Health hazards are the chemical properties of hazardous substances that create adverse health effects (like being toxic, corrosive, or carcinogenic). People exposed to chemicals with health hazards can become sick, injured, or die. Whether chemicals are being used, handled or stored, many substances in the workplace present health hazards which can affect your employees and contractors, as well as visiting personnel and even customers.
Unless you can accurately identify the hazards and exposure standards that relate to your substances, you won’t be able to implement systems and protocols to ensure that these health hazards are effectively controlled in your workplace.
The Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS) is a tool that can help workplaces clearly identify the hazards and exposure levels of substances that they work with. In this post, we’ll explain what the HCIS is and how you can use this free online resource to create a safer work environment.
IMPORTANT: Hazardous chemicals also have physiochemical hazards (like being flammable or explosive) which can cause immediate injury to workers, damage property, or cause environment harm. However, this article concentrates on finding information about health hazards to comply with chemical exposure standards.
What is the HCIS?
The Hazardous Chemical Information System is a database of hazardous chemicals that can be found on the Safe Work Australia website.
The hazardous chemicals information database is continually updated as new details about chemicals are released. There are hundreds of thousands of chemicals listed in the HCIS, with over 20,000 chemicals listed for Workplace Exposure Standards. This online tool is a comprehensive resource that can greatly assist with further understanding and controlling the substances that you have onsite.
Refer to the HCIS to determine if your chemicals have an exposure standard which may impact the respiratory health of workers. This system will also detail the hazards associated with the chemical.
Searching for Hazardous Chemical Information
You can access the following information from the HCIS (note these are all searchable fields):
- CAS Number: The unique identifier of the chemical assigned by the Chemical Abstract Service in the USA.
- Chemical Name: This can be a systematic name, the common name or a generic name.
- GHS Hazard Category: All known hazards for the substance identified by the GHS (eg, Acute Toxicity, Oxidising Gas)
- Labeling Information: Hazardous chemical info including the pictograms (eg, exploding bomb, flame), signal word (eg, WARNING, DANGER), hazard statements (eg, Harmful if inhaled, Unstable Explosive), and hazard statement code (ie, each hazard statement also has a unique code).
- Cut-off Concentrations: Estimate the hazards of chemical mixtures and indicate how much of an ingredient would need to be diluted to lower the hazard category or be considered non-hazardous.
- Additional Notes: Other information about the chemical that may help you identify and assess the risk of harm.
REMEMBER: The HCIS is published, updated and monitored by Safe Work Australia. However, it is offered as a guide and is not a comprehensive database of all hazardous chemicals. Refer to your current Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for specific information on your chemical’s hazards.
How to Research Chemicals in the Hazardous Chemical Information System
The HCIS has two separate search tools, both with advanced options to narrow down your search results.
You can easily search for:
- Hazardous Chemicals; and
- Australian Exposure Standards
Conduct a search using any of the fields listed in the previous section and the results quickly display on screen. Some search results (especially exposure standards) can be downloaded and saved as a PDF or Excel file.
IMPORTANT: Use the HCIS as a starting point in your risk identification processes, but always check the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) produced by the manufacturer/importer/supplier for the most up-to-date (and comprehensive) information about the hazardous chemicals you are researching.
How to Research the Chemical Exposure Standards
One of the most useful functions of the HCIS is the ability to quickly access Australian Chemical Exposure Standards. You have a legal obligation (under the WHS Regulations) to ensure that your workers are not exposed to dangerous concentrations of chemicals, and these exposure standards set the acceptable airborne concentrations levels.
The HCIS database will give you the following information (which are also searchable fields):
- Standard name
- Substance name
- CAS Number
- Exposure Standard (TWA and STEL or Peak Limit)
- Additional notes about routes of exposure (ie skin absorption) and the organisation who researched and documented the Standard.
Another useful function of the database is the ability to search for chemicals based on their last review date. Part of your risk management review process could be to search the online database once every 6 months to see if any of your hazardous chemicals have had alterations or additions to their Standards.
The hazardous chemical information system is regularly updated to provide the latest information on your chemical’s hazards and exposure limits.
Keeping up-to-date with any changes to the chemical information can assist with effective hazard communication between your safety officers and staff who are working with hazardous chemicals.
IMPORTANT: Accessing online exposure standards is only part of the risk management function, you should also refer to the official publications Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants and Guidance on the Interpretation of Workplace Exposure Standards for Airborne Contaminants — both published by Safe Work Australia.
Identifying Hazardous Chemicals and Managing the Risk
The Hazardous Chemical Information System or (HCIS) is an excellent free online resource that can be used in conjunction with a tested risk management methodology. To ensure your workplace meets the requirements of safety regulations, including the Workplace Exposure Standards, a risk assessment is required to accurately identify the hazards at your site.
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