Glossary

A

acquired disease
A pathological process that develops after birth and which is not caused by hereditary or congenital factors.
activities of daily living (ADL)
Basic—or generic—life functions that are common to all humans; they form an integral part of daily life. They are a guide to an individual's generic level of function. More information…
aerosol
1. A substance enclosed under pressure and released as a fine spray by means of a propellant gas.
Source: oxforddictionaries.com
2. [Chemistry] A colloidal suspension of particles or liquid droplets dispersed in air or gas.
Aerosols can be natural or anthropogenic (caused by human activity). Examples:
aggravation
Permanent worsening of a pre-existing condition. A physical, chemical, biological, or other factor that results in an increase in symptoms, signs, and/or impairment that never returns to baseline, or what it would have been except for the aggravation (the level pre-determined by the natural history of the antecedent injury or illness). [Source: AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment 6th Edition.] See also: exacerbation.
airborne contaminant
A potentially harmful substance that is either naturally absent from air or is present in an unnaturally high concentration, and to which workers may be exposed in their working environment. Airborne contaminant terms include: aerosol, dust, fume, gas, mist, smoke, and vapour.
allergy
1. A deleterious immune response to a substance to which the subject has become sensitised. (Sensitisation is an immune process where a subject reacts to substance at extremely low levels of exposure.) 2. The branch of medicine dealing with the study of allergies. A medical specialist in this field might be known as an allergologist, but could also be known as an allergist, immunologist or allergy specialist (also known as allergology). See also: anamnestic, anaphylaxis.
AMA Guides
Full title – AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. A monograph published by the American Medical Association since 1971 which is designed to assist in the standardised evaluation of permanent impairment. Currently in the 6th edition. The Guides allow an impairment rating to be quantified based on loss of function of a body part or the whole person. Impairment ratings are consensus derived estimates which reflect the degree to which the medical condition the limits the person's ability to undertake common activities of daily living (ADL) excluding vocational activities.
anamnestic
A form of sensitisation in which a subject—following recovery from an acute toxic exposure—reacts at significantly lower levels of exposure to the same substance. The mechanism of the effect is generally unknown and may involve non-immunologic pathways. Substances which are believed to produce anamnestic effects include acrylamide. See also: allergy, anaphylaxis.
anaphylaxis
An acute, life-threatening, IgE-mediated allergic reaction that occurs in previously sensitized people when they are re-exposed to the sensitizing antigen. Symptoms include stridor, dyspnoea, wheezing, and hypotension. It is a clinical diagnosis. See also: allergy, anamnestic.
apportionment
A distribution or allocation of causation among multiple factors that caused or significantly contributed towards the injury or disease and existing impairment. Source: AMA Guides, 6th edition. Frequently used to describe the relative contribution of a causative factor towards the worsening of a pre-existing disease. In such cases the causative factor has served to aggravate the pre-existing condition. Where the permanent impairment caused by a new causative factor must be evaluated, the impairment related to the pre-existing condition is calculated and this is subtracted from the total impairment.

B

breathing zone
A term used in occupational hygiene and toxicology. It is defined as a hemisphere of 300 mm radius extending in front of the face and measured from the midpoint of an imaginary line joining the ears. Volatile substances, gases and particles are generally considered capable of being inhaled by a subject if they are present in the breathing zone.

C

confined space
A space which by design has limited openings for entry and exit, unfavorable natural ventilation which could contain or produce dangerous air contaminants, and which is not intended for continuous employee occupancy. Examples: boiler, cave, deep trench, degreaser vessel, duct, mine shaft, pipeline, pit, reaction vessel, sewer, ship's hold, shipping container, silo, tank, tunnel.

D

differential diagnosis (DDx)
A list of possible diagnoses based on a systematic analysis of the patient's manifestations of disease—symptoms, signs and abnormal investigation findings—usually presented as an ordered list, starting with the most probable diagnosis and ending in the least probable. Abbreviations for differential diagnosis include: DDx, DD, ddx, D/Dx and ΔΔ. As the diagnostic process progresses, the number of differential diagnoses decreases until a definitive diagnosis (Dx) is made.
disability
1. Alteration of an individual's capacity to meet personal, social or occupational demands… because of an impairment…[and arising]… out of the interaction between impairment and external requirements, especially those of a person's occupation. [Source: Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th edition, American Medical Association]. 2. Any restriction or lack (resulting from an impairment) of ability to perform an activity in the manner or within the range considered normal for a human being. [Source: World Health Organisation.]
disfigurement
Abnormal appearance of a body part, including alteration in colour, shape and/or texture, especially scarring of the skin in commonly exposed areas such as head, face, neck or hands. It may be congenital or caused by injury or disease; it is generally permanent. Disfigurement may cause social rejection, diminished self-image, alteration of lifestyle, and other adverse mental and behavioural effects. [Source: AMA Guide to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment 6th Edition.] See also: impairment.
DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)
A publication of the American Psychiatric Association—first issued in 1952 and is currently in its 5th edition (2013). It attempts to classify and define psychiatric conditions. It is revised by a number of working groups. The DSM is not universally accepted, despite its widespread use. There are many criticisms including lacking a basis in neuroscience. The DSM-5 is organised differently from the DSM-IV, the changes have been made in order to reflect advances in neuroscience. It is likely future editions will undergo further reorganisation. Other similar diagnostic classification systems include the International Classification of Diseases, published by the World Health Organization. There has been a degree of cooperation between the American Psychiatric Association and the World Health Organization in developing these psychiatric classification systems (since DSM III and ICD-9). Both organisations have indicated that cooperation is likely to continue in the future.
dust
Solid particles generated and dispersed into the air by—for example—handling, crushing and grinding of organic or inorganic materials such as rock, ore, metal, coal, wood and grain. Depending on its chemical and physical properties, dust can be toxic, allergenic or irritating.

E

equivalent aerodynamic diameter (EAD)
A term use in occupational hygiene. The EAD of a particle of any shape or density, is defined as the diameter of a sphere of unit density (1.0 g/cm3) which exhibits the same aerodynamic behaviour as the particle in question.
exacerbation
Temporary worsening of a pre-existing condition. Following a transient increase in symptoms, signs, disability, and/or impairment, the person recovers to his or her baseline status, or what would have been had the exacerbation never occurred. Given a condition whose natural history is one of progressive worsening, following a prolonged, but still temporary worsening, return to pre-exacerbation status would not be expected, despite the absence of residuals from the new cause. [Source: AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment 6th Edition.] See also: aggravation.
exposure standard
A defined level of exposure to a hazard below which nearly all people should experience no adverse health effect or discomfort.
The hazard can be:
Chemical exposure standards generally describe an airborne concentration of a particular substance in a subject's breathing zone.
Synonyms:
There are four types of chemical exposure standard:
1. Time-weighted Average (TWA) — The average airborne concentration of a particular substance, when calculated over a normal eight-hour working day, for a five-day working week. These are generally measured over fairly long periods (usually a full work shift).
2. Peak — A maximum or peak airborne concentration of a particular substance, determined over the shortest analytically practicable period of time (this should not exceed 15 minutes).
3. Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) — A 15 minute TWA exposure which should not be exceeded at any time during a working day even, if the eight-hour TWA average is within the TWA exposure standard. Generally STELs are established to minimise the risk of the occurrence in nearly all workers of:

Exposures at the STEL should not:

4. General Excursion — Where there is a TWA but no peak or STEL exposure standard, the following general excursion standard should be applied.

Short term exposures should not exceed:

Sources:
Hazardous Substance Information System (HSIS)
OSHA PELs

F

flags
Flags are risk factors that might preventing a sick or injured person from improving their function or participating in activities at home, at work or in the community. Flags consider bio-psycho-social factors. More information…
fume
Particles formed when the material from a volatilised solid condenses in cool air. They are extremely fine—usually less than 1.0 micrometer in diameter. In some cases the hot vapour reacts with oxygen in the air to form an oxide. Fumes are often associated with molten metals, especially in processes such as welding. At high fume concentrations, agglomeration of particles may result in particles with much larger dimensions.

G

gas
A formless fluid that expands to occupy the space or enclosure in which it is confined. Examples are nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide. Air is a mixture of (mostly) these three gases.

H

hazard
Any source of potential damage, harm or adverse health effects on something or someone. [Source: Canadian Center for Occupational Health & Safety.] See also: risk.
hierarchy of controls
A system for classifying hazard control measures starting with the most protective (and often the most expensive) and ending with the least protective (but frequently the cheapest). An assessment of cost benefit would generally be undertaken as a component of the hazard control process.
Hierarchy:
  1. Elimination (e.g. equipment, exposures, tasks, duties)
  2. Substitution (e.g. equipment, tasks, duties)
  3. Engineering controls
  4. Process enclosure
  5. Personal protective equipment (PPE)
  6. Administrative controls (such as work scheduling to limit duration of exposure to a hazard)
  7. Training
  8. Behaviour modification
Hyperplasia
Increase in tissue mass resulting from cell proliferation (an increase in number). Cf. hypertrophy.
Hypertrophy
Increase in tissue mass resulting from and increase in cell size without proliferation. Cf. hyperplasia.

I

impairment
1. The loss, loss of use or derangement of any body part, system or function. Permanent impairment is impairment which has become static or well stabilised with or without medical treatment and is not likely to remit despite medical treatment. Impairment is—for practical purposes&mdashconsidered to be permanent when it is unlikely to change substantially and by more than approximately 3% in the next year with or without medical treatment. Impairments are assessed and quantified for a number of reasons. The AMA Guides are used in many jurisdictions (including many in Australia) for that purpose. In the Guides, impairments are defined as conditions that interfere with activities of daily living (ADL). An impairment percentage is meant to represent an estimate of the extent to which an individual's capacity to carry out ADL has been reduced. [Source: Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th edition (American Medical Association).]
2. Any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological or anatomical structure or function. [Source: World Health Organisation.]
See also: disfigurement.

J

K

L

M

mist
Suspended liquid droplets generated by condensation of vapour back to the liquid state or by breaking up as a liquid into a dispersed state, such as by splashing or atomising. Mist is the term applied to a finely divided liquid suspended in the atmosphere. Examples of mist include: oil mist produced during cutting and grinding operations; acid mists from electroplating; acid or alkali mists from pickling operations; paint spray mist in painting operations; and the condensation of water vapour to form a fog.

N

O

P

Pain
An unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage. Pain terms.

Q

R

risk
The likelihood an exposure will result in harm based on: (1) the probability a hazard will result in an adverse consequence; (2) and the frequency and duration of exposure to the hazard; and (3) the likely severity of the outcome. See also: hazard.

S

smoke
Carbon or soot particles or tarry droplets less than 0.1 micrometer in size, and suspended in air, which results from the incomplete combustion of carbonaceous materials such as coal or oil.

T

U

V

vapour
The gaseous form of a substance which is normally in the solid or liquid state at room temperature and pressure.

W

X

Y

Z