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Chemical safety
The extensive variety of equipments that are utilized together with activities that are performed in an office setting at present have resulted in the utilization of chemicals for cleaning, lubricating, printing, developing, copying, toning and other purposes on a day to day basis . The majority of these chemicals cause irritation to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes and may lead to drowsiness, or intoxication, and some even pose fire threats. The dangers that these hazardous chemicals pose must be made clear to those handling them.
The chemicals that are widely used in office settings consist of elements, compounds, mixtures, commercial products, cleaning products, solvents, and lubricants. Most of chemicals are toxic, irritating, caustic, carcinogenic, pyrophoric, or volatile. It is not unusual for chemicals to possess two or more of these traits. Chemicals that may be comparatively harmless while used alone can become exceedingly hazardous when used with other substances, either in an experiment that is planned or by accident. Moreover, a material may not pose any threat of exposure in one form, but may present a danger of exposure in form. Hence personnel who deal with chemicals must take into account the hazards and adopt suitable safety measures and procedures.
Risk Assessment
- The user must assess every job in which chemicals are utilized to find out the related risk.
- This assessment must include the following.
- Unsafe characteristics of the material, including the organs likely to be affected by the toxic substances should be considered.
- Means of entry such as inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption as employees connect to the experimental set-up or operation .
- An evaluation of the characteristics and reactivity of the chemicals or amalgamation of chemicals should also be undertaken.
Ultimate disposal alternatives and waste minimization methods should also be assessed in the planning phase In addition, the jobs and the chemicals that are used should be evaluated by a well-informed individual prior to the operation. A written work plan must be prepared for every laboratory procedures dealing with harmful chemicals. The plan must take into consideration the dangers that the chemicals pose together with ways to control them.
The threat from hazardous chemicals can be minimized by means of engineering controls such as the utilization of fume cupboards or replacements utilizing materials that are less hazardous in nature.
People handling hazardous substances must use personal protective gear such as safety glasses, chemical splash goggles, chemical resistant gloves and respirators. Principal investigators or supervisors are entrusted with the task of establishing safe measures and supplying the protective equipment required for handling chemicals. They must educate their personnel as to the potential dangers, the safety measures, waste handling, the results of an accident, and the measures that have to be taken in the event of an accident.