Physical and Biological Hazards of the Workplace, 3rd Edition

PREFACE

Fifteen years have passed since the second edition of this book appeared. During this time, physical and biological hazards have been increasingly recognized as important hazards of the workplace. We have seen new research along with revisions of government standards and guidelines for physical agents such as manual materials handling, shift work and high-pressure environments, and biological agents including tuberculosis and tick-borne diseases. In addition, we have seen the emergence or spread of biological hazards, including Ebola and Zika virus.

The reception of the first two editions has been very gratifying to us. Many of our colleagues have written to us with suggestions for new topics and agents. We have tried to preserve the unique style and format of the original edition, while updating and expanding existing content, and adding new agents that we felt have become important over the intervening years. We are deeply indebted to our contributors. Many of them have returned to update their original chapters, and many colleagues are new contributors to the third edition.

The primary focus of the book continues to be as a practical “how to” reference containing basic information about the physical and biological hazards for occupational health and safety professionals from an occupational health perspective. We are pleased that readers have told us that this is the book that they pull off the shelf when they need a quick introduction or refresher to a topic in ...