HAMILTON, ON (June 12, 2012) – The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) has released a new health and safety manual to assist small and medium sized businesses in outlining the elements of a chemical health and safety program.
The Implementing a Chemical Safety Program manual will provide workplaces with step-by-step guidance on understanding, controlling and how to work safely with chemicals.
“If chemicals are not used, stored and handled properly, they can cause injury, illness, disease, fire, explosions, or property damage,” says Jan Chappel, Senior Technical Specialist at CCOHS. “This guide was written to assist workplaces in developing a chemical safety program to reduce health and safety risks, lower environmental impact, and reduce operation costs.”
The manual includes 5 main parts:
- The importance of a chemical safety program, and the fundamentals of doing inventory, and purchasing.
- Hazard identification, including chemical classifications systems so the workplaces know more about the types of hazards that are present.
- Importance of proper storage, handling, and control.
- An explanation of how occupational exposure limits work, and how testing is done.
- Related situations such as emergency preparedness, first aid, waste and training.
CCOHS publications are unique in that they are developed by experts in the field, and reviewed by representatives from labour; employers and government to ensure the content and approach are unbiased and credible.
More information about the Implementing a Chemical Safety Program manual is available on the CCOHS website.