“Get help. If you have a large team, involve others in your assessments. It gets them involved and interested in the provision of safe working environments”
Malcolm Gardner, Grounds Manager at BA Clubs
you have reached your final outcome. Basically, you will need to assess the factors and identify whether the activity/chemical:
• is safe to operate/use
• needs better control (such as ventilation) or operator protection (PPE)
• is a significant hazard to health to warrant special containment (restricted access)
To make a subjective decision can be difficult, particularly if you are not used to thinking through the implications of using one chemical over another. But, there are some calculations that you can perform that will help you to understand at what point you should be concerned, and at what point you should be taking action.
Making A Calculated Assessment
To make a calculated assessment we will need to quantify: • The overall exposure potential • Damage potential
With the first three of the factors below used to calculate the overall exposure potential, followed by the fourth that is used to determine the damage potential, we can make a reasonable overall assessment.
1.Quantity being used - handling and using a large quantity of a substance hazardous to health presents a much greater risk than a small quantity under similar conditions of handling and use
2.Physical form of the substance - under the conditions of use, handling a fine dust or a volatile liquid presents more of an inhalation risk than handling a dense
solid or a non volatile liquid
3.Containment of the substance - a low containment process (open) presents a greater risk of exposure than a high (closed) containment process, such as an induction system on a sprayer
4.Damage potential of the substance - how toxic or corrosive it is
For each of the four factors above, a
hazard rating can be applied and multiplied in use to give a quantitative figure which, in turn, gives an indication of the overall risk of damage to health from any substance being assessed. This approach provides an
objective, rather than a subjective, appraisal based on the calculation made.
Calculating the Exposure Potential
1.Quantity being used. Quantities may be of less than a few ml of substance (use of a small quantity of typewriter correction fluid) to any number of litres, particularly when spraying a number of hectares on your grounds with a liquid fertiliser. Using a few ml of a hazardous substance will represent much less of an exposure risk than using one or more litres. The variation of
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