Hazards Overview

Hazards are actions, materials, or situations that can harm or kill people, destroy property, threaten a community, and or impact the environment.

In the work environment, hazards are typically classified into one of the following four types:

• Physical: those caused by environmental factors, such temperature, pressure, electricity, radiation, machines, and noise.
• Biological: those caused by living or dead organisms which can result in health problems (viruses, bacteria, mosquitoes, allergens, snakes and rats).
• Chemicals: those caused by a solid, liquid, or gas element, substance or mixture which can result in health problems, safety issues and pollution.
• Ergonomic: those caused by physical or psychological stresses to the human body, due to repetitive motions, poorly design work spaces, and so on.

To learn more about PPE visit our Personal Protective Equipment Online Training web page.