Removing Hazardous Materials from Your Workplace Safety

If your workplace deals with hazardous chemicals (HAZCHEM) of any kind – whether they are explosive, toxic, or corrosive – making sure your workforce is properly equipped and trained to handle them safely should be a top priority.

The Risks of HAZCHEM

Hazardous chemicals are some of the most dangerous materials you can work with. Risks range from health hazards – caused by materials that are carcinogenic, corrosive, or affect the respiratory system – to materials that can cause explosions, fires, or weaken structures in the workplace. If proper dangerous materials handling procedures are not followed, hazardous chemicals can destroy lives and businesses.

HAZCHEM Safety Tips

The first thing to understand is that taking appropriate safety measures here is not optional – it is a requirement of both ethics and law. The safety tips below are presented in no particular order, as they should all be considered essential. By following these, and consulting the relevant safety authorities for your workplace, you can help your team to handle HAZCHEM safely and efficiently.

1. Use Appropriate Materials Handling Equipment

Most hazardous chemicals are transported in heavy drums, which present a number or risks. These include worker contact with spilt chemicals, fires, explosions and injuries from the heavy drums themselves.

These risks used to be heightened by the habit of moving and lifting drums manually. With a great range of drum trolleys, stackers, tippers, lifters, and other materials handling equipment on the market in Australia, you can minimise risks from transporting HAZCHEM hugely.

2. Identify and Classify HAZCHEM

A thorough knowledge of which hazardous chemicals are present in your workplace, how they are used, and what risks they present is essential to worker safety. Make sure your workplace has a detailed HAZCHEM registry – this should include information about all chemicals, the company that makes them, and procedures for handling them.

3. Clearly Label All Dangerous Chemicals

This seems like a no-brainer but it’s very important. Any drum or other container holding HAZCHEM must be clearly labelled as such, otherwise, your employees won't know that they should be handling it with extra care.

4. Store All HAZCHEM Correctly

It’s very important that hazardous chemicals are stored properly. There is a number of Work Health and Safety (WHS) requirements relating to storage, separation, signage, placarding, ventilation, and more – make sure these are followed to the letter. If you need to upgrade your equipment talk to a trustworthy material handling equipment supplier about the best storage solutions for your operation.

5. The Lesser of All HAZCHEMS

Ongoing education about available chemicals and their uses is important. By knowing what’s out there you can often find a less hazardous chemical to do your job, thus limiting the risks before work even starts.

6. Develop HAZCHEM Procedures

Develop detailed written Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) for all tasks that involve hazardous chemicals and make sure these are easily accessible and referred to regularly.

7. Brainstorm with Your Team

Rules and regulations are also easier to follow when you have had a hand in creating them. Discuss these issues with your employees, and listen to their input when creating safety guidelines.

Do Your Research

This guide is a good start, but to make sure your HAZCHEM procedures are up to scratch make sure you read widely and check the official advice for your industry. To learn more about drum handling equipment, explore our range and talk to our team.