This document discusses dangerous substances and risk assessment. It defines dangerous substances as liquids, gases or solids that pose risks to worker health or safety. The document outlines a 5-step process for risk assessment of dangerous substances: 1) identify hazards and those at risk, 2) evaluate and prioritize risks, 3) decide on preventive actions like elimination or substitution, 4) take action, and 5) monitor and review the assessment. The goal of risk assessment is to protect workers from harm by implementing controls for dangerous substances in the workplace.

1. DANGEROUS SUBSTANCESDANGEROUS SUBSTANCES
ANDAND
RISKASSESSMENTRISKASSESSMENT
Ahsan Sattar Sheikh, PhD
Assistant Professor (Micro / Molecular Biology)

2. What are dangerous substances?
Dangerous substances (DS):
 Are any liquids, gases or solids that pose a risk to
workers’ health or safety
 Can be found in nearly all workplaces, including in
SMEs (farms, hairdresser’s shops, motor-cycle
repair shops, hospitals, schools…)
 Include chemical as well as biological agents
(bacteria, viruses, yeast and mould, parasites...)
 Include substances produced as a by-product of
work, as well as raw materials (welding fumes,
diesel exhaust, wood dust, flour used in
bakeries…).

3. Dangerous substances and harm
If the risks of using DS are not properly
managed,
workers’ health can be harmed in a variety of
ways:
 Through a single short exposure
 Through multiple exposures
 Through long-term accumulation of
substances in the body.

4. Health effects
DS can have many different health effects including:
 Acute effects: poisoning, suffocation, explosion and
fire
 Long-term effects, for example:
 Respiratory diseases (reactions in the airways and lungs)
such as asthma, rhinitis, asbestosis and silicosis
 Occupational cancers (leukaemia, lung cancer,
mesothelioma, cancer of the nasal cavity)
 Health effects that can be both acute and long-term:
 Skin diseases, reproductive problems and birth defects,
allergies
 Some substances can accumulate in the body
 Some substances can have a cumulative effect
 Some substances can penetrate through the skin

5. Dangerous Substances - the law
 Legislation in this field includes regulations on the
protection of workers from the risks related to:
 Chemical agents
 Biological agents
 Carcinogens and mutagens (including asbestos and wood
dust)
 Regulations on classification and labelling are equally
important, but do not apply to all dangerous
substances (e.g. hairdressing chemicals,
pharmaceuticals)
 Restrictions on use and marketing are imposed on
some substances and work procedures.
 You should seek clarification of the specific national
legislation that may apply to you, relating to the use of
DS in the workplace.

6. Otherrelevant legislation
 REACH
European Community Regulation EC 1907/2006
creates a new, single system for the Registration,
Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals:
 Aims to do more to protect the environment and health of
users
 Makes industry more responsible for managing the risks
from chemicals and providing safety information on
substances to all who produce or use a substance.
 More on REACH: http://echa.europa.eu
 GHS – the United Nations Globally Harmonised
System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals
-will also have an impact on workers’ health
 More on GHS:

7. In a nutshell…
 By law, employers in the EU must protect their
workers from being harmed by DS in the
workplace.
 In order to protect workers from DS,
employers are required by law to carry out a
Risk Assessment (RA). Workers should be
involved in this task.

8. What is RiskAssessment?
 Risk Assessment (RA) is the process of
evaluating the risks to workers’ safety and
health from workplace hazards. It is a
systematic examination of all aspects of work
that considers:
 What could cause injury or harm
 Whether hazards could be eliminated and, if not,
 What preventive or protective measures should be in place
to control the risks.
 RA is the basis for successful safety and
health management, the key to reducing
occupational accidents and illnesses

9. Risk Assessment for DS
 RA for DS involves the same basic principles and
processes as for other occupational risks
 Whoever carries out the RA it is essential that
employees are consulted and involved in the
process. They:
 Know their workplace
 Are the ones who will have to implement any changes in working
conditions/ practices.
 Different methods are available. But for most
businesses, a straightforward five-step approach
to RA works well.

10. Step 1: Identify hazards and those at risk(1)
 Look for substances that have the potential to
cause harm, and identify any workers who may be
exposed to the substances
 Particular attention should be paid to groups of
workers who may be at increased risk e.g:
 Young workers
 Pregnant women and nursing mothers
 Migrant workers
 Untrained or inexperienced staff
 Cleaners, contractors and members of the public.
Reminder: a hazard can be anything — whether work materials,
equipment, work methods or practices — that has the potential to
cause harm.

11. Step 1: Identify hazards and those at risk(2)
To help identify hazards:
 Make an inventory of substances used and generated
in the workplace
 Collect information about these substances e.g. the
harm they can do and how this can happen
 Standardised safety labels, risk symbols, and safety data
sheets (SDS), which must be provided by the supplier of a
chemical, are important source of information
 Check the Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) for
the substances
 OELs help to control exposure to DS in the workplace, by
setting the maximum amount of (air) concentration of a
substance
 Assess whether you are using carcinogens or
mutagens, for which more stringent rules apply

12. Step 2: Evaluate and prioritise risks
 Assess workers’ exposure to DS that have been
identified, looking at the type, intensity, length,
frequency of exposure to workers
 Consider which work procedures are being used
 Consider combined exposures to substances
 Consider combined effects with other risks, for
example:
 Fire risks near flammable substances
 Heavy physical work that can increase the uptake of
chemicals,
 Wet work that can increase the effect of chemicals on the
skin
 The list can then be used to draw up a action plan.
Reminder: a risk is the chance, high or low, that somebody may be
harmed by a hazard.

13. Step 3: Decide on preventive action (1)
Follow the hierarchy of measures to prevent or reduce
the exposure of workers to DS :
 Elimination – the best way to reduce the risks
associated with DS
 Remove the need to use the DS by changing the process or product in
which the substance is used
 Substitution – if elimination is not possible
 Substitute or replace the DS with non-hazardous or less hazardous
alternatives

14. Step 3: Decide on preventive action (2)
 Control - if a substance or process cannot be
eliminated or substituted
 Prevent or reduce the exposure through:
• Enclosure of the process that results in DS being emitted
• Control of the emission at the source
• Better management of processes
• Technical solutions to minimise exposure
• Reducing the number of workers exposed to the dangerous
substance, and the duration and intensity of exposure
• Where exposure cannot be prevented by other means, ensure
that individuals have suitable personal protective equipment
and are trained in its use.

15. Substitution – workprocesses
 Start with substances and work processes that:
 Have already caused problems in your enterprise (health
problems, accidents or other incidents)
 Make regular health monitoring (such as medical examination of
workers) necessary
 Are covered by specific national regulations imposing restrictions
of use in the workplace
 Lead to high levels of exposure among workers, or result in
exposure to many workers.
 Work processes to consider include:
 Open processes, e.g. painting large surfaces,
mixing/compounding in open containers/vessels
 Processes that generate dusts, vapours or fumes, or that
disperse liquids in the air, e.g. welding, paint-spraying.

16. Substitution – substances
 Substances to consider include those that:
 Increase the risk of fire and explosion
 Are volatile, e.g. organic solvents, or that are
dispersed in the air (aerosols, dust)
 Cause acute health risks, e.g. poisons, corrosives
and irritants
 Cause chronic health risks, e.g. allergens,
substances that affect reproduction
 Cause occupational diseases
 Can be absorbed through the skin
 Make the use of personal protective equipment
(e.g. inhalation protection)necessary.

17. Carcinogens and mutagens
• Regulations for carcinogens and mutagens impose more
stringent requirements:
►Carcinogenic and mutagenic substances must be replaced
as far as technically possible
►Enclosure of the emitting process is mandatory if it is
technically feasable
►Workers‘ access must be restricted
►More detailed records must be kept on workers‘ exposure,
and the must be kept for longer
►More information must be given to workers on exposure
and health monitoring.
• You should seek clarification of the specific national
legislation that may apply to you, regarding the use of
DS in the workplace

18. Step 4: Take action
 Put in place preventive and protective
measures
 Effective implementation involves the
development of a plan that specifies:
 Who does what
 When a task is to be completed
 The means allocated to implement the measures
 When the assessment will be revised and by whom
 It is essential that any work to eliminate,
substitute or controls risks is prioritised.

19. Step 5: Monitorand review
 The effectiveness of preventive measures
should be monitored
 The assessment should be reviewed
whenever significant changes occur in the
organisation:
 When there are changes in the work procedure
 When new chemicals and work procedures are
introduced
 When accidents or health problems occur
 On a periodic basis, to ensure that the findings of the
RA are still valid.

20. Record the Assessment
• The Risk Assessment must be documented, such a
record can be used to:
►Pass information to the persons concerned
►Assess whether the necessary measures have been
introduced
►Provide evidence for supervisory authorities
►Revise measures if circumstances change.

21. Advice forworkers
 To keep safe in relation to DS, workers should be
kept informed about:
 The findings of the RA
 The hazards they are exposed to
 How they may be affected
 What they have to do to keep themselves and others safe
 What to do in case of an accident or when things go wrong
 How to know when things go wrong
 Who they should report any problems to
 What to do when carrying out maintenance work
 The results of any exposure monitoring or health surveillance.

22. Advice to employers: communication
 Good communication between employer and worker
includes:
 Having a list of hazardous substances that are used or
generated through the work process
 Having Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and similar documents
available for each DS used
 Producing work instructions based on information about
DS
 Making sure that containers for DS are clearly labelled
 Communicating the results of the RA
 Regularly asking workers about potential health and safety
problems
 Providing workers with all relevant information, instruction
and training on the DS present in the workplace.

23. LABORATORY
BIOSECURITY

24.  Example 1: A laboratory researching resistance
factors for Bacillus anthracis
 Example 2: A clinical laboratory conducting diagnostic
tests for diarrheal diseases
 What are the key factors needed to conduct a risk
assessment?
 What factors define likelihood?
 What factors define consequence?
 Agent factors?
 Threat factors?
 Laboratory factors?
Identify Key Factors For Assessing A Biosecurity Risk

25. Risk = F (Likelihood, Consequence)
 Likelihood
 The likelihood of theft from a facility and the likelihood an agent can be
used as a weapon
 Consequences
 Of a bioattack with the agent
 Risks
 Persons in area of attack
 Persons in larger community from secondary exposure
 Animals in area of attack
 Animal in larger community from secondary exposure
Laboratory Biosecurity Risks
for Dangerous Pathogens
25

26. Conclusions
 A systematic, standardized biological risk
assessment process enables:
 The analysis of the risk to identify driving factors and allow better realization
of mitigation measures
 Enables better communication of risk
 Help to define what is acceptable risk
 Biorisk can be strengthened by standard risk
governance approaches
 Risk assessment and risk decision are the critical
foundations for the design of a laboratory
biosafety and biosecurity program

27. The End