Business owners and operators have an obligation to ensure that no-one at their workplace is harmed by chemicals or hazardous substances. This duty of care includes keeping airborne concentrations of hazardous chemicals within the legal limits, as stated in Safe Work Australia’s workplace exposure standards.
This post will help you understand the steps required when estimating chemical exposure levels in your workplace. We’ll also discuss workplace compliance with the workplace exposure standards for airborne contaminants, so you can protect workers from exposure to hazardous substances.
To determine the chemical exposure standards of your substances, refer to Section 8: Exposure Controls/Personal Protection of the safety data sheet (SDS). This document will give you detailed information about the levels of exposure associated with each hazardous chemical at your site.
In addition to the exposure levels, it will also provide information on the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) that is required to avoid chemical exposure, including eye protection, skin protection and respiratory protection.
Controls to minimise the likelihood of exposure to hazardous substances may be found in your product's SDS in Section 8.
If you’re carrying any type of hazardous substance in your workplace, it’s essential that you conduct a risk assessment. Your risk assessment will not only identify the physiochemical hazards associated with your products, it will also help you to understand the negative health effects that your chemicals could potentially cause to workers and others at risk of exposure.
When estimating the level of exposure to hazardous chemicals, consider:
Health effects from exposure to hazardous chemicals can range from immediate reactions —such as allergic reactions, nausea and vomiting — to long-term health effects, including respiratory illnesses, cancer and even fatalities. These serious health hazards can be controlled, but only when the level of exposure is understood.
As you can see from the above list of considerations, the severity of a chemical health hazard is impacted by a multitude of factors — all of which must be considered in your risk assessment.
IMPORTANT: Need help with your onsite chemical risk assessment? Access our free downloadable template to get started.
We suggest collating all the data listed above and compiling a chemical exposure profile for your risk assessment.
To illustrate this process, we’ve created a scenario below that may occur in a range of workplaces. In this example, we’ve indicated the exposure profile of a single worker, but this could also be prepared for work teams or by department eg, warehouse employees exposed to diesel exhaust.
Workers may be exposed to chemicals when using, handling or storing these substances in the workplace.
Example 1: Worker X is using ammonia, a schedule 6 poison for cleaning. The ammonia is premixed to a concentration of 5% ammonia by a supervisor (so Worker X is never exposed to higher concentrations) and they clean for 3 hours per day (5 shifts per week). Worker X has been employed as a cleaner for 6 months and has never worked with chemicals before. He is a non-smoker and has no known allergies.
Cleaning is done in office buildings including toilets, cubicles, enclosed workspaces and meeting rooms. Most of the office buildings don’t have opening windows and the work is carried out in the morning before the air condition service is scheduled for operation. Worker X uses disposable latex gloves but no respiratory protection.
Chemical exposure testing provides crucial information about the exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace. This testing allows organisations to determine the level of exposure and chemical hazards associated with the product, so they can ensure safety with their workforce.
IMPORTANT: Creating accurate chemical exposure profiles will help you identify workers who could be at risk of dangerous chemical exposure, as well as a priority list for exposure testing.
There are several ways you can test work areas for the presence of airborne chemicals including:
It’s important to remember that exposure levels may vary throughout a shift. These tests only indicate the presence of chemicals and cannot reliably measure concentration levels.
IMPORTANT: Professional chemical testing services may analyse air quality, as well as samples of blood and urine, or the testing of workplace surfaces or materials. Check with your local provider to see what testing they can provide for exposure to hazardous chemicals in the workplace.
Hundreds of hazardous chemicals have a workplace exposure standard set by Safe Work Australia. If your workplace has any of these chemicals onsite, you must ensure that the air quality stays within the limits defined by the standards.
If you are using chemicals that are listed in the exposure standard, you will need to:
While chemicals can be absorbed through the skin, you may also have to carry out health monitoring or biological monitoring of workers to ensure they are not being harmed by the chemicals.
REMEMBER: Keeping chemical concentration levels within workplace exposure standards is not a standalone control measure or even an indication of a ‘safe breathing zone’. Chemicals affect people differently and the presence of other chemicals and even the climate can impact how a worker’s health may be harmed.
Learn how to include chemical exposure testing into your risk assessment by downloading our free eBook How to Manage The Risk of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace. We introduce a complete risk management plan, so you can effectively minimise chemical hazards and fulfil your WHS obligations. Access your free guide now and take the next step in controlling hazardous chemicals.