View source for List of Offworld Medical Risks

This is a list of articles covering dangers to our people and mission.

The lists of [[hazard]]s and categories below is similar to those used by [[NASA]] and the [[DOD]] in [[Systems Safety]] Analysis. 

This field can be difficult and confusing, and it helps to have some clear definitions. 

e.g. 

*[[Mishap]]: an unintended condition or event which can result in illness, death, partial or total disability, and/or injury. An [[accident]] is an example of a mishap, so are [[infection]]s, or chronic exposure to toxic agents. 

*[[Hazard]]: the finite possibility (non-zero probability) of a [[Mishap]]

*[[Risk]]: there are a couple of different definitions of risk. A colloquial definition is the probability of a hazard, which is not quite the same thing as a hazard by itself 

*[[Risk level]]: in NASA/military parlance, a "risk Level" is a combination of the Severity of a mishap/hazard, combined with the Probability of mishap/hazard. 

Typical usage of "Risk Level" can be as follows: 

{| width=75% 
| width=11% | '''Severity ''' 
| width=11% | '''Probability''' 
| width=66% | '''Comment ''' 
|- 
| colspan="3" height="0" style="border:solid #BFBFBF 1px" | 
|- 
| [[High]] || [[High]]|| Unacceptable or emergency situation needing immediate attention || 
|- 
| [[Low]] || [[High]] || Perhaps acceptable to deal with via precautions, e.g. protective equipment and training || 
|- 
| [[High]] || [[Low]] || Extensive verifiable Hazard controls required || 
|- 
| [[Low]] || [[Low]] || Probably acceptable, might not need special precautions || 
|- 
|} 


*Hazard Cause: There can be confusion between a hazard versus a hazard cause. For simplicity, it can be useful to consider a hazard as a final condition or undesirable event. A hazard cause is a precursor condition or triggering event which could result in a hazard. For example, electrical or mechanical component failures are hazard causes which can result in hazards such as collision or explosion. 

*Hazard Control: a product feature, or procedural step, which tends to prevent a hazard. Such as an arming switch, or structural margin of safety. 

==Psychological/Human Factors== 

*[[Agoraphobia]] 
*[[Claustrophobia]] 
*[[Depression]] 
*[[Circadian Rhythm Dysfunction]] 
*[[Fatigue]] fatigue can result in operator error 
*[[Training]] operators need to be well trained in dangerous tasks 
*[[Information]] accurate and useful information must be displayed to operators in a timely manner to permit correct decisions 
*[[Procedures]] - checklists, operating manuals, help docs and procedures must be correct, complete, readable, comprehensible and anticipate unusual scenarios 

==Physiological== 

===Zero or Low Gravity=== 

*[[Bone Loss]] 
*[[Muscular Atrophy]] 
*[[Immune Deficiency]] 

===Physical Environments=== 
*[[Acoustic damage]] 
*[[G Force]] - broken bones, blackout, high speed projectiles 
*[[Confined Space]] a person trapped in a confined space can run out of air 
*[[Meteor Hazard]] -- Will a meteor puncture (decompress) your pressurized living space? 
*[[Industrial Accident]] (the list is endless) 
*[[Roof Support]] -- Consider the problem of roof collapse. 
*[[Collision]] vehicles, spacecraft 
*[[Suspended Load]] -- e.g. cables fail resulting in large falling objects 
*[[Construction activity]] -- falling cranes, bulldozers crushing workers 

===Medical Treatment=== 

*[[Medical Emergencies]] 
*[[Telemedecine]] 
*[[Lack of medical equipment]] 
*[[Lack of drug]] e.g. vaccines, antibiotics, treatments for various conditions 
*[[Lack of medical expertise]] 

===Fire/Explosion=== 

*[[Flammable Atmosphere]] - a stoichiometric mix of oxygen/air with a flammable vapor can result in large explosion 
*[[Flammable Material]] 
*[[Ignition Source]] 
*[[Flammable Gas]] 
*[[Flammable Liquid]] 
*[[Oxygen]] 
*[[Oxidizer]] 

===Toxins=== 

*[[Toxic materials]] - e.g. Hydrazine and other propellants 
*[[Toxic gasses]] 
*[[Liquid Toxins]] 
*[[Solid Toxins]] 
*[[Carcinogens]] 

===Corrosives=== 

*[[Chemical burns]] 

===Temperature Extremes=== 

*[[Cold Burns]] 
*[[Hot Burns]] 
*[[Hypothermia]] 
*[[Frostbite]] 
*[[Heatstroke]] 

===Non-Ionizing Radiation=== 

*[[Lasers]] 
*[[RF]] 
*[[Infrared]] 
*[[Concentrated Sunlight]] 

===Ionizing Radiation=== 

*[[Radiation Sickness]] - e.g. cosmic rays, solar radiation, nuclear piles, RTGs 
*[[Radiation Problem]] -- A discussion of radiation shielding requirements. 
*[[Cancer]] induced by radiation or carcinogens 
*[[Radioactive Materials]] 
*[[Radioactive Particles]] - ions (ionized atoms), protons, neutrons, electrons and other high speed subatomic particles 
*[[Ionizing Photons]] - X-ray, Gamma-ray, Ultra-violet
*[[Passive Sterilization]] -due to exposure to radiation

===Lack of Breathable Atmosphere=== 

*[[Inhaling Lunar Dust]] 
*[[Dust]] - lunar dust represents pervasive and unusual problems 
*[[Silicosis]] is a disease of the lungs caused by breathing very fine silica dust particles, such as [[lunar dust]] 
*[[Smoke inhalation]] 
*[[Asphyxiation]] - e.g. from Nitrogen, Helium or other inert gases 
*[[Carbon Dioxide]] 
*[[Hypoxia]]

===Inadequate Food/Water=== 

*[[Food poisoning]] 
*[[Poor Sanitation]] 
*[[Dehydration]] 
*[[Vitamin Deficit]] 

===Improper Pressure=== 

*[[Burst eardrums]] 
*[[Throat irritation]] - from breathing pure low pressure O2 
*[[Exposure to Vacuum]] or [[Decompression]] 
*[[The Bends]] 
*[[Nitrogen Narcosis]] 


{{hazards}}

[[Category:Hazards]]