Biological stressors are bacterium, viruses, protozoans, parasites or fungus that can be found in the workplace.
Biological agents have the ability to adversely affect human health in a variety of ways, ranging from relatively mild allergic reactions to serious medical conditions, resulting in death if not identified and contained.
Many of these organisms are prevalent in the natural environment, where they are found in water, soil, plants or animals. Since many biological agents reproduce easily, they are also a potential danger in a wide variety of workplaces.
As with asbestos and lead, and the impact that biological agents have on society, the Hazardous Biological Agents Regulations were promulgated under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. This act prescribes very stringent guidelines for the identification, use, control and disposal of any materials containing any hazardous biological agent.
Therefore, all workplaces where hazardous biological agents are produced, processed, used, handled, stored or transported in a form in which it can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed by any person in that workplace, are required to take heed of the prescribed regulations to ensure that no employee is exposed to any materials containing any hazardous biological agent, in their working environment.
Some of the methods used to identify hazardous biological agents in the workplace is the collection of swab samples, growth plates, water samples, tissue samples and blood samples.
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