Announcements

Academy Documents

Kindly access the Students' Policies & Forms by clicking on the button below. The following documents, among others, can be found there: Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct, Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy, and Student Disciplinary Policy.

Students' Policies & Forms

Sessions' Venue

All sessions will be held at 21 Academy's Training Centre in Naxxar

21 Business Centre, No. 20., Triq in-Nutar Debono, Naxxar NXR 2525 - Room 3

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

Lecturer

Ms Denise Griscti

Mr Mark Lia

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading

Lecture 1 -Work-Related Stress and Psychosocial Hazards in Occupational Health Psychology

• Following this session students will be given:Introduction to Occupational Health Psychology
  Theoretical Perspectives on Work-Related Stress
  Work Organisation and Psychosocial Risk Factors
  Types of Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace
  Link Between Psychosocial Hazards and Health Outcomes

Core Reading List

• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b) Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books. c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.
• Leka, S. and Houdmont, J. (2010) Occupational Health Psychology. Oxford: Wiley-
  Blackwell.

Supplementary Reading List

• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge.

• European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (no date) Psychosocial risks and
  mental health at work. Available at: https://osha.europa.eu/en/themes/psychosocial-
  risks-and-mental-health (Accessed: 21 February 2026).
  World Health Organization (2022) Guidelines on mental health at work. Geneva:
  WHO.

Lecture 2 -Psychosocial Risk Management and Psychological Safety in the Workplace

• Following this session students will be given:Psychosocial Risk Management in Occupational Health
  Interventions to Promote Well-Being at Work
  Developing Sustainable Risk Management Strategies
  Organisational Culture and Employee Well-Being
  Psychological Safety in the Workplace

Core Reading List

• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b) Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books. c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.
• Leka, S. and Houdmont, J. (2010) Occupational Health Psychology. Oxford: Wiley-
  Blackwell.

Supplementary Reading List

• Edmondson, A.C. (2019) The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological
  Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Hoboken: Wiley.
  World Health Organization (2022) Guidelines on mental health at work. Geneva:
  WHO
• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge.

Lecture 3 - Control vs Failure

• The first lecture addresses the management of chemical, biological, risks within occupational
  health and safety. It establishes the AREC model (Anticipate, Recognize, Evaluate, Control) as
  the foundational framework for systematic risk management.
• A key principle emphasized is
  Risk = Hazard × Exposure, highlighting that while a chemical’s inherent hazard is fixed, risk can
  be mitigated by controlling exposure. It details critical chemical hazards including flammability,
  toxicity (with reference to Paracelsus’ dose-response principle), corrosivity, and environmental
  toxicity.
• Control strategies are presented using the Hierarchy of Controls, ranging from
  elimination and substitution to engineering controls, administrative measures, and personal
  protective equipment (PPE).

Core Reading List

• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b) Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books. c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.

Supplementary Reading List

• European Commission Seveso Directive (ec.europa.eu/environment/seveso) —
  Official information on major accident hazard legislation
  https://monographs.iarc.who.int/

Lecture 4 - SDS Sheets

• Following this session students will be given:
  This lecture focuses on Safety Data Sheets (SDS) as essential tools for chemical safety
  management. It defines an SDS as a manufacturer’s instruction manual detailing hazards, safe
  handling, storage, and emergency measures. The distinction between MSDS and SDS is
  addressed, emphasizing the standardized format of SDS under GHS.

Core Reading List

• Guidance on the Compilation of Safety Data Sheets (2021)
  echa.europa.eu/documents/10162/2324906/sds_en.pdf
  Guidance in a Nutshell: Compilation of SDSs echa.europa.eu
• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b)
• Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books.
• c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.

Supplementary Reading List

• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and
• Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge

Lecture 5-  Chemical to Biological Hazards

• This lecture transitions from chemical to biological hazards, emphasizing key distinctions:
  biological agents are living, capable of replication, and may not be detectable by human senses.
  Unlike chemical spills that can be cleaned and resolved, biological contamination risks escalate
  over time if not properly decontaminated.
  The lecture categorizes biological hazards into six types: bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and
  prions. Each is defined with examples, transmission characteristics, and treatment options.

Core Reading List

• EU-OSHA Biological Agents Topic Page: osha.europa.eu
  https://test.osha.europa.eu/lt/legislation/directives/exposure-to-biological-agents/77
• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b)
• Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books.
• c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.

Supplementary Reading List

• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge.

Lecture 6 - Air monitoring & Health Surveillance

• This lecture focuses on the monitoring and surveillance components of chemical and biological
  risk management, completing the risk management cycle after hazard identification and
  control implementation.
  This lecture presents a systematic risk management framework:
  Identify hazards (Chemical Register, SDS)
  Assess risk (Risk Matrix: Severity × Probability)
  Design controls (Hierarchy of Controls)
  mplement (Train, inform, communicate)
  Monitor to verify (air monitoring, health surveillance)

Core Reading List

• https://www.hse.gov.uk/
  EU-OSHA Health Surveillance (osha.europa.eu)
• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis. b)
• Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books.
• c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.

Supplementary Reading List

• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge.

Lecture 7 - Case Study Scenarios & Recap

• This session serves as a consolidated review of the key concepts covered across the
  lecture series, integrating chemical and biological risk management principles through
  two comprehensive case studies.

Core Reading List

• "Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook" by Bernard Martel B (2001) Chemical Risk Analysis: A Practical Handbook. Taylor & Francis
• b) Wooley DP and Byers KB (2017) Biological Safety: Principles and Practices. ASM Books.
• c) Tackling work-related stress using the Management Standards Approach: A Step-by-step workbook (2019). London: The Stationery Office.

Supplementary Reading List

• Fisk P (2013) Chemical Risk Assessment: A Manual for REACH. Wiley.2. Harder HG, Wagner S and Rash J (2014) Mental Illness in the Workplace - Psychological Disability Management. Routledge.

Methods of Assessment

Assignment (100% of final grade)

Assignment

You are required to choose one of the three questions available in the Assignment Submission Form made available by clicking the button below. The assignment must be submitted no later than Thursday, 29 October 2026, along with the Assignment Submission Form. Please ensure that you indicate the question you have addressed on the Assignment Submission Form.

Assignment Submission Form

For guidance on how to plan, draft, and submit your assignment, please refer to the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting Your Assignment by clicking the button below.

Writing and Submitting Your Assignment

We are also providing the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric for your reference. This rubric is a performance-based assessment tool that tutors will use for grading, and it will help you understand the requirements of the assignment and how it will be assessed.

Assignments Rubric

Referencing Style

Your assignment should be referenced using the Harvard Referencing style. Please follow a short video, by clicking on the button below, to understand this referencing style.

Harvard Referencing Style

Submitting Assignments and Presentations - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you via email when the assignment questions become available. Shortly after, you will receive another email from Turnitin, likely on the same day, confirming your enrolment in a "class" where you can upload your assignment(s).

Please ensure that your assignments are submitted no later than 23:59 on the assignment submission deadline, as indicated on the Assignment Submission form or in the Turnitin "class."

At 21 Academy, you have the option to submit multiple drafts before the final submission deadline. The version uploaded at the deadline will be treated as your final submission for assessment. Please note that Turnitin evaluates the same assignment twice within a 24-hour period, so any additional submissions during this time will not be reviewed until the 24-hour period has passed. Ensure that your final submission does not exceed 20% similarity, particularly when using direct quotations.

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through Turnitin

Submitting a Paper

To understand the similarity report generated by Turnitin follow this 1 minute video

Understanding the Similarity Report