Hazardous Chemicals at Work

01 October 01, 2014 by Michael Levine

http://www.safety.com

1. There are an estimated 650,000 existing hazardous chemical products -- and hundreds of new ones are being produced each year. Employees of all kinds work with these chemicals in a pure form or in a mixture. Chemical hazards are generally classified into physical hazards (such as flammability, corrosion, and reactivity) and health hazards (such as irritation, sensitization, and carcinogenicity). The actual types and levels of the hazards associated with a product depend on both the hazards of the individual components and how they may combine.

2. In order to work safely with these materials, workers must understand the risks of working with them and what can be done to stay safe. This article is intended to serve as a brief general introduction into workplace chemical hazards and general issues related to their management.

3. Before you can know how dangerous the chemical hazards are in your workplace, you must know what chemicals are present and have safety information in regards to them. Once the inventory is complete, there should be reference materials available with information on each product. A review of the documents and labels should provide all basic information as to the types and levels of chemical hazards they may present. Simply reviewing a data sheet may not be enough. It is important to assess real exposures in the actual workplace. Air or other testing may need to be performed to determine if airborne exposures exceed recommended or legal levels.

4. The Occupational Safety and health Administration (OSHA) has in place a Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) that covers workers exposed to hazardous chemicals in all industrial sectors. This standard asserts that employees have both a need and a right to know the identities and the risks of the products they are exposed to while at work.

5. Information must be easily available to workers about the identities and hazards of the chemicals they may be exposed to. This information will be provided in the form of labels and materials on Safety Data Sheets (MSDS'), and must be in a language they understand.

6. Manufacturers and importers of chemical products are required to evaluate the hazards their products and prepare labels and material safety data sheets (MSDSs) with hazard information to their customers and to employers that purchase their products.

7. Manufacturers, importers, or distributors are required to label each container of hazardous chemicals. If these chemicals are transferred into unmarked containers, these containers must be labeled with the required information.

8. Employees must be trained at the time they are assigned to work with a hazardous chemical, and prior to exposure. This training must assure that the employees know how to use the information provided in the hazard communication program.

9. Under HCS, all employers with hazardous chemicals in their workplaces must prepare and implement a written hazard communication program. This plan describes how the company will ensure that all containers are properly labeled, how employees can access chemical hazard information, and how the training program is to be implemented.

Сопоставьте части предложений. Переведите предложения письменно.

8. Прочитайте текст и ответьте письменно на вопросы.

1. What general classification is used for chemical hazards in the workplace?

2. How should workers access information about the identities and hazards of the chemicals they may be exposed to?

3. Who is responsible for labeling containers of hazardous chemicals?

4. When should the training of the employees exposed to hazardous chemicals take place?

5. What kind of document are employers with hazardous chemicals required to prepare in their workplace?

Заполните пропуски данными словами (determine, label, depend on, assigned, combine, available). Переведите предложения на русский язык.

1.The actual types and levels of the hazards associated with a product a)……….. both the hazards of the individual components and how they may b)…………..

2. There should be reference materials c)………… with information on each product.

3. Air or other testing may need to be performed to d)………… if airborne exposures exceed recommended or legal levels.

4. Manufacturers, importers and distributors are required to e)………… each container of hazardous chemicals.

5. Employees must be trained at the time they are f)………… to work with a hazardous chemical.