Chemicals are a ubiquitous and commmon part of work and daily life. Cleaning, manufacture, the fuelling of motors and automobiles as well as such simple tasks as the preparation and preservation of food are all achieved through the use of chemicals which occur naturally or which are brought into existence through industrial processes which themselves may require chemicals as synthetic antecedents. Workers are exposed to chemicals every day of their lives and every hour of their job roles, whether they are a concrete pourer mixing a substrate to control the curing rate of a slab, a plumber using a silicone fixing agent, a carpenter or timberer curing wood, a printer using solvents, or a doctor using disinfectants, chemical exposures are common and unavoidable.
The threshold beyond which a chemical exposure may cause harm is described by the dose-response relationship. The dose of exposure refers to the concentration of a source of harm to which a worker is exposed, through a vector that communicates that source of harm to the worker resulting in physical or proximal exposure, over a duration of time. The combination of intensity, duration, and point of contact gives rise to the dose, which may produce different effects depending on the dose, which may affect different people in different ways. A simple illustration of this relationship is to describe the dose-effect response of the ingestion of ethyl alcohol, which is found in alcoholic beverages and which is the primary chemical antecedent of a good time. Small doses of alcohol may result in tipsiness of different intensity depending on a recipient's body mass, metabolism, and habituation to alcohol, though the profoundness of tipsiness may differ between people. Increasing the dose of alcohol may increase the tipsiness, resulting in the development of sluggishness, clumsiness, profound drunkenness, and death in extreme doses. Just as with alcohol, occupational and environmental chemical exposures may have different intensities of effects in different people, but generally follow predictable relationships of dose and response.
Chemicals may be introduced to the body through physical contact, inhalation, ingestion, through penetration of the skin, or absorption through the gingival tissues of the eyes and nose. As chemicals exist in different states of solid, liquid, and gas, the physical protection of workers from different chemical concentrations will depend on the work being done. For example, turpentine will fume at room temperature, but it is also a liquid and can come into contact with skin, or be ingested. Inhalation of turpentine fumes can have short-term effects like eye and lung irritation, can severely inflame the skin, and cause damage to the kidneys if ingested. The human body is a biological machine that is equipped to neutralise or at least mitigate the effect of chemical exposure by the metabolisation of chemicals ingested into the body. Toxicants and hazardous substances can be neutralised by normal physiological processes, such as that which occurs in the conversion of turps to pinenes. Turpentine is just one among thousands of workplace chemicals used often and occasionally during the course of daily work, and the necessity of the relationship of chemicals to workplaces requires respect for the relationships of chemical exposures to health.
Management of chemical exposures is best undertaken in line with recommendations presented in the Hierarchy of Controls, where if a hazard cannot be eliminated entirely, it must be further mitigated by lower-order controls. Elimination of chemical exposure may require the removal of the worker from the point of chemodynamic articulation or the reorganisation of the process entirely to facilitate safety. If this is not practicable, isolation of the worker via fume hoods or the installation and engineering of ventilation may be effective in mitigating if not eliminating exposures. Lastly, administrative and protective controls should be considered based on the nature of the chemical being handled, the exposure, the reactivity of that chemical in combination with others, and the practicability of use.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.