Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work. OSH is related to the fields of occupational medicine and occupational hygiene and aligns with workplace health promotion initiatives. OSH also protects all the general public who may be affected by the occupational environment.
A woman examining her work on a lathe at a factory in Britain during World War II, her eyes unprotected, a practice that today would not be permitted
Bernardino Ramazzini
Sir Robert Peel
Harry McShane, age 16, 1908. Pulled into machinery in a factory in Cincinnati and had his arm ripped off and his leg broken without any compensation.
Work accident
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A work accident, workplace accident, occupational accident, or accident at work is a "discrete occurrence in the course of work" leading to physical or mental occupational injury. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), more than 337 million accidents happen on the job each year, resulting, together with occupational diseases, in more than 2.3 million deaths annually.
Erik Henningsen's painting A wounded worker from the National Gallery of Denmark
A 19th century work accident in a mine
Skid mark from a faulty ladder.
Health and safety warning sign