It’s not just Denver Workplace Exposure, the truth is each day millions of brave American men and women are exposed to dangerous chemicals while on the job. While the vast majority of businesses are owned by honest and hardworking individuals, there are some exceptions that serve to prove this rule. If you’re worried that you or someone you love has become a victim of a Denver workplace exposure, you’ll want to read further!
Dangers Of Workplace Exposure Accidents
While it’s an overly simple definition, it can be helpful to think of “exposure,” like an afternoon in the sun. You probably aren’t rubbing the sun all over you, but on the right kind of afternoon, you can feel the light come into contact with your skin. Exposure is like that. Breathing fumes or inhaling dust are very common causes of workplace exposure incidents. Not all workspaces are properly ventilated or up to code. Some jobs are more dangerous than others–and that’s why exposure can include injection into the skin, a common occurrence in some kinds of industrial accidents.
Thousands of very helpful chemical substances are used every day in workplaces throughout Colorado that aren’t particularly dangerous. That might be why it is so easy to believe that most chemicals you encounter at work are safe. You might think that dangerous chemicals would be obviously marked.
While this is true in most cases, in the United States, there are actually quite a few different agencies with different ideas about workplace exposure limits.
The reasons for this are likely not malicious. Many people are familiar with the Department Of Labor’s Permissible Exposure Limits. What some people do not know about these guidelines, is that they have not been updated since they adopted shortly after the 1970 passage of the Occupational Health and Safety Act–in 1970. While some new chemicals have been added, the standards are not as current as they could be.
California’s Division of Occupational Health and Safety is another government agency with different standards. One of the nice thing about their website, is that they have a tremendous amount of content about topics beyond even just workplace exposure. (Like this great guide about one way some employers take advantage of temporary employees)
Industry specialists like the ACGIH work on materials that help to shape the standards published by government agencies. While these materials are not standards, they often bear striking resemblance to published guidelines.
There are a number of public exposure standards, too. One example are the NOAA acute exposure guideline levels.
While this is likely more information than you’ll ever need to know about your Denver workplace exposure question, it barely scratches the surface of the complexities of the rules and standards in this part of the law. While most employers act with the best interest of their employees at heart, it is important to remember that in the situations where this doesn’t happen, you have rights.
What To Do After a Workplace Exposure Accident
Many attorneys are happy to hear about workplace exposure cases because they are often the sort of cases lawyers go into law to represent. While that may sound funny, many lawyers get into law because they want to change the world. One of the easiest ways to do that is to work to make a workplace a better place.
That’s why we wrote this guide to getting the most out of free attorney consultations. If you have concerns about workplace exposure and the situation is not an emergency, you should meet with an attorney right away. An Aurora personal injury attorney will be able to help you prepare a list of questions to ask your employer and information you will need to collect. It is always much easier to collect this information beforehand than it is after the fact.
