PRL: los factores de riesgo y su prevención. (1/5)

Occupational Risk Factors

The video introduces occupational risk factors, focusing on those arising from safety conditions: workplaces, work equipment, electrical installations, and fire. A risk factor is any working condition that increases the likelihood of harm simply by being present.

The video names four broad categories of risk factors:

• Safety conditions
• Environmental conditions
• Economic conditions
• Psychosocial conditions

Safety-related factors are described as a major cause of workplace accidents.

1. Workplaces

The video refers to Royal Decree 486/1997, which sets minimum requirements for workplaces. Examples include:

• A ceiling height of at least 3 metres, except in shops and offices, where 2.5 metres is permitted.
• At least 2 square metres and 10 cubic metres of workspace per worker.
• Fixed, stable floors. Slippery surfaces should not have slopes or uneven areas.
• Protective measures, such as nets or railings, where a level difference exceeds 2 metres. Railings must be at least 90 centimetres high.
• Safe circulation routes for people and vehicles. Doors should be at least 80 centimetres wide, and corridors at least 1 metre wide.

Common workplace hazards include falls on the same or different levels, collisions with stationary objects, vehicle strikes, and objects falling because they collapse or topple.

Prevention measures

• Meet applicable workplace requirements and clearly mark hazards.
• Keep work areas clean and orderly. Keep emergency exits and evacuation routes clear.
• Store tools and materials properly, avoiding unsafe piles.
• Maintain tools, equipment, and machinery.
• Use collective safeguards first, followed by personal protective equipment (PPE) where risks remain.

2. Work Equipment: Machinery and Tools

Machinery and tools can cause entrapment, cuts, impacts, flying-particle injuries, vibration and noise exposure, electrical contact, and burns.

Prevention measures

• Choose equipment approved for use in the EU and bearing the CE mark.
• Inform and train workers in correct use.
• Follow operating instructions and safe working methods.
• Carry out appropriate maintenance and regular inspections.
• Avoid loose clothing and dangling jewellery or accessories. Tie back long hair to prevent entanglement.
• Use guards and other collective safeguards, including safety devices and automatic stops.
• Wear suitable PPE, such as eye protection and gloves, when collective protection is not sufficient.
• Keep the work area orderly and clean.

3. Electrical Hazards

Electrical contact may be:

• Direct: Touching a live part, such as an exposed wire or the inside of a socket.
• Indirect: Touching an object that has become live because insulation or grounding has failed.
• High-voltage: Contact involving high-voltage installations. The video notes that above 1,000 volts, an electric arc can occur—a sudden release of electrical energy through the air.

The severity of an electrical accident depends on factors including current intensity, contact duration, the resistance of the body and the electrical source, insulating materials such as clothing or footwear, and the current’s path through the body. A path through vital organs such as the heart, lungs, or brain can be especially dangerous.

Possible consequences include muscle paralysis, respiratory arrest, asphyxiation, ventricular fibrillation, burns, and injuries caused by falls or impacts.

Prevention measures

• Keep electrical installations away from work areas where possible, and cover live parts with insulation.
• Install barriers such as partitions or grilles.
• Use safe voltages: the video gives 24 volts for damp or wet locations and a maximum of 50 volts for dry locations.
• Fit residual-current devices (RCDs), also called ground-fault circuit interrupters in the subtitles, and use earthing.
• Train and inform workers, post warnings in hazardous areas, and use suitable insulating PPE and equipment, such as gloves, boots, tools, poles, mats, or stools.

4. Fire Hazards

The video explains the fire triangle: a fire requires fuel, an oxidizing agent—usually oxygen—and heat or another source of ignition. Removing any one of these elements can put a fire out. For example, water may cool a fire, while a blanket or pan lid may cut off oxygen. However, water must not be used where electrical equipment or installations may be involved because of the risk of electrocution.

The video stresses that deaths in fires are often caused by inhaling toxic gases rather than by burns alone. Other dangers include external or inhalation burns, panic-related trampling or crushing, dehydration, and respiratory blockage.

Fire types

• Type A: Solid materials such as paper, wood, or cardboard.
• Type B: Liquids such as paint, gasoline, or oil.
• Type C: Gases such as methane or natural gas.
• Type D: Metals such as magnesium, aluminium, or titanium.
• Electrical fires: Fires involving electrical equipment or installations. The subtitles inconsistently label these as Type E and Type I.

Extinguisher guidance

Use water or a suitable A-rated or ABC extinguisher for solid-material fires only when electrical hazards are absent. Fires involving liquids or gases require an extinguisher rated for the relevant class; metal and electrical fires require specific extinguishers. The video notes visual cues including yellow extinguishers for metal fires and a trumpet-shaped nozzle on the electrical-fire extinguisher.

Speakers and Sources

• Speaker: One unnamed narrator or presenter; no other speakers are identifiable in the subtitles.
• Source cited: Royal Decree 486/1997, concerning minimum workplace requirements.