What distinguishes Occupational Safety from Process Safety?

Occupational Safety primarily centers on the protection of individual workers and ensuring a safe working environment for them. This involves identifying and mitigating risks that directly affect employees during their daily tasks, such as slips, trips, falls, ergonomic hazards, and exposure to harmful substances. The focus is often on personal protective equipment (PPE), workplace ergonomics, and individual behavior in relation to safety protocols.

In contrast, Process Safety emphasizes the prevention of catastrophic incidents that can affect not only workers but also the surrounding environment and community. It deals with the integrity of chemical processes, the management of hazardous materials, and the systems in place to prevent leaks, explosions, and other significant failures that could arise from process operations.

While Occupational Safety certainly involves elements of safety culture, it is not the primary distinction between the two fields. Additionally, Process Safety does take into account employee risks, as safeguarding employees is a vital aspect of managing process safety effectively. The idea that Process Safety solely deals with non-hazardous materials is also misleading, as it primarily concerns hazardous processes and substances.

Thus, the correct choice highlights the fundamental difference in focus between the two disciplines.