In 2019, 2 million lives were lost around the world due to chemical exposures. If you’re in an industry where chemicals are commonplace, it’s crucial that you take proactive measures to protect your workers so that they don’t become another statistic.
The link between chemicals and serious injuries and fatalities
Serious injuries and fatalities are constantly on the mind of every health and safety manager. When working in fields where chemicals are present (manufacturing, construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, engineering, automotive, waste management, etc) there’s a lot to consider when it comes to protecting your people from chemicals.
Chemicals are especially tricky because you must consider both the short-term and long-term impacts of exposure.
Some of the short-term dangers that chemicals may present include:
- Fires and explosions (methanol, dusts, etc)
- Toxic exposure or poisoning (formaldehyde, chlorine gas, cadmium, hazardous medicinal chemicals, etc)
- Chemical burns and other skin injuries (sodium hydroxide, acids)
- Respiratory issues and allergies (dusts, welding fumes, asbestos, etc)
- Equipment failures from chemical exposure (acids, bases, etc)
However, a large portion of chemical injuries and fatalities are not instantaneous. Instead, they can be the result of years of exposure and may take time to manifest themselves. Occupational Lung Diseases, for one, have a long latency so they take time to develop following the hazardous exposure. These diseases are often caused from substances such as:
- Respirable Crystalline Silica (RCS)
- Asbestos
- Different kinds of dusts
- Welding fumes
- Isocyanates
- Sulphur and nitrogen oxides
- Moulds and other biological agents
It’s estimated that 12,000 people die from lung disease linked to past exposures at work each year in Great Britain. According to the HSE, the occupational lung diseases that most contribute to annual deaths are:
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): 35%
- Non-asbestos related lung cancer: 22%
- Asbestos related lung cancer: 20%
- Mesothelioma: 20%
- Other disease: 3%
Workers who are frequently exposed to chemicals, dusts, and other hazardous substances are at a much greater risk of developing serious health issues from their exposure. For example, workers in the construction industry are at a much greater risk of serious injuries and fatalities from their work. One in four UK construction workers believe they’ve been exposed to asbestos and around 5,000 people die each year from asbestos-related diseases. This makes asbestos the leading cause of work-related deaths in Great Britain.
Chemicals: A real and present danger
Over the years there have been a significant number of chemical-related accidents that resulted in serious injuries and deaths. While the financial impacts of Chemical-related injuries and fatalities are vast, it’s important to remember that the true cost of workplace fatalities is far more devastating.
INEOS: In November 2019, an employee of petrochemicals company INEOS was severely burned after his leg fell into an unguarded sump container where a caustic solution was present. The worker was attempting to empty the container but the sump lacked protective grating. The company was fined £400,000 for the incident that would have been ‘easily avoidable’ with the right precautions.It only took three seconds of submergence for his life to be permanently altered.
Electrostatic Magic Limited: A 21 year-old-man lost his life in 2024 after exposure to dichloromethane, hydrofluoric acid and methanol found in alloy wheel stripper. The worker sadly sustained multiple organ failure, chemical pneumonitis and cutaneous burns after spending time in the company’s stripping shed.The company was fined £67,000 for failing to control chemical exposure.
Wood Treatment Ltd.: One of the most shocking chemical explosions of recent times happened in 2015 at Bosley Mill in Congleton. Wood Treatment Ltd. produced wood fibre, wood flour, and wood powder products. Their processes often created dangerous, combustible dust as a byproduct. This dust caused three explosions within the mill and took the lives of four employees while injuring many others. It took firefighters days to suppress the fires and they remained on the scene for over a month. The Mill paid £75,000 in fines for their negligence and failing to uphold their safety obligations.
The health and safety challenge of managing chemical risks
Chemical management in the workplace can be a complicated task without the right solutions. Workplaces may use many different chemicals across multiple sites, making management scattered and complex. Tracking chemicals manually can lead to human error and missing information, not to mention headaches and time wasted. In the worst case scenarios, oversights can cause serious injuries and fatalities among workers and even the general public. Not having a handle on your chemicals is a recipe for disaster.
The solution? Chemical safety software from EcoOnline. EcoOnline’s Chemical Management Software and Sypol- COSHH Risk Assessment protect workers around chemicals with the following features..
1. Easy Access to Safety Data Sheets (SDS): Your SDS will be stored in one centralised and fully customisable location so they’re easy to find whenever needed. Employees can quickly access the right SDS and work safely with clear information that’s always up-to-date. As your inventory changes, it’s easy to keep track of both active and archived products. Safety Protection Sheets provide an easy-to-digest summary and make it simple to share key info with your team. QR codes provide you with instant access to the full SDS.
2. Enhanced Visibility into chemical usage across locations: Gain crystal clear insight into chemical inventory across your entire organisation and embrace a simpler, more reliable way of working. You’ll be able to easily track requests, approvals, and rejections in one place. View the full history of any product and work easily with other teams to ensure every request is reviewed by the right people. Risks will be reduced and you’ll be empowered to make safer choices.
3. Straightforward implementation of safer substitutes:Choosing safer chemicals is much easier with the help of EcoOnline’s chemical substitution software. It gives you instant access to a clear comparison grid, helping you quickly find and evaluate safer chemical alternatives. This not only makes decision-making simpler, but also supports more sustainable choices. The software tracks everything you do, so all changes are saved for later review. Chemical substitution has never been smarter, smoother, safer, or more sustainable.
4. Frictionless risk assessments: Take the guesswork out of your risk assessments and build clear, up-to-date assessments without the hassle. A smart risk matrix outlines severity and customises your risk scores, segmenting by role, location, or process. Pre-filled GHS classifications save time and reduce human error. You can archive old assessments and publish the latest in seconds. PDF downloads make COSHH compliance easy and shareable. Give your team access to the info they need with a single scan or click!
Protecting your people with better tools
If there are potentially dangerous chemicals in your workplace, you need to be proactive to keep your people safe. Preventing serious injuries and fatalities starts with having the right tools in place. Many other Health and Safety teams, just like yours, are protecting their workers from hazardous chemicals with EcoOnline’s chemical safety solutions. Through easy access to Safety Data Sheets, enhanced visibility into chemical usage across locations, the implementation of safer substitutes, and risk assessments, we are proactively preventing serious injuries every day.
