M10.5: Occupational safety and health organization

Green Jobs is one of the enforcement initiative programs that The Occupation Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) supports. This program defined green jobs as jobs that help to improve the environment but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are safe jobs. Like any other workers in other industries, employees in the green industry can face hazards that are commonly known in the workplaces such as fire, electrical, and falls. In addition, they might also be exposed to other new hazards such as exposure to chemicals. For example, without proper control and prevention, solar energy industry workers might be exposed to Cadmium Telluride which is a known carcinogen. The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires employers to comply with the safety and health standards and regulation as well as ensuring the workplace is free from recognized hazards likely to cause deaths and physical harms. Employers must use necessary methods to control and protect workers from hazard in green industries that the OSHA standards have covered. The key is to apply the concept of “Prevention through Design” process that help to eliminates hazards to the workers who use them by “designing out” hazards throughout the design phase of their products. I think this program does relate to my health and safety even though I’m not a worker in the green industry because I’m someone who is benefiting from the products that the green industry created. I think everyone is being effected in the positive way by the green industry even if they don’t utilize these products directly. The facts that the industry is improving our environment and is helping to make the environment more sustainable already have significant impact on human being and our future generation.   

https://www.osha.gov/dep/greenjobs/index.html