Applications of occupational healt and safety in forestry works: A case study of Karabuk Forest Directorate)

Forests are among the important natural resources of earth. Forests accommodate many areas of activity due to their specific characteristics. Activities in this area include firefighting, afforestation, logging, transportation of forest products, storing, forest product obtaining activities, marketing and sale, forest protection, forest road construction and maintenance. There are direct and indirect methods of forest utilization. Some of these include basic needs such as food, firewood and building materials while there is an increasing utilization for trading purposes as a result of fast developing technology and fast improving production sector. In forestry works, object is the nature itself and it is under the influence of weather conditions. Forestry work demands workers to go to a working place, as a consequence of the characteristic of this type of work. It is in the dangerous and very dangerous jobs group, similar to mining jobs. Because of this, forest workers need to be strong and healthy, and the same time resistant to harsh natural conditions. An important part of forest work consists of work which can't be done using machinery. Therefore forest workers have to do many different types of work at different times. As a result forest workers must be well informed, skillful and talented. Occupational accidents are affecting human life each year causing serious problems in Turkey and around the world. In Turkey, Occupational Health and Safety Law and many related regulations were enacted with the aim to prevent occupational accidents and occupational diseases. Risk evaluation, regulatory and preventive activities, emergency plans, training and sustainability can be discussed as preventive point of views in Occupational Health and Safety. Unfavorable situations such as malnutrition that can cause occupational accidents and diseases, insufficient health care services and social security, improper use of equipment or lack of personal protective equipment, insufficient training and work organization, bad work conditions should be reduced or eliminated by necessary regulations. Forest workers must be registered. In this study, practice of enacted work safety laws is examined focusing on the work carried out within the responsibility areas of Karabük Forestry Department and situations that pose a danger were identified and evaluated using Fine-Kinney risk evaluation method. Nonconformities to Occupational Health and Security law identified in the field were recorded and potential dangers were listed, risks were identified, analyzed and evaluated. Necessary measures to bring the risk levels to an acceptable level were emphasized. Key Words: Production Work in Forestry, Occupational Accidents, Occupational Health and Safety, Risk Evaluation