Ole Jacob Møllerløkken
Associate professor and group leader at the Research Group for Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the University of Bergen. Physician in occupational medicine at the University hospital.
Location University of Bergen, Norway
Activity
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A very good comment! Thank you. I so agree, a worker, and an employer, cannot handle the risks properly before they really understand the risks and the possible implications of the exposure.
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Very nice comment, discussing many aspects of this case. Thank you :)
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Nicolai Salmela
This is true, but there are also many possible measures to do to reduce the noise exposure towards the workers. Even a simple thing like distance and work technique can have large effect on the actual noise level dose.
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What alternative methods would you suggest in this situation?
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Thank you for the reply. As my fellow educator commented elsewhere also these "quick-solutions" also happens many places as you also write. Building sites are difficult to control and are of varying sizes and numbers adding to the difficulty. We hope by spreading knowledge we add a little bit to the safety of work places :) Thanks again for good contributions...
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Thank you for your answer. In cases involving radiation exposure, the best way of reducing the exposure is reducing the exposure time or increase the distance from the source. In this type of work often the time using "live" radiation is probably possible to reduce. Another important aspect is rotation of workers and doing the procedures strictly when it is...
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Welcome to the course :)
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Important note and not easy to answer. But a small improvement is also an improvement, even though we might not get to full power mask at once, many of the challenges can be handled better through better information, education and simple efforts.
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Thank you for the comment, I agree, it is difficult, but important to reduce noise exposure and raise awareness about the health effects of noise
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Thank you for a nice comment, another important risk when there is a lot of noise is the risk of accidents. You may not hear the warning signal and so on and therefore be at a higher risk.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Sheetal Luhera
Nice comment. There is always an issue with exposure that leads to risk over time and not suddenly. Awareness is superimportant.
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Yes, very important note. Also as you stated, sometimes the use is necessary for different reasons, but then even more important to be handled correctly and safely.
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Thank you for many good comments. Regarding chronic health effects from organic solvents. Yes, there is a big chance of late detection. Often other illnesses and attemps of treatment are done before the investigation into solvent exposure becomes an issue. And often the treatment have little function because the patient still is getting exposed. Therefore we...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Dr Arvind Kothavale
Agriculture has a lot of hazards in both equipment, chemicals and biological hazards to mention some. In addition the occupation is at risk as the farmers often work alone and therefore is more at risk if an accident happens.
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Agreed, its important to inform/educate the workers about thus. One way is at work, but also important to include in theveducation.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Nice discussion, showing that the views are divided and varies with how you define the workers and the employer. This, in my view, shows the challenges when the responsibilities are not clearly defined.
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Most important in my view is, as some has stated in this discussion, to not work during the hours with most intense radiation (this varies with region). Work in the shadow is also good, and sun-screen protection cream if available.
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I think this will vary both with type of work, outdoor conditions and so on and needs to be addressed specifically in every setting. Qualified personnel should consider the hazards in the work and duration and from this consider the length of the shifts.
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I agree, the basic rules for hygiene are the most important! The different PPE and others are "only" additional barriers, but still the basic rules of hygiene must be in place.
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The pandemic of COVID19 is a really big challenge all over the world, and the focus on biological factors have never been higher
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Great work everybody! It is very nice to see how well you discuss and answer the different sections. A lot of motivation for us as course leaders!
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Christian Yala
Thank you for a nice comment. Much appreciated.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Iñaki Muela
This is the same in Norway also
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Thank you for your question. Light therapy is about moving the biological clock. The biological clock is set every day when we wake up and opens our eyes to light. This may be disturbed both at shift work, when travelling over time-zones and if one has a habit of going to bed at odd hours, and sleeping long. By giving light (at correct times) we can shift this...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Thank you all so far for many good comments, I agree that it is of course important that she tells the man first and tries to solve the matter. If not I also think that it's important to not give up. Talking to a friend, collegue, reporting to your manager and so on. This will depend on different handling in different countries. But first of all in my mind is...
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wonderful to read! Thanks for participating!
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I agree. In regards to reporting structure, if the harrassing colleague is a colleague it should be reported to your manager. If the report is not dealt with, or the harrassing colleague is your manager you should be able to report at the next level. When all this fails cases appear as "whistle blowing". Thank you for good comments!
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Very nice comments everybody, you discuss different solutions and it is interesting and nice to read! Thank you all for making this course great!
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to samuel udo
sad but true in many parts of the world
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A very nice comment, I agree completely :)
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Just as a curiosity, the way the bag is transported in the film. Can it be done in that way but in a much safer way? Or would you demand that they change the way the move it completely?
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I agree. The aim and reporting and rewards can even become dangerous. For instance, imagine that the company sets a bonus to all employees if nobody has an accident for one year. This will put pressure one the one actually having an accident not to report it, because they will not be the cause of the missed bonus. Therefore the worst thing I see are building...
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Very nice comment, agree.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Thank you for good answers, there is of course a problem that these workers are not employed. But the mine owner in my mind has a clear responsibility since he is benefitting from the work, and he owns the mine (the exposure). Therefore in my mind I would say he needs to adress this issue, but of course this is depending on local laws and regulations.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Thank you for many nice comments and discussions, I agree of course with you all. It is not ok to "produce" deaf workers, but I also think as many of you that if the workers dosen't really understand the reason for the protection they will not use it. Therefore PPE should be the last thing to reduce noise exposure, and focus should be on removing the hazard,...
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agree
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to samuel udo
Agree, and they often function very well and can give a good idea on what the noise levels are, even though they are not as stable as "real" noise meters... :)
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Yes, noise levels may exceed these recommended limits in many places outside work. Here it is often the government and the society which has to consider this exposure in relation to the personal freedom we also wants (for instance rock concerts etc)
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Thank you, but remember that a "small" reduction in dB levels may have a dramatic effect due to actual reduction in the physical noise level (pascal) :)
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I would instead of medical check as a prevention, focus on reducing the load/stressor for each worker. Example by helping aids (cranes, fork-lifts and so on), sharing the load on more workers etc etc. Reducing ergonomic stressors.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Yes, there are many products with the same effects as asbestos, asbestos is banned from more than 55 countries in the world, but the price I am not sure about, it may be a problem that asbestos is cheap and easy to get delivered.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Nice comments, but very important to remember the different risk reducing measures that can be used apart from personal protective equipment. In relation to asbestos, for instance, is replacing this material the best solution. This is done in many countries around the world, including Norway, but makes the workers responsible for replacing the material...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
The target is always zero, but I think compensation still is important. Not as a sleeping pillow (where if you get hurt, we pay you), but in a preventive way. If your workers get diseases/injuries it is expensive for the company..... This is of course a discussion which is not as easy as I state, but I hope you get my meaning. Thank you for commenting!
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It is true, gold mining is a challenging work place with many exposures. Although the exposures comes from the production of gold there are ways of protecting the workers. However, challenges often lies within what is possible in the different countries and locations. But a first step is knowledge about the risks. Thank you for your comment.
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Thank you for your post, it was very interesting to read. Diseases are most commonly seen among florists, hairdressers, beauticians, cooks and certain manufacturing and healthcare related occupations. This is very similar to what we see in Norway, but in addition we have many from the oil-related occupations.
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I agree, we will sort this out. Thank you for the observation.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Your comments are much appreciated and I think you discuss the topic to the point. Finding the tiger, or tigers, is important, because only through that you may be able to control the danger. Most of you disagree with the boss and argues very well why you disagree. PPE is never enough and should mainly be a measure of last resource. Continue the discussion :)
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Great!
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Sadly true, thank you for addressing this.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Rhonda D
It is very true what you stated. There was also a lot of different information given by different authorities on how workers should be protected and often there was different guidelines from different states and places. I think that we learned a lot from the outbreak also in regards to worker safety.
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An important comment, thank you. The same challenge is in many other workplaces around the world, were the owners hire in help from other companies/self-employed workers. This rises a large issue on who is responsible for comfort, safety and follow up.
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Important comment, I hope the government succeeds.
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Thank you for the comment, I agree this is a very important subject in developing countries and an important subject for community medicine among other disciplines. We, however, did not want to address this issue in this course since it is most often not related to work.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Rhonda D
Dear Rhonda!
I agree, it is confusingly stated. I think that as a general rule we state that there is no direct human-to-human transmission, even though we know that this might happen in rare cases. Thank you for addressing this, and I'm sorry it was confusing. -
Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Muguwa Joseph
Thank you for the comment, the things you mention is not only a saddening thing in low-income countries, but also elsewhere.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Jeddy N
I agree that this is sometimes done, but a problem with this way of regulation is that the accidents and misshapen that occurs tend to be not reported because the workers are afraid of the penalty. In this way the workplace may look safe on paper, but in real life it a whole other matter.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Thanks all for nice comments, it is a strange video and I'm glad most of you replies that this is not the way to do things. I also wonder how efficient this method can be? They use a man which weighs more than 50 kg to lift a bag of 50 kg up, but the man can only do this once and then he has to walk all the way up again to perform another lift, it seems really...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
I must say, your comments are good. Its very nice to read about you experiences all around the world! As it has been said often in the discussion below, the general preventive measures must always be a priority! Normally health personnel is required to know their status in regards to infectious diseases to be able to work responsible. In regards to HBV most...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Gaze Cristian
I liked your comment very much. Many on this site have addressed the use of different types of media, and I agree that it is a nice approach, but the intoxications with solvents are most problematic in the work places were exposure happens regularily. There it is important for awareness among employees and information/training of workers and here government...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Gaze Cristian
Thanks for this good comment. But be aware, that even though they are using PPE-filter masks, these are only effective if the filters are correct and changed often enough. Otherwise they will give false protection. Also these masks which are passive, will always have leakage on the sides. This can only be tackled by air-support systems, or high-pressure filter...
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I agree, PPE-masks fith filters are only protective if the filters are adequate, changed often enought and if the mask is well fitted to the face. The best would be some sort of air-support, or high-pressure masks, preventing leakage of pesticides into the mask.
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Thank you for this nice comment!
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Very nice to see that you are discussing! I agree that the dose is very important, but also as Kristina says the dose that is poisounous for one person may not be posiounous for another person. And also, often the limits set by the regulation is not only based on health hazards, but also many other considerations. Therfore documenting the potential hazards and...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
I agree with most of your comments, nice to see that you are discussing both the masks and eventual measures the employer can do. Keep up the good work! :)
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Important and good comment.
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Yes, smoking is the most prominent cause of COPD.
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Thank you for your comment. Coffee plantations also have a lot of organic dust exposure when they are drying and packing the coffee beans.
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There are a number of differnt theories to this phenomena, but none so far is conclusive.
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Normally exposure for one to three hours will not have serious long time effect. Protective equipment is all focusing on lowering the dust exposure. The ideal personal protective equipment are full body suits with a higher air pressure inside the suit thereby preventing asbestos dust to enter. But this is very expensive. Other measures are very dense facial...
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Dear Solomon. Asbestos is not dangerous when it is for instance in a roof sheet. The problem with asbestos is in situations were it produces dust, for instance if you cut the roof sheets, drill in them or destroy them by crushing.
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Thank you for the comment. Mainly work is being done in preventing the exposures, and thus preventing the disease. Work is continously being done to develop methods, materials and procedures which lowers the exposures to workers.
And one part of it is actually this course telling of these exposures and the necessary controlling measures. -
Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Sarah Gouder
A very good comment, thank you.
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Thanks for the comment, I will check with our tema how we can receive pictures, because it would be very interesting.
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Why do you think it is like that? Do you have suggestions on some means that could improve the situation?
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Nice to see so many comments! Many of you are answering, "in my country", it would be very nice if you specified the country.
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Thanks for this important comment. I very much agree, prevention will not only be beneficial for the patient, but also for the workplace, employer and community.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Hello again. So nice to see that you are still active and sharing so many important comments. It is interesting to read that most of you are regarding a good work place in a similar way, many mentioning a good leader/leadership as important and having an open and friendly environment with good colleagues. I look forward to the rest of the week.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Amr Rakha
I agree, there are many sites on the internet, often it can also be enough to Google the name of the Product and safety data sheet
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The option "buy certificate" should appear in your profile when you have completed at least 60 % of the course, done the quizzes and the completed the final test. You may find information on this on the bottom of the welcoming page to this course
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Thank you for all posts and comments! It is truly inspiring to read and we wish we could reply to all!
Many of you are from countries which have not banned asbestos and I think you are discussing both reasons for this and ways to achieve a ban in a good way. Also many mention coming from countries with no ban, but with relatively strict regulations on the...
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Thank you for the post. You adress an important aspect when you discuss that the possibilities for substitution is low due to the economic situation. I agree that a first step then could be to focus on preventive and protective measures. This is also mentioned in many other posts here.
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Thank you for the question. For most people the greatest exposure to ionizing radiation is from natural sources, but some occupations are exposed to a higher degree, such as in some medical occupations and nuclear facilities. You may also find interesting facts on this in week 3 in this course. In that step we also discuss preventive measures.
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Important post. I agree, it is true that when a patient have developed cancer from exposures in his or hers workplace it is no longer preventable for that patient. But, the knowledge must lead to prevention towards the workplace keeping other workers in similar situations out of harm’s way. For instance, many developed countries used large quantities of...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Muthoni Njage
Nice post! I like to read that you also mention other work Place factors present in the photo, this is often the case I suspect you know, it is never only one factor.
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken replied to Emil Bohme
I agree, P1 masks only protect against quite large particles, P2 protects better and P3 even protects against Airborne particles. But, the denser the filter is the harder it is to Breathe through the mask. Therefore Powered masks are better for longer use, and best of all to minimize the Source of exposure as earlier explained. Also be aware, that the mask is...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Hello everybody! It is very nice and inspiring to read all your comments and you are discussing many aspects on how to reduce the risk of hearing damage for the workers. Very nice that many of you discusses broadly this topic both involving how the management could work with this, how health personnel could do this and how the workers themselves have to work...
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Ole Jacob Møllerløkken made a comment
Dear all! Great to see that you are discussing the possible control measures to reduce mercury exposure in the process shown in the video. This is important, and the control measures can also be adapted to other exposure situations. In the video shown above and in many situations implementing engineering systems, control measures, PPE and other protective...
