Chemicals

Workplaces are full of chemicals and chemical substances.  Some chemicals are 'hazardous' others are 'dangerous'.  There is specific legislation covering both 'hazardous substances' and 'dangerous goods' - but employers have a duty to ensure that the use, handling, storage and transport of all chemical substances is safe and without risks to health. Scroll down on this page to see a full list of hazards associated with chemicals and resources you can use to address these hazards. 

Welding - what are the issues?
Welding poses a range of hazards to your health. These can act quickly such as electric shock or exposure to cadmium fumes, or they may...
Read More
Hazardous Substances (Chemicals)
Use of chemicals is widespread in workplaces, and many of these chemicals are hazardous to the health of workers. Further, some years ago the National...
Read More
Dangerous Goods
What are Dangerous Goods? Substances hazardous to health may also be classified as dangerous goods. For example, kerosene is classified as a hazardous substance, and...
Read More
Hazardous Substances - An introduction to Legislation
Victoria has specific legislation covering hazardous substances and dangerous goods in the workplace. Issues at the workplace involving hazardous substances can be complex and technical....
Read More
Dangerous or Hazardous? What's the difference?
Hazardous substances are classified based only on health effects (whether they are immediate or long term), while dangerous goods are classified according to their immediate...
Read More
Chemicals management in workplaces
The late Dr. Chris Winder, then Associate Professor at the School of Safety Science, University of New South Wales, discussed chemicals management in workplaces: the...
Read More
Material Safety Data Sheets
Page Outline:  Introduction to Safety Data Sheets What are the employer's legal responsibilities? What should an SDS look like? What to look for Checking the...
Read More
Exposure Standards for Chemicals
Regulatory agencies set the limits to which workers can be exposed to particular hazards. These are known as "Exposure Standards", "Occupational Exposure Limits" ["Threshold Limit Values"...
Read More
Chemicals - Useful websites
There are hundreds of websites providing information and advice on chemicals.  Here are a few: Australian websites The Hazardous Chemical Information System (HCIS) provides information...
Read More
Cancer - what causes it?
Cancer can be caused by a number of chemicals, groups of chemicals, industries or industrial processes. Some chemicals are naturally found in foods and others...
Read More
Occupational cancer and Workers’ Memorial Day
Popular media frequently cover cancer, but not from an OHS perspective. Yet occupational cancer tops the International Labour Organisation workplace diseases and accidents table with...
Read More
Dust masks - how effective are they?
The plain dust masks workers are sometimes provided with are not really protective devices: they perform badly and should not be used for protection against...
Read More
Dermatitis & other skin conditions
Our skin is an amazing organ: when assaulted from the outside by irritants, or from the inside by disease, skin raises a red danger flag...
Read More
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
What is it? "Multiple chemical sensitivity" (MCS), or "environmental illness" or "sick building syndrome" are all terms to describe the problems of exposures to chemicals...
Read More
Exposure Standards - what are they?
Regulatory agencies set the limits to which workers can be exposed to particular hazards. These are known as "Exposure Standards", "Occupational Exposure Limits" or "Threshold...
Read More