Study and risk assessment in a pulp and paper laboratory

Abstract

Occupational safety has been an increasingly important issue in the performance of duties in any business segment, whether large or small, public, or private, as understanding the risks and demands for safety and health generates a quality work environment. Among the activities performed by professors and administrative technicians at public higher education institutions is the operation and coordination of research laboratories. The objective of this work is to develop guidelines for the implementation of a health and safety system aimed at reactivating and conducting activities in the pulp and paper laboratory and biorefineries of the faculty of forestry engineering at the Federal University of Mato Grosso. For this, the preliminary risk analysis (APR) methodology was used with the main objective of identifying and proposing measures to eliminate or control the possible risks existing in this work environment. In general, 76 risks were found in the activities carried out by a pulp and paper laboratory, of which 50 are chemical risks, 13 physical, five ergonomic, seven as an accident risk and one biological.