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...

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...

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...

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....

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...

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...

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...

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"...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...