as the muscles or
ligaments of the lower back, tendons or nerves of the hands/wrists, or bones
surrounding the knees, resulting in a musculoskeletal disorder. These include
poor design of equipment, workstation design, (postural) or workflow, manual
handling, repetitive movement, etc.
 4. Biological hazards: Biological hazards are a biological substances that pose
threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. They include
pathogenic micro-organisms, viruses, toxins (from biological sources), spores,
fungi and bio-active substances.
5. Psychological hazard: A psychological hazard is any occupational hazard
that affects the psychological and physical well-being of workers, including
their ability to participate in a work environment among other people.
6. Environmental hazards: An environmental hazard is a substance, a state
or an event which has the potential to threaten the surrounding natural
environment / or adversely affect people’s health, including pollution and
natural disasters such as storms and earthquakes.

ACTIVITY
Direction: Make a signage to illustrate and avoid the 6 Major types of Hazards in our
SCHOOL. The size of your signage should be a size of 1/2 illustration board.
Refer to this sample illustrations.

School Face Mask Signs

Safety First Please Use Hand Sanitizer Sign

Maintain Social Distancing

Bully Free Zone Sign

Parking Sign
Construction Work In Progress Sign

No Running Sign

Prepared by: LARRY MOSTOLES