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1) Consider your workplace or a workplace of one of your family members. Are there chemical, biological, radiological or ergonomic issues? Using the industrial hygiene hierarchy of controls, how might you address the issues? How are they being addressed in reality?

Since I work at a hospital, there are definitely many issues that exist. Some issues which we have studied include chemical, radiological, and ergonomic. Those are the ones I would focus on most. Using the Hierarchy of Controls, I would address these issues by ensuring those who are near radiological or biological hazards have the appropriate PPE at all times. I would make a policy regarding the use of PPE in certain situations. As for those with ergonomic issues, I would address this issue by using administrative control and changing the way people work. I would ensure people receive ergonomic training to ensure they don’t hurt themselves on the job. 

2) What might be the barriers to workers exercising their rights to a healthy and safe workplace?

One barrier can be time. Many times, people try to do things as fast as possible and attempt to skip steps. This is a safety hazard and puts them at risk. Another barrier could be that the companies simply do not want to cooperate with their employees. For example, I had a friend who worked for a company for a very long time and she requested an ergonomic assessment due to the positioning of the desk, computer, ect. She truly had to push in order for this to happen. It took the company over a year to get her that assessment. This is different from where I work because less than a week after I put in a request for an assessment, my work area had been assessed and fixed.