Fact Sheet Worker in a Botanic Garden
Cleaning seeds in a botanic garden – tasks and contribution of occupational medicine
Fact Sheet Worker in a Botanic Garden
Tasks:
Seeds of numerous plants (several thousand different ones ) have to be gained out of the dry plant for schientific reasons and for the reproduction of the plant.
Plants havae to be treated mechanically by hand on a work-bench with suction; bigger parts of the plant fall down, smaller ones and organic dust are being aspirated
Occupational exposures:
- organic dust
- skin hazard to the hands (irritation by plant-material; wearing of gloves)
- muskulo-skeletal hazards by constrained posture
- repetitive manual work
- noise
Protective equipment:
- dust mask
- gloves
- dust protecting clothes
Health demands:
No relevant disorder of
- cardiovaskular system
- pulmonary system
Medical preventive testing:
- lung function
- sight
- clinical examination
Occupational medical expertise:
- Understand task, exposure and demands
- Medical advice to individuals and groups of employees on
- work related risks to health
- health prevention and maintaining workability
- Advice to employer on
- improving conditions to reduce workplace related risks and environmental risks