Audit 13

To manage Hazardous Substances a requirement is to conduct Risk Assessments for each of the hazardous substances.

The process required to ensure that all risks identified with using a substance is controlled under the Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Regulations is described below. The requirements for other legislation will be quite similar.

When is it a requirement to conduct a risk assessment? Legislation requires that Hazardous Substances risk assessments are required at the following times:

• As soon as practicable after it is used;
• Within five years after the last assessment;
• When a work practice involving the substance is significantly changed;
• New information about the substance's hazards is available;
• Health surveillance or monitoring shows control measures need to be reviewed; and
• New or improved control measures are implemented.

Are you asking why you have to complete a risk assessment at all of these times, let's have a look at the benefits:

• You will know before using the substance the risks to you employees, therefore, allowing you to put controls in place to reduce the risks.
• Reviewing the assessment every five years allows you to identify if anything has changed, therefore, altering your risk significance. Including, if there is a less hazardous substance that could be used.
• Changes in work practices may impact other areas of risk in conjunction with the use of the substance, for example: changing from fine powder to pelletised form.
• If the manufacturer changes the substance, this may affect your practices or employees differently.
• Health Surveillance and monitoring are tools used to measure your controls. If there is a significant change in the results this is your first indication that your controls are not performing as you had anticipated.
• Regularly employees, suppliers, manufacturers or even visitors will identify new or improved control measures. A risk assessment is required to ensure that no further risk will be introduced.

What needs to be included in the risk assessment? The legislation requires that the following are included in the risk assessment:

• Identification of the hazardous substance;
• If the substance's MSDS is available; a review of the MSDS;
• If the substance's MSDS is not available; a review of available equivalent information;
• If the substance is contained in a consumer package; a review of the package's label;
• A decision whether any workers may be exposed to the substance; and
• A decision about the control measures, health surveillance and monitoring needed for the substance.

MSDS's and consumer packaging is an invaluable source of information when conducting your risk assessments, they will contain a substantial amount of the information required, for example: Substance Product Name; Chemical and Physical properties; Health Hazards and Safe Use.

Generic assessments may be prepared for the workplace where the substance is used in the same or similar circumstances. For example: An assessment prepared by an industry body or trade association about the use of brake fluid at service stations.

Now that the identification of the risks, monitoring / surveillance requirements and control measures have been identified - YOU need to ensure that they are implemented.

The effectiveness of your controls can be measured by monitoring / surveillance data; incident / accident trending; training and the review of your risk assessment.

What records are required to be maintained? Legislation requires that the following records are maintained for each risk assessment:

• The date the assessment was conducted;
• The substance's product name or other information;
• Whether the degree of risk is assessed to be significant;
• The control measures for the use of the substance that were in place when the assessment was done; and
• The type of monitoring that is needed and the intervals at which the health surveillance must be done.

Conducting risk assessments for hazardous substances is not difficult and is not a chore. Completing this risk assessments and complementing processes will protect the health of yourself, your friends, your employees and your family.

For help in conducting Hazardous Substances risk assessments email us

Tina Wallace is the founder and principal consultant of Audit 13. Audit 13 helps individuals and companies in the rural, mining and manufacturing sectors understand their obligations with regard to Occupational Health and Safety and to comply with them. To learn more go to http://www.audit13.com ?2007 Audit 13.