In the running of your business, do you use or store hazardous substances in an around your home?

Traditionally Government has been slow to act on the issue of occupational disease. This is primarily because occupational cancers and other disorders are difficult to link directly to unsafe work practices. Asbestosis is a classic case of the slowness of change in this area. A more recent example of occupational disease is the coal tar exposure issue late last year.

The State governments have almost all introduced Hazardous Substances regulations that are intended to reduce the likelihood of exposure to harmful chemicals. Victoria was the latest to do so in December.

These regulations can have a substantial impact on the operations of several types of home-based businesses. The Victorian regulations state that

"Employer's and self-employed person's duty to ensure prohibited hazardous substances are not used."

These substances are listed in Schedule 2 of the National Model Regulations to Control Workplace Hazardous Substances.

An employer must ensure that a current Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is obtained on or before the first time a hazardous substance is used. This may affect those businesses that are based on crafts that require chemical use. For instance acids, some cleansers and bleaches.

Employers must ensure that containers are labelled. Frequently hazardous substances are diluted in order to use safely. These chemicals are often applied through spray bottles or other containers. These containers must now be labelled to show their contents. If the same container is used for different chemicals, the label needs to be changed to reflect the new contents.

There are many other requirements and it is recommended that you contact your local occupational safety department for more information. Ultimately these regulations will cause all employers and employees to be more aware of the chemicals that they use. With the huge range of chemicals on the market, it has been too easy to rely on the verbal information of suppliers or manufacturers or to be blasé about handling potentially dangerous chemicals.

Recently Bob Cameron, the Victorian Workcover Minister said that

"Skin diseases, respiratory problems, burns, poisonings and cancers can all result from exposure to these dangerous products if the right safety precautions are not in place."

He also quoted an American study that showed "that about 4% of all cancer deaths are work related".

Many of us are already extremely cautious with chemicals because we share our workplaces with inquisitive children but often we do not consider our own risks of chemical exposure sufficiently. Do we allow sufficient ventilation? Do we read the labels on the containers from our suppliers? Do our suppliers provide one container with the label and others without? Are the labels legible? Are they in English? Is half the label missing?

For several years now the hairdressing industry has been aware of the high incidence of skin diseases, such as eczema, through their exposure to harsh and dangerous chemicals in their workplaces. A vivid memory for me is the smell of perming solutions in hairdressers when I went with Mum to the salon. The affect of that type of chemical on some hairdressers is all too evident.

Most State Governments have released a range of information brochures and pamphlets in support of their chemical regulations. Some have produced Codes of Practice, which identify, in non-legislative words, safe and sensible work practices that will reduce the risk of exposure to you, your families and employees. It is strongly recommended that you obtain these. Most Government departments are making safety documents available on their Internet Web pages. These are usually the best places to start.

The most important advice that can be given is to seek out information on the chemicals that you use in your business. That the chemical may not be prohibited or listed in the Government publications does not mean that the chemical is safe. There are so many chemicals available that it is impossible to prove that long-term exposure is safe. What is safe now may prove to be dangerous over time.

Read the labels.

• Look for First Aid information.
• Look for any warnings that recommend protective clothing, ventilation or the prohibition of flames and other ignition sources.
• Look for storage information. It may be that these chemicals should not be mixed with other specific chemicals.

The labels or MSDSs should have all this type of information. If they do not, contact your supplier. If there is no label, contact your supplier.

For those who manufacture hazardous chemicals, there are specific obligations on your operations and the information you need to provide to your clients. You should obtain copies of the National Model regulations to determine the category for the chemicals you use in your process. This will largely determine the level of information you must provide your clients.

If these regulations achieve anything, and some regulations achieve nothing, it will be break through our casual attitude to hazardous chemicals, be they weedicides, detergents or hair colourings. It is important to remember that industry and the community was blasé about asbestos for decades. In 20 years time what chemical will we be complaining about?

© Work From Home May - June 2000 (reproduced with permission)

Kevin Jones is a consultant with Workplace Safety Services P/L, and Editor of Safety At Work publications.