Serious and Imminent Risk Situations: Prevention and Response
Situations of Imminent and Serious Risk
Prevention law defines situations of imminent and serious risk as those that are reasonably likely to materialize in the foreseeable future and that may pose serious harm to health.
Characteristics of Serious Risk Situations
- Probability of Materialization: There is a rational chance of the risk being triggered. For example, a boiler with excessive pressure, a roof in poor condition that may collapse, or a deposit with a toxic agent subjected to abnormally high temperature.
- Imminence: The realization of the risk is imminent, making it difficult to avoid in a short space of time. Examples include safety devices failing (e.g., valves of a boiler where the pressure continues to rise), decisive evidence appearing (e.g., cracks accruing on a roof in poor condition), or a fissure opening in a tank with the subsequent release of a toxic agent.
- Severe Damage: The potential damage is severe. For example, being located in the field of influence of a boiler explosion can result in serious injuries. Similar consequences can occur if someone is under a collapsing roof. The severity of consequences from a toxic agent depends on the degree of toxicity, the amount incorporated into the body, the concentration in the environment, and the exposure time.
The grave and imminent danger is expressed as a serious and imminent risk.
Preventive Measures in Imminent Risk Situations
The law establishes four preventive measures when a situation like this emerges:
Employer’s Obligations
The employer has the obligation to take appropriate action and provide clear instructions to act quickly and effectively in an emergency, especially:
- To report the risks to the potential victims and the measures taken or to be taken to protect themselves effectively in order to avoid the consequences of the event.
Worker’s Rights
- Right to Stop Work: If a risk is inevitable, workers can stop work and, if necessary, immediately leave the workplace to be safe. They may not be required to resume their activities as long as such a situation persists, except where justified for reasons of safety and determined explicitly by rules (e.g., in case of a serious disaster, the captain in command of a ship cannot leave until they are sure that everyone else on board has left and that nothing more can be done to stop the serious consequences to the environment).
- Right to Interrupt Activity: If a worker is unable to contact their superior, they are in a position to take the necessary measures to avoid or limit as much as possible the consequences of the dangerous situation. This is the worker’s right of resistance, resisting the orders of the employer in situations of serious and imminent risk, or others in which one could go against their personal dignity.
Workers’ Representatives
- Faculty of Legal Representatives: The legal representatives of the workers can agree by majority to stop the affected workers.
- Guarantee Against Prejudice: Both workers and their representatives cannot suffer any prejudice in adopting the decisions or measures mentioned above.