Depending on your geographical location, employers must follow chemical safety legislation to ensure that workers are safe when handling and managing chemicals. Regulations impose several obligations to employers to ensure that people and the environment are protected from hazardous chemicals regardless of company size.
A lack of understanding of chemical requirements by the employer does not exempt them from liability or the requirement to comply with the law. Therefore, it is advisable to consider chemical safety tools and other methods to manage your chemical safety challenges to ensure you and your employees are aware of the hazards of chemicals in the workplace.
These tools will allow your employer to adequately manage ever-changing chemical legislation, worker training, the company’s written Chemical Safety Policy, risk assessments, and Safety Data Sheets (SDSs).
What are the Benefits of Training Workers in Chemical Safety Awareness?
Employers must ensure chemical safety is managed correctly in the workplace, starting with employee training. It’s not only a legal requirement but also the right thing to do. Employees must be trained in a chemical safety awareness course to handle, store, and use chemicals safely.
Workers must be trained in chemical hazards and the controls to protect themselves, as well as how to read SDS and chemical labels. There are many benefits to ensuring that workers are trained in chemical safety.
Minimizes injuries and illnesses
A safe workplace minimizes injuries and illnesses. If employees are educated in chemical safety awareness training and have the knowledge to work with chemicals safely, there will be a reduced chance of employees getting hurt or sick. In addition, if employees recognize the hazards of chemicals and how to control them, the possibility of workers becoming hurt will be reduced.
Reduces Environmental Contamination
If employees are trained to handle chemicals and chemical spills correctly, there will be decreased environmental contamination. Employees must understand where to find spill kits and how to use the items inside to contain chemical spills. The items may include personal protective equipment (such as safety goggles and chemical-resistant gloves), absorbent pads, and other loose absorbent materials such as Cat Litter or Oil Dri. Workers must be aware of how to clean up spills for specific chemicals and then where to dispose of the chemical waste. Training will ensure that chemicals are cleaned up and disposed of correctly, reducing environmental contamination.
Decreases Property Damage
Employees must be aware of how to store chemicals they are exposed to. If incompatible chemicals are inadvertently stored together, it can cause unwanted chemical reactions that can cause fires or explosions. Fires or explosions can lead to injury, illness, death, and significant property damage. When workers are experienced in the types of chemicals that can be appropriately stored together, there will be a decrease in fires or explosions that can contribute to property damage.
What Tools Do I Need to Manage my Chemical Safety Program?
Your company should have chemical safety tools to manage chemical safety at the worksite effectively. Tools can help you address chemical safety concerns, such as staying up to date with new or changing chemical regulations, training workers, the company’s written Chemical Safety Policy, risk assessments, and SDSs.
Monitoring Chemical Safety Legislation
Your company must follow all changing and new legal requirements. The company should determine legal requirements and regularly check if the legislation is still applicable and if any new responsibilities need to be adopted. The company should maintain documentation detailing the chemical safety requirements applicable to your organization and how your organization complies with the rules and regulations. A lack of awareness of legislation required by the employer does not excuse them from liability or the obligation to comply.
EcoOnline provides regulatory compliance services to companies across various industries. These services allow companies to ensure they comply with multiple chemical regulations.
Training of Employees
As discussed above, it is critical that workers are trained in chemical safety awareness courses. Educated employees will reduce injuries and illnesses, decrease the chances of environmental contamination, and minimize property damage from fires or explosions.
EcoOnline provides a variety of chemical safety training courses for companies in a wide range of industries, including healthcare, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food manufacturing. A training course we offer is Chemical Safety Awareness, including Spill Control. This training course provides a thorough understanding of the hazards and risks associated with chemical substances. EcoOnline can also develop customized site-specific courses to suit your particular needs.
Chemical Safety Program Documentation
Your organization must have a Chemical Safety Program that specifies how your company manages chemicals. This document should be written, maintained, implemented, and communicated to employees exposed to chemical hazards. The Chemical Safety Program should be reviewed frequently and available to employees.
EcoOnline’s Safety software allows you to store documents that employees can easily access. The software can send notifications to remind you to review the document. Finally, if the document needs to be modified, EcoOnline makes it easy to update and communicate the changes to employees.
Risk Assessment and SDS Management
Employers must ensure that risk assessments and SDS are adequately managed. Risk assessments and SDS must be readily available to workers to ensure they have the information to protect themselves and their coworkers from the dangers of chemicals. They also must be reviewed and kept up to date.
EcoOnline allows you to track your SDS and risk assessments in one convenient online system. Having one centralized location ensures that employees know where to locate SDS and risk assessments quickly. Our platform automatically provides SDS updates. This ensures that you and your employees always have access to up-to-date information.
How Else can EcoOnline Assist with Chemical Safety?
EcoOnline‘s safety software is designed to help you manage chemical safety in your workplace. Our platform has tools that will allow you to handle your organization’s chemical safety program efficiently. When you speak with one of our in-house experts, you can see exactly how our software can work within your current processes to improve your chemical safety program. Book a demo today.