Basic Calculations for Occupational Safety and Environmental Health Professionals - Mathematics and Statistics for the Environment - page 386

months) to a worker after he or she has been exposed to the action level (85 dBA) to estab-
lish his or her baseline for comparison to subsequent audiograms.
Behavior-based safety (BBS) management models —A management theory based on the work
of B.F. Skinner, it explains behavior in terms of stimulus, response, and consequences. BBS
refers to a wide range of programs which focus almost entirely on changing the behavior of
workers to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.
Bel —A unit equal to 10 decibels (see decibel).
Benchmarking —A process for rigorously measuring company performance vs. “best-in-
class” companies and using analysis to meet and exceed the best in class.
Biohazard —Organisms or products of organisms that present a risk to humans.
Biological aerosols —Naturally occurring biologically generated and active particles that are
small enough to become suspended in air. These include mold spores, pollen, viruses, bac-
teria, insect parts, and animal dander.
Boiler code —ANSI/ASME Pressure Vessel Code, a set of standards prescribing requirements
for the design, construction, testing, and installation of boilers and unfired pressure vessels.
Boyle's law —The product of a given pressure and volume is constant with a constant
temperature.
Carcinogen —A cancer-producing agent.
Carpal tunnel syndrome —An injury to the median nerve inside the wrist, frequently caused
by ergonomically incorrect repetitive motion.
Catalyst —A substance that alters the speed of, or makes possible, a chemical or biochemical
reaction but remains unchanged at the end of the reaction.
Catastrophe —A loss of extraordinarily large dimensions in terms of injury, death, damage,
and destruction.
Causal factor —A person, thing, or condition that contributes significantly to an accident or
to a project outcome.
Charles' law —The volume of a given mass of gas at constant pressure is directly proportional
to its absolute temperature (in Kelvin).
Chemical change —Change that occurs when two or more substances (reactants) interact with
each other, resulting in the production of different substances (products) with different
chemical compositions. A simple example of chemical change is the burning of carbon in
oxygen to produce carbon dioxide.
Chemical hazards —Includes hazardous chemicals conveyed in various forms—mists,
vapors, gases, dusts, and fumes.
Chemical spill —An accidental dumping, leakage, or splashing of a harmful or potentially
harmful substance.
Chronic —Persistent, prolonged, repeated exposure. Chronic exposure occurs when repeated
exposure to or contact with a toxic substance occurs over a period of time, the effects of
which become evident only after multiple exposures.
Coefficient of friction —A numerical correlation of the resistance of one surface against
another surface.
Combustible gas indicator —An instrument that samples air and indicates whether an explo-
sive mixture is present, and the percentage of the lower explosive limit (LEL) of the air-gas
mixture that has been reached.
Combustible liquid —Liquids having a flash point at or above 37.8°C (100°F).
Combustion —Burning, defined in chemical terms as the rapid combination of a substance
with oxygen, accompanied by the evolution of heat and usually light.
Competent person —As defined by OSHA, one who is capable of recognizing and evaluating
employee exposure to hazardous substances or to unsafe conditions and who is capable
of specifying protective and precautionary measures to be taken to ensure the safety of