A hazardous chemical is an agent that can be chemical, physical, biological and radiological, which has the potential to cause harm to human beings, animals, environment through the interaction of other factors. It can be also referred to as hazardous materials. Exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace can lead to a long term and short term health effects such as rashes in skin, disorders of lung, liver, and kidney. Many organizations considered that the use of hazardous chemicals is the major cause of technical risk assessment services.
Some common hazardous substances in workplaces
Many industries and organizations are still using a hazardous chemical which is harmful to health. Technical risk assessment Australia mentions some common hazardous substances that are not to be used in workplaces include:
- Disinfectants
- Caustic agents
- Acids
- Paint
- Glues
- Pesticides
- Heavy metals
- Solvents
- Petroleum products
Possible side effects of using hazardous chemicals
Technical risk assessment services mainly depends on the use of hazardous chemical which will cause many health related problems to humans. Some of the effects are listed below as follows:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Poisoning
- Dermatitis
- Skin rashes and allergies
- Headache
- Chemical burns
- Nervous system related problems
- Lung, kidney and liver disorders
- Cancer
- Birth defects
Categories of hazardous chemicals
Hazardous chemicals are used in workplace as solvents, cleaning agents, catalysts, raw materials for other functions. Technical risk assessment Australia classifies hazardous chemicals according to the risk and exposure to health is given below:
- Explosive chemical(petroleum, plastics)
- Corrosive (acids, fumes, paints, alkali)
- Toxic chemicals( cyanide and carbon monoxide)
Safety precautions are to be taken when storing and handling hazardous materials. Wear gloves to protect your hands and wear face masks to protect your face against hazardous chemicals.
Written records of hazardous substances
Under the occupational health and safety regulations, Technical risk assessment Australia maintaining some written records that include:
- Detailed records of technical risk assessment services
- If required, results of air and environment tests should have to be taken
- Employees health records, if needed
- Health records of each employee in the workplace who works with a scheduled carcinogenic substance
How to get immediate medical help for exposure to chemicals?
- In emergency cases, just dial triple aero for an ambulance.
- Otherwise, seek a doctor as soon as possible for immediate treatment.
- Notify all the other employees.
- Should not handle the hazardous substance again.
Suggestions to reduce the exposure to hazardous chemicals
There are some suggestions to reduce the exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace include:
- Perform the work without handling hazardous chemicals.
- If possible, you can use less corrosive and less hazardous alternative substances.
- Hazardous substances should be kept in separate storage areas.
- Ventilate the storage areas separately from outside of the workplace.
- Create awareness among employees about the usage of hazardous chemicals and their health effects.
- Train the employees in handling hazardous substances and also to safeguard themselves to reduce the technical risk assessment services.
- Advise them to use personal protective equipment like gloves, masks, etc.
- Monitor the workplace regularly with proper equipment to track the hazardous chemical substances in the air and environment.
- Avoid using fragrances.
- Keep the hazardous chemicals out of the workplace.
