Chemical Safety ES 10.

1
Introduction

• What is a Chemical Hazard?

• Answer: Any chemical that can cause

illness, injury, or an emergency.

• Chemical Hazards
• Physical
• Health
Sub-classification of Chemical Hazards:

•Physical hazards are chemicals that can cause:

Fire, Explosion, Violent reaction

•Health hazards are chemicals that are harmful to your health and can
cause: Short-term (acute) health problems and Long term (chronic)
health problems by entering the body in one of three ways
- inhalation, skin contact or ingestion.
OHSA’s Haz-Com Standard

• OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard is designed to

protect employees from hazardous chemicals used or
stored in the work setting. Also referred to as the "Right-
To-Know Law", the Hazard Communication Standard
requires that information and training (i.e., hazcom
training) be provided to any employees who have the
potential of being exposed to a hazardous chemical
“under normal condition of use or in a foreseeable
emergency.”
Purpose

• The purpose of the standard is to make sure that

the hazards of chemicals are evaluated

• That information concerning their hazards is

communicated to employers and employees
HazCom Requirements:

• Chemical inventory
• Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)
• Labels, tags or signs
• The written Hazard Communication program
 HazCom Requirements:

• 1. Chemical Inventory - When a chemical arrives at your company, hazard

information is passed along with it.
• This information is added to your company’s chemical inventory. OSHA requires
that each company keep
an inventory on all its hazardous chemicals.

• 2. Material Safety Data Sheets

• - Explain what you need to know to safely work with a chemical
• - Must include certain types of information in each section.
• - Help ensure that employers and employees understand the chemical.
• - Must be readily accessible to employees in the work area during each work
shift
HazCom Requirements:

3. Labels
Pictograms - Pictograms are always a black
The HazCom Standard requires that
symbol
there be six label elements:
shown on a white background and surrounded
- Product identifier or ingredient
by a red, diamond shaped border.
disclosure;
These images are used to depict the physical,
- Signal word;
health
- Hazard statement;
or environmental hazards caused by a particular
- Pictograms;
chemical. They are meant to be an immediate,
- Precautionary statement; and
graphic warning.
- Supplier identification.
HazCom Requirements:

• There are nine pictograms:

• - Oxidizers;
• - Flammables;
• - Explosives;
• - Acute toxicity;
• - Corrosives;
• - Gases under pressure;
• - Health hazards;
• - Environmental hazards; and
• - Health irritant or other harmful effects.
HazCom Requirements:

• Written HazCom Program – The purpose of

the written HazCom program is to
document, in detail, your employer’s plans
for communicating the hazards involved
with using the chemicals in your workplace.
You have a right to review the written
HazCom program whenever you want.
Who is covered?

• OSHA’s Hazard Communication standard applies to general

industry, shipyard, marine terminals, long-shoring, and
construction employment and covers chemical manufacturers,
importers, employers, and employees exposed to chemical
hazards.
Precautionary labels for chemicals:
(Signal Words)
• 1.) Danger - the strongest of the three and is used when
the contents present a potential for serious foreseeable
harm.

• 2.) Caution - is restricted to chemicals that are

foreseeably the least potentially harmful.

• 3.) Warning - is for chemicals intermediate in their

potential to cause foreseeable harm.
These are succinct descriptions of the major
foreseeable way/s in which the chemical could
cause harm:

• Flammable
• Harmful if Inhaled
• Causes Severe Burns
• Poison
• May Cause Irritation
These are the brief descriptions of actions to be
undertaken that will prevent the corresponding
hazards:

• Keep Away from Heat, Sparks, and Flame

• Use with Adequate Ventilation
• Do Not Get in Eyes
• Avoid Breathing Dust
Toxic chemicals can enter the body in five
different ways:

• Inhalation - it is commonly thought that if you cannot smell a

toxin, then you are not being exposed unduly.
• Injection - for example, by a cut from contaminated, broken
glassware or sharp knife.
• Absorption through intact skin - for example phenol splashed on
the skin which can be fatal if not promptly flushed off.
• Ingestion - for example, swallowing a toxic solution.
• Via other body orifices - the ear canal and the eyeball socket,
our eyes are a bit loose in their sockets. Vapors, mists, and fine
dusts can enter the body via this route.