Chemical and Biological Hazards Flashcards

What does COSHH 2002 stand for and what is its main purpose?

Answer: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health — requires employers to assess and control exposure to hazardous substances

COSHH stands for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002. Its main purpose is to require employers to assess the risks from hazardous substances in the workplace and implement appropriate measures to prevent or adequately control employee exposure to those substances.

Under the GHS (Globally Harmonized System), what is the diamond-shaped red-bordered symbol called?

Answer: GHS pictogram (hazard pictogram)

GHS uses standardised hazard pictograms — red diamond-shaped (rotated square) symbols with a white background containing a black symbol. There are nine pictograms covering health hazards, physical hazards, and environmental hazards. These provide immediate visual identification of the hazard type associated with a chemical product.

What are the four main routes of entry for hazardous substances into the body?

Answer: Inhalation, ingestion, skin absorption, and injection (through cuts or puncture wounds)

The four main routes of entry are: inhalation (breathing in dusts, fumes, vapours, gases, mists), ingestion (swallowing via contaminated hands, food, or drink), skin/eye absorption (through intact or damaged skin and mucous membranes), and injection (through cuts, abrasions, or puncture wounds such as needlestick injuries).

What is a Workplace Exposure Limit (WEL) in the context of occupational health?

Answer: The maximum airborne concentration of a hazardous substance to which employees may be exposed over a specified reference period

A WEL is the maximum concentration of an airborne substance, averaged over a reference period, to which employees may be exposed by inhalation. WELs are listed in EH40 and include 8-hour TWA (long-term) and 15-minute STEL (short-term) limits. Employers must ensure exposure does not exceed these limits.

Biological agents are classified into four hazard groups. What characterises a Group 4 biological agent?

Answer: It can cause severe human disease, is a serious hazard to workers, is likely to spread to the community, and there is usually no effective prophylaxis or treatment available

Group 4 biological agents pose the highest risk: they cause severe human disease, present a serious hazard to workers, are likely to spread in the community, and generally have no effective prophylaxis or treatment. Examples include Ebola, Marburg, and smallpox viruses. Work requires maximum containment (BSL-4).

What information must a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) for a hazardous substance contain under GHS?

Answer: 16 standardised sections including identification, hazards, composition, first-aid, firefighting, exposure controls, and toxicological information

Under GHS and REACH, an SDS must contain 16 standardised sections covering: product identification, hazard identification, composition, first-aid measures, firefighting measures, accidental release, handling and storage, exposure controls/PPE, physical/chemical properties, stability/reactivity, toxicological information, ecological information, disposal, transport, regulatory, and other information.