What are Hazardous Substances?

Hazardous substances are substances which workers come into contact with whilst at work and many of these can have adverse effects on their health.

These substances can be found in nearly all types of working environments such as shops, factories, farms, laboratories, mines and even offices.

Such substances include those generated during work activities (eg fumes from soldering and welding); naturally occurring substances (eg grain and dust); and biological agents such as bacteria and other micro-organisms.

If we are to look at these in further detail, these could be described as:

• Substances or mixtures of substances classified as dangerous to health under the Chemicals (Hazard Information and Packaging for Supply) Regulations 2002 (CHIP). These can be identified by their warning label and the supplier must provide safety data sheet for them.

• Biological agents (bacteria and other micro-organisms), if they are directly connected with the work, such as with farming, sewage treatment, or healthcare, or if the exposure is incidental to the work (eg exposure to bacteria from an air-conditioning system that is not properly maintained).

• Any kind of dust if its average concentration in the air exceeds the levels specified in COSHH.

• Any other substance which creates a risk to health, but which for technical reasons may not be specifically covered by CHIP including: asphyxiants (ie gases such as argon and helium, which, while not dangerous in themselves, can endanger life by reducing the amount of oxygen available to breathe), pesticides, medicines, cosmetics or substances produced in chemical processes.

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