KEEP SAFE WITH HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH ASSESS EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES PREVENT EXPOSURE CONTROL EXPOSURE MONITOR EXPOSURE TRAIN YOUR STAFF

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KEEP SAFE WITH HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES CAN DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH Some of the risks from hazardous substances are obvious. For example, highly flammable substances like petrol, acetone or methylated spirits must be kept away from an open flame to prevent a fire or an explosion. Serious accidents involving these hazardous substances do happen, but it’s important to also be aware of the less obvious harm caused by exposure to hazardous substances. This harm results from people being exposed to hazardous substances at work in three main ways:

dd Breathing in toxic vapours, dusts,

mists, gases or fumes from hazardous substances. If you can smell a hazardous substance, you are breathing it in. But you need to be aware that your sense of smell can become overloaded and even though you may no longer be able to smell the substance, it might still be in the air. Additionally, some toxic hazardous substances don’t have a smell, so you shouldn’t use smell as the only indicator that hazardous substances are present.

dd Hazardous substances getting onto

your skin can be absorbed through your skin and enter your blood stream.

How hazardous substances enter the body

Inhalation

Skin absorption

dd Being swallowed or ingested.

Hazardous substances can be swallowed accidentally, for example, if you eat or smoke without washing your hands after using them. Ingestion

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The vapours from solvents are particularly dangerous and affect different people in different ways. Immediate effects from solvent exposure include headaches, forgetfulness, drowsiness, feeling dizzy and/or nauseous, irritability and mood changes, and irritation of the eyes, lungs and skin. Long-term effects are sometimes not so obvious but can be more serious and cause personality changes, sleep disorders, memory loss, cancer, damage to internal organs like the liver and kidneys, damage to an unborn child, fertility problems, and even death. These serious health risks are why it’s so important to safely manage the hazardous substances at your workplace and protect your health and the health of your staff. You need to make managing hazardous substances safely part of the safety culture at your workplace. To be successful you need:

dd commitment from all staff members dd to learn from past mistakes, and dd to continually review what you do. Keeping safe with hazardous substances is not something you can do once and then put aside.

Taking the time to safely manage your hazardous substances now can prevent accidents and save money and lives later.

ASSESS EXPOSURE TO HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES Because of the serious health effects that can be caused by hazardous substances, you must determine the extent of the risk to staff and others from exposure to hazardous substances while at work. It’s only after a full assessment has been done that the appropriate control measures, training and monitoring can be put in place. Generally, you need to try to reduce exposure by controls other than personal protective equipment.

1. MAKE A LIST OF ALL OF YOUR SUBSTANCES First, prepare an inventory using the Workbook to make a list of all of the substances used and stored at your workplace. Include all substances to begin with; even the ones you might think are not hazardous. 2. DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR SUBSTANCES ARE HAZARDOUS Next, determine whether your substances are hazardous or not. To do this, read the substance label for warnings. Also read the safety data sheet, especially the Hazards Identification section to find out whether the product is hazardous. Check the Toxicological Information section of the safety data sheet to find out about health risks.

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3. DETERMINE WHO COULD BE EXPOSED Think about which staff work directly with hazardous substances and which staff may come into contact with them by working in the surrounding area where a substance is used. This is best done by observing your staff at work and discussing work practices with them.

Some hazardous substances may be created as by-products or waste from work processes - so remember to include these in your exposure assessment.

Also think about people who may come into contact with substances on contaminated surfaces (such as cleaners). Don’t forget to include people who don’t directly use hazardous substances such as contractors, visitors and other workers who may still be exposed to vapours.

4. DETERMINE HOW PEOPLE COULD BE EXPOSED Consider whether the people you have identified in (3) could be exposed by breathing in the substance, ingesting the substance or absorbing the substance through their skin. 5. DETERMINE THE DEGREE OF EXPOSURE. To determine the degree of exposure you will need to know the concentration of the substance during exposure and how long and how often people are exposed to the substance. Look carefully at the work processes. You are unlikely to be able to accurately assess the degree of exposure yourself. This assessment usually involves measuring air concentrations of hazardous substances or measuring hazardous substances in urine or blood. If you need help doing this assessment there are health and safety consultants who can assist you. Check the Yellow Pages or search the internet for consultants in your area.

PREVENT EXPOSURE After conducting your assessment you need to decide the best ways of keeping your staff safe. The best way to prevent harm is to get rid of, or eliminate, hazardous substances. If you can’t eliminate a hazardous substance, you need to make sure that people are exposed to as little as possible by engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment. When you make decisions about how to keep your staff safe, remember to consider the health status of your staff. For example, people with asthma may have trouble breathing if they have to wear a respirator. Pregnant women should not work with hazardous substances that can harm a developing baby.

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ELIMINATE Getting rid of a very hazardous substance altogether from your workplace is the best solution. If you have a very hazardous substance, ask your supplier if there are any safer alternatives on the market. For example, solvent based inks can sometimes be replaced by vegetable oil based inks. If there is a safer alternative, you will still need to consider the risks associated with that product. Also ask yourself:

dd Are there hazardous substances I no longer use? dd Am I storing more hazardous substances than I need? Reducing your amounts of hazardous substances may reduce your compliance needs and could therefore reduce costs.

dd Are there hazardous substances that I can’t identify? All hazardous substances must be labelled – it’s not safe to use or store a hazardous substance if you don’t know what it is.

If you answer yes to any of these questions, arrange to have the hazardous substance you no longer need disposed of safely. Check the safety data sheet for disposal information. If necessary, contact your local council for advice on how to dispose of the hazardous substance safely or choose a specialist chemical waste disposal company by searching the Yellow Pages or the internet.

CONTROL EXPOSURE If you can’t eliminate your staff’s exposure to hazardous substances, you must minimise it as much as possible. Generally, there are three ways of doing this: engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment.

Engineering controls You can minimise the extent to which people are exposed to hazardous substances by using engineering controls, such as ventilation.

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The most effective engineering controls are ones that result in the hazardous substance being contained or prevented from reaching staff. Ventilation is also important to reduce staff exposure. Ventilation can also reduce the potential for a fire or explosion by diluting flammable vapours in the air around where hazardous substances are used or stored. Local exhaust ventilation is a type of ventilation that captures contaminants at, or very near, the source and exhausts them outside. Local exhaust ventilation This illustration was taken from Safe Work systems should be installed and Australia’s Code of practice: Managing risks frequently maintained by a specialist, of Hazardous Chemicals in the Workplace. such as a ventilation engineer or health and safety specialist. This is important because it is easy to assume that, since a ventilation system is present, the amount of hazardous substances in the air will not damage people’s health. But if the ventilation system is not properly maintained, or is not sufficient for the job, it may provide little or no protection for staff.

Administration controls You can also minimise exposure to substances by setting up certain work processes, or administration controls, to make work a safer place. Examples of administration controls are:

dd job rotation, which reduces the length of time someone is exposed to a hazardous substance

dd restricting access to areas where hazardous substances are used dd not allowing smoking or eating in areas where hazardous substances are used, and dd keeping the lids on your hazardous substances. This is one of the easiest ways to

minimise exposure as it prevents vapours from hazardous substances escaping into the air that you and your staff breathe. Keeping flammable vapours out of the air also prevents them from building up in your workplace and reduces the risk of an explosion if they were accidentally ignited.

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Personal protective equipment (PPE) If you have reduced your staff’s exposure to hazardous substances as much as possible using other means, like ventilation, and there are still some staff who might be exposed to hazardous substances, you need to provide those staff with the correct protective clothing and equipment. Staff are entitled to receive the PPE necessary to do their job safely at no cost to them, or they can provide their own suitable PPE if they wish. Staff must be trained on when and why they need the protective clothing and equipment and how to use, clean and store it properly. PPE suppliers can help with this training. The type of PPE needed depends on the particular hazardous substance you are trying to minimise exposure to and the level of hazardous substance in the air at your workplace. Check the label or safety data sheet for each hazardous substance to determine the hazards of the substance and what precautions need to be taken. The safety data sheet will include information about what personal protective clothing and equipment should be used. When choosing PPE ask a health and safety specialist, or your supplier for help and explain to them what job the PPE will be used for. Choose products that meet New Zealand and/or Australian Standards.

Examples of personal protective equipment Eyes – To protect your eyes from hazardous substances splashing into them use safety glasses, goggles, face-shields or visors. Breathing – Dusts, vapours, mists, fumes and gases can be inhaled when using hazardous substances. Half or full-face respirators, air-fed helmets or breathing apparatus can protect staff from inhaling hazardous substances. Body – Overalls can help to protect the body from hazardous substances. Hands and arms – Gloves made out of a suitable material should be worn when handling hazardous substances. Feet and legs – Suitable footwear should be worn to protect feet. This could include safety boots or closed-toe shoes.

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The effectiveness of PPE is dependent on staff using it correctly. If the wrong PPE is used, or it is not fitted correctly, it might not provide adequate protection. The best way of determining whether your staff use it properly is to discuss usage with them and to observe them wearing it while they are working and what they do with it once they have finished the job. You also need to make sure that PPE is frequently maintained.

MONITOR EXPOSURE If your staff may be exposed to hazardous substances through their work, it’s important that their health is frequently monitored to check that the minimisation techniques you have adopted are sufficient and the health of your staff is protected. This monitoring might be, for example, testing respiratory function. You also need to monitor their exposure to substances so you can determine if the control measures and personal protective equipment you have in place are sufficient. This could include air monitoring as well as monitoring the blood and urine of your staff. The results of air monitoring may be compared to workplace exposure standards (WES). A WES refers to the level of a substance in the air that is believed to be safe for nearly all workers repeatedly exposed, day after day, to that substance. The values are usually calculated based on exposure over eight hours, 15 minutes or, in some cases, instantaneous exposure. You must make sure that your staff are not exposed to levels of hazardous substances that exceed a WES. The monitoring of hazardous substances in the air and comparing these results to a WES should be done by a specialist such as an occupational hygienist.

TRAIN YOUR STAFF It’s really important that staff understand both the harm that can be caused by the hazardous substances they use and how they can protect themselves. Training your staff about the substances they use is therefore another important step in keeping your workplace safe. The training should include what you have in place to reduce exposure to hazardous substances, for example, ventilation or safe ways of dispensing hazardous substances. Training on why personal protective equipment must be worn, and how to use, clean and store it safely is also essential. You will need to take extra time to help staff who have difficulties with reading and people whose first language is not English.

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Your Toolbox includes five safety animations for staff to highlight some of the things that can go wrong when not using hazardous substances safely. These animations can be found on the Toolbox website at www.hazardoussubstances.govt.nz. Your Toolbox also contains two posters to help your staff understand the risks of working with hazardous substances. Put these posters up where they can be clearly seen to constantly remind staff about safety.

CHECKLIST WHAT YOUR STAFF NEED TO KNOW A template for using this checklist as part of your staff training is available in your Workbook.

)) Is the employee aware of the harm that can be caused from each hazardous substance they use at work?

)) Is the employee aware of how to safely store, use or dispose of each substance they use?

)) Does the employee understand what control measures are in place at the workplace to reduce exposure and keep safe?

)) Has the employee been provided with the correct safety equipment and personal protective equipment?

)) Has the employee been trained to use the safety equipment and personal protective equipment?

)) Does the employee know where the safety data sheets are kept and have access to them?

)) Does the employee know what to do in an emergency involving the substances they use?

)) Has the employee been trained to use the first aid equipment to deal with splashes and other incidents?

)) Does the employee understand the importance of asking their supervisor questions if they are unsure about how to safely use or store a hazardous substance?

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FURTHER INFORMATION The resources below contain some good generic information about managing the risks of hazardous substances.

dd WorkSafe – Approved Code of Practice: Substances Hazardous to Health. dd Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing the risks of hazardous chemicals in the workplace.

Links to these documents can be found on the following websites:

dd www.worksafe.govt.nz dd www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/SWA