Risk assessment is a systematic examination of all aspects of work that are carried out in order to determine what hazards in the work environment may cause an injury or deterioration of the health of an employee and whether these hazards can be eliminated, and if not – what actions should be taken to limiting the occupational risk associated with these threats.
Evaluation of occupational risk should prevent the harmful effects of hazards in the work environment.

What are the objectives of the assessment of risk?
The main objective of occupational risk assessment is to provide employees with effective protection against hazards in the work environment.

To achieve this goal, risk assessment should enable:
• identifying work-related hazards that can cause accidents at work, occupational diseases and other health conditions for workers, and whether or not the occupational risks associated with these hazards can be considered acceptable, and what can be done to address this risk was as small as possible,
• checking whether the currently used protection measures against risks in the workplace are appropriate,
• setting priorities in activities aimed at eliminating or reducing occupational risk, if they are needed,
• making an appropriate selection of workstation equipment, materials and work organization,
• ensuring that the applied measures of collective and individual protection, as well as changes in technology, methods and organization of work, undertaken in order to reduce the occupational risk, improve the safety and health protection of employees.

It should be remembered that occupational risk assessment is not an end in itself, but only a measure that facilitates planning and carrying out activities aimed at ensuring the safety and health protection of employees and improving working conditions.

(source: www.ciop.pl)

Legal basis:
Chapter VI Preventive health protection Article 226.
Employer:
1) assesses and documents the occupational risk related to the work performed and applies the necessary preventive measures to reduce the risk;
2) informs employees about the occupational risk related to the work performed, and about the principles of protection against threats

Chapter XI
Consulting in the field of occupational health and safety and the occupational health and safety committee
Article 23711a.
§1. The employer consults with employees or their representatives on all activities related to health and safety at work, in particular regarding:
1) changes in the organization of work and the equipment of workstations, the introduction of new technological processes and chemical substances and their mixtures, if they may pose a threat to the health or life of employees;
2) assessment of the occupational risk occurring in the performance of specific works and informing employees about this risk;
3) creating a health and safety service or entrusting the performance of the tasks of this service to other persons and appointing employees to provide first aid, as well as performing activities in the field of fire fighting and evacuation of employees;
4) assigning employees personal protective equipment as well as clothing and footwear;
5) employee training in the field of occupational health and safety.

Article 2071.
§1. The employer is obliged to provide employees with information about:
1) threats to health and life occurring in the workplace, at individual workplaces and during the work performed, including the rules of conduct in the event of breakdowns and other situations threatening the health and life of employees;
2) protective and preventive measures taken to eliminate or reduce the risks referred to in paragraph 1;

Legal basis:

1. ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE MARSHAL OF THE SEJM OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND of 6 June 2019 on the publication of the uniform text of the Act on social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases (Journal of Laws, item 1205)

2. Announcement of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy of 30 April 2013 on the publication of the uniform text of the Regulation of the Minister of Labor and Social Policy on the detailed rules and procedure for recognizing the event as an accident on the way to or from work, the method of its documentation, the model of the card accident on the way to or from work and the date of its preparation. (Journal of Laws, item 924)

3. REGULATION OF THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS of 1 July 2009 on determining the circumstances and causes of accidents at work (Journal of Laws No. 105, item 870)

4. Labor Code (Journal of Laws 1974 No. 24 item 14 as amended)
Chapter VII. Accidents at work and occupational diseases

5. Announcement of the Prime Minister on the publication of the uniform text of the regulation of the Council of Ministers on occupational diseases (Journal of Laws, item 1367)

Journal of Laws of June 28, 2019, item 1205, Notice on social insurance against accidents at work and occupational diseases.
Art. 3. 1. An ACCIDENT AT WORK shall be a sudden event caused by an external cause, causing injury or death, which occurred in connection with work:
1) during or in connection with the performance of ordinary activities or orders of superiors by the employee;
2) during or in connection with the performance by the employee of activities for the employer, even without an instruction;
3) while the employee is at the disposal of the employer on the way between the employer’s seat and the place of performance of the obligation resulting from the employment relationship.

Journal of Laws 105, item. 870 on establishing the circumstances and causes of accidents at work.
Par.2. An employee who has suffered an accident, if his health condition allows it, should immediately inform his supervisor about the accident.
Par. 4 The circumstances and causes of the accident are determined by the post-accident team appointed by the employer, which includes an employee of the occupational health and safety service and a social labor inspector.

Labor Code
Article 2351 An OCCUPATIONAL DISEASE shall be a disease included in the list of occupational diseases if, as a result of the assessment of working conditions, it can be stated indisputably or with a high probability that it was caused by factors harmful to health occurring in the work environment or in connection with the manner of performing work. , known as “occupational exposure”.

Report on the use of carcinogens and mutagens
Due to the obligation to register and monitor exposure of workers, it is necessary to prepare and send to the Occupational Health and Safety Specialist at CeNT UW a report on the use of carcinogenic and mutagenic agents.
The report should be completed by all study groups that have used or had contact with carcinogenic or mutagenic agents in the passing calendar year. The report should be sent to BHP@cent.uw.edu.pl by December 31 of each year. Information on the carcinogenicity of the substance must be included in the safety data sheet, these are groups: 1A and 1B.

Documents included in the report:
1_part 1_general_ information on chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with a carcinogenic or mutagenic effect
2_part 2_DETAILED_Information on chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with carcinogenic or mutagenic effects
3_Register of workers exposed to chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with a carcinogenic or mutagenic effect

Detailed information can be found on the website of the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Łódź:

TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS HARMFUL FOR HEALTH IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT

Pursuant to Art. 227 § 1 of the Act of June 26, 1974 – Labor Code (Journal of Laws No. 24, item 141, as amended), the employer is obliged to apply measures to prevent occupational and other work-related diseases, in particular:
1) maintain in a state of constant efficiency the devices limiting or eliminating the working environment factors harmful to health and the devices used to measure these factors;
2) conduct, at his own expense, tests and measurements of factors harmful to health, register
and store the results of these tests and measurements and make them available to employees.
Based on Article. 227 § 2 of the Act of June 26, 1974 – Labor Code (Journal of Laws No. 24, item 141, as amended), the Regulation of the Minister of Health of February 2, 2011 on tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the environment was issued work (Journal of Laws of 2011, No. 33, item 166, as amended).
According to the above regulation, the harmful factors affecting human health in the work environment include:
1. Chemical factors
2. Dusts
3. Carcinogenic and / or mutagenic factors (both chemical and in the form of dust),
4. Physical factors in the form of:
a) ultrasonic noise and noise (10-40 kHz),
b) mechanical vibrations
– affecting the human body through the upper limbs,
– mechanical vibrations with a general effect on the human body,
c) microclimate
– hot
– cold
d) optical radiation
– non-laser
– laser
e) electromagnetic radiation 0 Hz – 300 GHz

The regulation also regulates:
– mode, methods, type and frequency of tests and measurements of harmful factors;
– cases where it is necessary to carry out continuous measurements;
– requirements to be met by laboratories performing tests and measurements;
– method of recording and storing test and measurement results;
– document templates and the method of sharing test and measurement results with employees.

WHO CAN DO TESTS AND MEASUREMENTS

Tests and measurements of factors detrimental to health are performed by laboratories that have obtained accreditation in this area on the basis of the provisions of the Act of August 30, 2002.
on the conformity assessment system (currently the Act of April 13, 2016 on compliance assessment and market surveillance systems, Journal of Laws of 2016, item 1654).
In the absence of accredited laboratories in a given scope, pursuant to § 15 (2) of the Regulation on testing and measurements, measurements are performed by:
1. laboratories of universities, scientific institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences or research institutes that conduct research and measurements of factors harmful to health
in the work environment and have a quality assurance system in place or
2. laboratories of the State Sanitary Inspection, Military Sanitary Inspection and State Sanitary Inspection of the Ministry of Interior and Administration – if they have a quality assurance system implemented or
3.laboratories run by organizational units or natural persons who have obtained a certificate of competence in the field of testing and measuring factors harmful to health
in the work environment pursuant to the provisions of the Act of August 30, 2002.
o the conformity assessment system, with equipment for testing and measuring these factors, which is subject to documented metrological supervision, including periodic calibration or checking and maintenance.

MODE AND FREQUENCY OF TESTING

First tests and measurements of the factor (s) harmful to employees’ health
in the working environment, the employer is obliged to carry out no later than 30 days from the date of commencement of activity. The employer takes measurements when, in the course of running his business, he creates a new workplace, where there are harmful factors or when there are changes
in the technical equipment or technological process or in the conditions of work performance, which may generate such factors or change their emission.
In the matter of determining the presence of harmful factors in the working environment, the employer consults the employees or their representatives in the manner adopted by him. These activities relate to the identification and selection of factors harmful to health and the taking of measurements
and sampling of these factors at the workplace. The employer indicates the factors harmful to health in the work environment for which tests and measurements are performed, after identifying the sources of their emissions and work conditions that affect the concentration level, intensity of these factors or the level of exposure, with particular emphasis on:
a. the nature of these factors and their properties;
b. technological processes and their parameters;
c. technical equipment, including machines, devices, installations and tools, which may be the source of the emission of factors harmful to health, taking into account the results of measurements of this emission provided by the producers;
d. collective protection measures and data relating to their use;
e. organization of work and the manner of performing work;
f. the actual time of exposure to the effects of factors harmful to health,
taking into account the employer’s system and working time schedule.
In the event of the occurrence of any of the above-mentioned factors harmful to health, the ordinance specifies in detail the schedule of measurements and tests of this factor.

1. In the event of a chemical or dust harmful to health,
except for the factor with a carcinogenic or mutagenic effect, tests and measurements are performed:
a) at least once every two years – if, during the last test and measurement, the concentration of a factor harmful to health above 0.1 to 0.5 of the maximum allowable concentration (NDS) was found;
b) at least once a year – if, during the last test and measurement, the concentration of a factor harmful to health above 0.5 NDS was found.
c) in the case of the presence of a chemical agent harmful to health, for which the value of the maximum permissible ceiling concentration (NDSP) has been established, continuous tests and measurements of this factor’s concentration are performed using devices
taking into account the procedures that meet the requirements set out in the Polish Standard.
2. In the case of the presence of a carcinogenic or mutagenic factor, tests
and measurements are made:
a) at least once every six months – if the concentration of the carcinogenic or mutagenic factor above 0.1 to 0.5 of the TLV value was found during the last test and measurement, •
b) at least once every three months – if the concentration of the carcinogenic or mutagenic factor above 0.5 of the TLV was found during the last test and measurement.
3. In the event of exposure to asbestos-containing dust, tests and measurements shall be performed:
a) at least every three months,
b) at least once every six months – if the results of the last two tests and measurements did not exceed 0.5 of the TLV value.
4. Tests and measurements of non-laser optical radiation are performed if sources of this radiation other than light sources used to illuminate rooms or workplaces, used in lighting fittings intended for them are used, and
at an appropriate distance from exposed parts of the body:
a) at least once every two years – if the last test and measurement showed an exposure level above 0.4 to 0.7 of the maximum allowable exposure (MDE),
b) at least once a year – if during the last examination and measurement an exposure level above 0.7 of the MDE value was found.
5. Tests and measurements of laser radiation are performed if sources of this radiation other than: lasers classified as class 1, IM, 2, 2M or 3R in accordance with the Polish Standard, which operate under the conditions specified by the manufacturer of the device, or lasers classified according to
with the Polish Standard, to class 3B or 4, to which collective protection measures have been applied, allowing the device to be classified as class 1:
a) at least once every two years – if the last test and measurement showed an exposure level above 0.4 to 0.8 of the MDE value,
b) at least once a year – if an exposure level above 0.8 MDE was found during the last examination and measurement.
6. Tests and measurements of electromagnetic fields or radiation with a frequency in the range of 0 Hz-300 GHz are carried out in the case of the presence of protective zones in the places of work:
a) at least every two years – if only the intermediate zone was found to be present during the last measurement,
b) at least once a year – if during the last measurement the danger zone or danger zone and danger zone were also found.
7. In the case of a cold or hot microclimate, tests and measurements of microclimate indicators are performed:
a) once a year,
b) once every two years – if, during the last two tests, the values of microclimate indicators did not exceed the permissible values for the 8-hour daily working time.
8. Tests and measurements of a harmful physical factor in the form of: noise, ultrasonic noise, mechanical vibrations affecting the human body through the upper limbs or mechanical vibrations with a general effect on the human body are performed:
a) at least once every two years – if during the last test and measurement, the factor intensity above 0.2 to 0.5 of the maximum allowable intensity (NDN) was found,
b) at least once a year – if the intensity of the factor above 0.5 NDN was found during the last test and measurement.
Tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the work environment are not performed if:
a) the results of the last two tests and measurements of chemical agents or dusts harmful to health, referred to in paragraph 3, and made at an interval of at least two years, did not exceed 0.1 NDS,
(b) the results of the last two tests and measurements of the carcinogenic or mutagenic factors harmful to health, referred to in 3 (1). 2 performed at an interval of at least six months did not exceed 0.1 NDS,
c) during the last two tests and measurements of non-laser or laser optical radiation, referred to in § 3 sec. 4 and 5, performed two years apart, the exposure level did not exceed 0.4 MDE,
d) during the last two tests and measurements of electromagnetic fields or radiation, carried out at an interval of two years, no protection zones were found
at workplaces,
e) during the last two tests and measurements of noise or mechanical vibrations, performed two years apart, the factor intensity did not exceed 0.2 NDN.

The direct supervisor of employees performing work on positions where bench measurements are carried out is obliged to provide employees of the laboratory conducting measurements with information on the type of work performed and the time of their performance in accordance with the facts.
The head of the research group who received the measurement protocol is asked to provide a photocopy or scan of the protocol to the CNBCh Building Health and Safety Specialist.
The head of the research group keeps a register of factors harmful to health occurring at the workplace as well as test and measurement cards, patterns of which are respectively attached as Annexes 1
and 2 to the Regulation of the Minister of Health of February 2, 2011 on tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the work environment (Journal of Laws No. 33, item 166, as amended).
The head of the research group is obliged to familiarize employees with the results of the research on the positions where the research was conducted.
If the maximum permissible concentrations and intensities are exceeded, the obligated group managers are obliged to take actions aimed at limiting the exceedances.

Legal basis:
1. Journal of Laws 2020 item 61
Regulation of the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy of 9 January 2020 amending the regulation on the maximum allowable concentrations and intensities of factors harmful to health in the work environment.
Journal of Laws 2021 item 325 Regulation of the Minister of Development, Labor and Technology amending the regulation on the maximum allowable concentrations and intensities of factors harmful to health in the work environment.
2. Journal of Laws 2011 No.33, item. 166
Regulation of the Minister of Health of February 2, 2011 on tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the work environment.
Journal of Laws 2019 item 1995
Ordinance of the Minister of Health amending the ordinance on tests and measurements of factors harmful to health in the work environment.
3. Journal of Laws 81, item. 716
Regulation of the Minister of Health on harmful biological agents for health
in the working environment and protection of the health of workers who are professionally exposed to these factors.
Journal of Laws 2020 item 2234
Ordinance of the Minister of Health amending the ordinance on harmful biological agents for health in the work environment and health protection of workers professionally exposed to these factors.
4. Journal of Laws 2012 item 890
Regulation of the Minister of Health on chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with a carcinogenic or mutagenic effect in the work environment.
Journal of Laws 2021 item 279
Of the Minister of Health amending the regulation on chemical substances, their mixtures, agents or technological processes with carcinogenic or mutagenic effects in the work environment.
5. Journal of Laws 1996 item 473
Regulation of the Minister of Health and Social Welfare on the list of entities authorized to conduct tests of materials and technological processes in order to determine the degree of their harmfulness to health and the scope of these tests.
Journal of Laws 2020 item 240
Regulation of the Minister of Health amending the regulation on the list of entities authorized to carry out tests of materials and technological processes in order to determine the degree of their harmfulness to health and the scope of these tests.