Carrying out a risk assessment on your hazardous chemicals is an important way of determining which hazards are likely to cause real harm. However, many people get bogged down just thinking about doing a risk assessment: How long will it take? Where do I start? Will there be mountains of paperwork?
However, a risk assessment doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Think of the risk assessment process as a formal way of reviewing the steps you’re already taking to protect your employees. You can then decide if you have everything covered or need to implement additional safety measures. In this post, we’ll outline 3 types of risk assessment you could use at your own job site to make sure all your chemical hazards are correctly identified and controlled.
What is Risk?
When working with hazardous chemicals and dangerous goods, we often use the words ‘risk’ and ‘hazard’ interchangeably. However, these two terms are communicating two different things. The hazard that you identify in your workplace is the issue that can cause danger, such as flammable liquids. The risk is the exposure to danger that this hazard causes, whether that be to staff, property or the environment.
Hazard Identification
The best way to identify hazards in the workplace is to get your team together and start walking around the jobsite. Whether you’re dividing your workplace up into physical locations, work groups or by chemical groups, conducting a risk assessment in person is the most effective method of hazard identification.
Some basic examples of hazards that you may identify in chemical risk assessments may include:
- Ignition of flammable liquids
- Exposure to toxic chemicals
- Corrosive substances leaking or spilling
- Oxidising agents kept near incompatible substances
Once the hazards have been identified, it’s then crucial to estimate the severity of harm that could occur with each hazard. This can be achieved by considering how often and how long people are exposed to the hazard and in what ways the chemical hazard could negatively affect people, place or property. You must also examine how effective your current control measures are in minimising the risk.
Risk is then calculated as the severity of the outcomes x the likelihood of the incident occurring.
Why We Assess Risk?
It’s crucial to assess risk in all workplaces. However, for workplaces that use, handle, store or generate hazardous chemicals, risk assessments must be conducted regularly to ensure that these very real risks are properly controlled.
Risks must be correctly identified and controlled to prevent harm occurring within your organisation or to the surrounding community. Risks may be toxicological (harm to human health), physiochemical (effects relating to chemical or physical properties of substance) or ecotoxicological (harm to the environment and ecosystems). When conducting a chemical risk assessment, all potential hazards must be identified so that controls can be effectively put in place.
Utilising risk assessment forms, such as a risk assessment template, can help streamline and expedite the whole risk assessment process.
Need a risk assessment template?
3 Main Types of Risk Assessment
There are 3 types of risk assessment that you may apply to your own workplace if you're carrying hazardous substances or dangerous goods.
These various types of risk assessments are:
- Basic assessment
- Generic assessment
- Detailed assessment
We’ll discuss the benefits and structure behind each of these 3 main types of risk assessment in the next section of our post.
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Basic Risk Assessment
The basic assessment is a systematic way of identifying each of the hazardous chemicals carried at the worksite, then reviewing their labels and Safety Data Sheets. For each chemical onsite, you’ll compile a list of potential hazards and decide whether all the risks have already been controlled using the measures recommended in the Safety Data Sheets.
A basic assessment is only effective when the chemical hazards are clear and have known control measures. A basic assessment is not suitable at worksites that use or carry high risk chemicals (eg carcinogens, highly toxic).
Basic Risk Assessment Example 1:
Your worksite uses methylated spirits, a flammable liquid. The label and Safety Data Sheets detail multiple hazard statements including:
- Highly flammable
- Harmful by inhalation and if swallowed
- Irritating to the eyes and skin
- Repeated exposure may cause skin dryness and cracking
The SDS also gives specific safety instructions: keep container tightly closed; keep away from sources of ignition; do not breathe vapour; avoid contact with skin and eyes; wear suitable protective clothing/gloves and eye/face protection.
Your basic risk assessment would detail the recommended work processes, chemical storage methods, training and PPE you have implemented at your workplace to minimise exposure to the methylated spirits.
A basic risk assessment will include reviewing recommended control measures such as chemical storage and PPE.
This might include:
- Making work areas NO SMOKING and isolating them from sources of heat and ignition
- Training staff to keep containers tightly closed
- Issuing protective gloves, eye guards, and breathing apparatus
Basic Risk Assessment Example 2:
An all-purpose paint thinner, containing approximately 60% toluene, is identified in your chemical risk assessment.
The SDS lists the following hazard statements:
- Highly flammable liquid and vapour
- Causes skin and serious eye irritation
- Suspected of damaging the fertility of an unborn child
- May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure
Because the substance is toxic and capable of causing long term damage to major organs and reproductive health, this chemical can’t be included in a basic risk assessment.
Generic Risk Assessment
Generic risk assessments are a good way of applying a risk assessment approach to common job tasks, work groups, departments — and even job sites.
However, for the generic risk assessment to be effective and compliant, it must involve the same chemicals and work processes.
Examples of generic risk assessments include:
- Franchise operations adopting a generic risk assessment because their operations are identical at each outlet
- Industry associations issuing a generic assessment for specific chemicals and work practices
- Workgroups adopting a generic risk assessment assessment on their job tasks
Generic risk assessments may be suitable for workplaces that have common job tasks or work groups.
Generic risk assessments are only effective when the chemicals being used have identical properties and hazards — in addition to the chemical being used/stored/handled in exactly the same way. Generic assessments are not suitable for assessing high risk chemicals such as carcinogens.
Generic Risk Assessment Example 1:
Dry cleaning franchisees in the same city adopting a generic risk assessment. They use the same brand of chemicals, and have identical chemical controls and work practices (including how the chemical is used, handled and stored).
Generic Risk Assessment Example 2:
Landscaping and gardening franchisees located in different states conducting their own risk assessments. Even though they have similar work methods, they don’t have access to the same brands of chemicals and often use different types of pesticides and weed killers due to the soil profiles and climate variations in the regional location of their clients.
REMEMBER: Hazardous chemicals can behave differently under different climates and working conditions. Even the age, genetic makeup, and overall health and fitness of the workers exposed to chemicals can impact the level of risk.
Detailed Risk Assessment
When a basic risk assessment identifies high risk hazardous substances that pose a significant risk to health and safety, the workplace will expand this into a detailed risk assessment. A detailed risk assessment would be required if your workplace uses:
- Restricted and prohibited substances
- Carcinogens and mutagens
- Substances harmful to reproductive health
A detailed assessment will always be required whenever there is any uncertainty about the level of risk and how the chemicals may be affecting the health of your workers, property, or the environment.
Detailed Risk Assessment Example 1:
A basic assessment identifies a toxic chemical that has a Workplace Exposure Standard. You’ll immediately implement the control measures listed in the Safety Data Sheet but begin a more detailed assessment which analyses the health profile of the workers exposed to the chemicals, the amount of the chemical being used, the span of shifts and job tasks that involve the substance. You may decide to engage an occupational hygienist to measure the breathing zones of workers and calculate airborne concentration levels.
Detailed Risk Assessment Example 2:
Your basic assessment identifies a cleaning chemical that has clear exposure controls (which are being met) but the chemical can also create a toxic gas if it contacts a certain incompatible substance. You identify that the incompatible substance is also carried at the worksite and is accessible to the cleaners. You’ll begin a detailed assessment that analyses work tasks and chemical storage areas with a view to eliminating the incompatible substance (or the cleaner’s access to it).
3 Main Types of Risk Assessment
While we’ve outlined the 3 main types of risk assessment that you can apply to your workplace right now, keep in mind that the risk assessment process is only one step towards better chemical safety management. For a detailed guide to implementing a full risk management methodology that enables you to identify, assess and control every chemical hazard at your own job site, why not download our free eBook? How To Manage the Risk Of Hazardous Chemicals In The Workplace is written in clear, easy-to-understand text — and includes our useful Risk Management Matrix Template absolutely free.
