WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS?
These are substances, mixtures and articles that can pose a significant risk to health and safety if not managed correctly. They may have health hazards, physical hazards or both.
Examples of chemicals that can cause adverse health effects include:
- toxic chemicals
- chemicals that cause skin damage
- carcinogens.
Examples of chemicals that can immediately injure people or damage property include:
- flammable liquids
- compressed gasses
- explosives.
Work health and safety duties
If you are a business, you have specific duties under the model WHS Regulations to manage the risks to health and safety associated with using, handling, generating and storing it at a workplace. These include:
- Ensuring correct labelling of containers and pipework, using warning placards and displaying safety signs.
- Maintaining a register and manifest (where required) of it and notifying the regulator if you store manifest quantities of it.
- Identifying any risk of physical or chemical reaction of it and ensuring their stability.
- Ensuring workplace exposure standards for hazardous chemicals are not exceeded.
- Providing health monitoring to workers (if relevant).
- Providing information, training, instruction and supervision to workers.
- Providing a spill containment system for hazardous chemicals if necessary.
- Obtaining the current SDS from the manufacturer, importer or supplier of the chemical.
- Controlling ignition sources and accumulation of flammable and combustible substances.
- Providing fire protection equipment, firefighting equipment and emergency and safety equipment.
- Provide a copy of your emergency plan to the primary local emergency services organisation if the quantity of a class of hazardous chemical at your workplace exceeds its manifest quantity.
- Ensuring the stability and support of containers for bulk hazardous chemicals, including pipework and attachments.
- Ensuring hazardous chemical storage and handling systems are decommissioned correctly.
- Notifying the regulator as soon as practicable of abandoned tanks in certain circumstances.
