Safety standards
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Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities and processes, etc. Additional descriptive terms may help to clarify what hazards are being addressed, such as workplace safety standards (to keep workers safe), food safety standards (to verify that food is safe to eat), or consumer product safety standards (to ensure that manufacturers only sell products that are safe for consumers).They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. In October 2021, a fire raging through multiple floors of a dilapidated apartment block in Kaohsiung highlighted the lax fire safety standards in Taiwan.[1] China has recently experienced trouble with some of the post listed associations.
Workplace Safety Standards
[edit]Workplace safety standards are set by a number of different organizations depending on where people are located. The standards are designed to keep workers safe from hazards present in the workplace. Some standards may be legally enforceable with citations and fines (ex. OSHA),[2] while others may provide information about best practices in industry (ex. ACGIH).
| Country | Workplace Safety and Health Agencies |
|---|---|
| Australia | Safe Work Australia[3] |
| Canada | Federal: Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)[4]
Provincial: WorkSafeBC (British Columbia),[5] Workplace Safety and Prevention Services (WSPS) (Ontario),[6] WorkSafeNB (New Brunswick),[7] and CNESST (Quebec)[8] |
| Europe | European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA)[9] |
| UK | Health & Safety Executive (HSE)[10] |
| United States | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA),[2] National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),[11] American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH)[12] |
Fire Safety Standards
[edit]Fire safety standards are developed to minimize fatalities in building fires and to save as much life and infrastructure as possible. Fire safety standards may be known as fire codes, with equipment often planned for and installed during construction so that the buildings can have features that protect the occupants, such as fire extinguishers, fire alarms, fire suppression systems, egress/emergency exit routes, and other features.
| Fire Safety Organizations | |
|---|---|
| Australia | National Construction Code (NCC)[13] |
| Canada | National Fire Code of Canada[14] |
| Europe | European Fire Safety Alliance[15] |
| UK | Health and Safety Executive (HSE)[10] |
| United States | National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)[16] |
Food Safety Standards
[edit]Food safety standards are placed so that the food that people consume meet certain levels of quality and does not hurt them in any way.
| Food Safety Organizations | |
|---|---|
| Australia | Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)[17] |
| Canada | Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)[18] |
| Europe | European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)[19] |
| UK | The Food Standards Agency (FSA)[20] |
| United States | Food & Drug Administration (FDA)[21] |
Consumer Product Safety Standards
[edit]Consumer product safety standards are enforced so that consumers are protected against hazards in manufactured products.
| Consumer Product Safety Organizations | Laws | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)[22] | |
| Canada | Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)[23] | Canada Consumer Product Safety Act,[24] Hazardous Products Act[25] |
| Europe | General Product Safety Directive (GPSD)[26] | |
| UK | Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS)[27] | |
| United States | Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)[28] | U.S. Consumer Product Safety Act[29] |
See also
[edit]- Consumer protection
- Bicycle safety
- China compulsory certification
- Injury prevention
- Public administration
- Road safety
- Standards organization
- Testing organizations
- Baseefa (UK)
- Canadian Standards Association (Canada)
- Technischer Überwachungsverein (Germany, UK, China & USA)
- Underwriters Laboratories (USA)
- Toy safety
- Safety by design
References
[edit]- ^ "Taiwan woman faces execution over fire that killed 46". The Times of India. 21 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Laws and Regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, US Department of Labor". Retrieved May 5, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Safe Work Australia". Bing. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Government of Canada, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (2025-04-29). "Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety". www.ccohs.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "WorkSafeBC". www.worksafebc.com. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Workplace Safety & Prevention Services". WSPS. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "WorkSafeNB | WorkSafeNB". www.worksafenb.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "Home | Commission des normes de l'équité de la santé et de la sécurité du travail - CNESST". www.cnesst.gouv.qc.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "European Agency for Safety & Health at Work - Information, statistics, legislation and risk assessment tools". osha.europa.eu. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ a b "HSE: Information about health and safety at work". www.hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ CDC (2025-05-02). "National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health". National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Home". ACGIH. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "National Construction Code | NCC". ncc.abcb.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Canada, National Research Council (2022-03-28). "National Fire Code of Canada 2020". nrc.canada.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "European Fire Safety Alliance". EuroFSA. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "NFPA | The National Fire Protection Association". www.nfpa.org. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Homepage | Food Standards Australia New Zealand". www.foodstandards.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Agency, Canadian Food Inspection (2015-03-01). "Canadian Food Inspection Agency". inspection.canada.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "EFSA | Science, safe food, sustainability". www.efsa.europa.eu. 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Homepage | Food Standards Agency". www.food.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Commissioner, Office of the (2025-04-23). "U.S. Food and Drug Administration". FDA. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Commission, Australian Competition and Consumer (2025-05-05). "Home | ACCC". www.accc.gov.au. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Canada, Health (2011-05-20). "Canada Consumer Product Safety Act Quick Reference Guide". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ Canada, Health (2011-05-25). "Canada Consumer Product Safety Act: Protecting Consumers through Product Safety". www.canada.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ Branch, Legislative Services (2023-01-14). "Consolidated federal laws of Canada, Hazardous Products Act". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ "General product safety - European Commission". single-market-economy.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2025-05-05.
- ^ "Office for Product Safety and Standards". GOV.UK. 2025-04-29. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "CPSC.gov". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
- ^ "Statutes". U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
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