“Right to know”

The Hazardous Chemical Substances Regulations, contained in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Act 85 of 1993), established the principle of the “Right to know” requiring employers to carry out a risk assessment to determine the hazards associated with the chemicals and what safe measures need to be taken to protect the health of their exposed employees. Control strategies, air monitoring and medical surveillance are contingent upon this exposure assessment.

Companies need to work within the confines of the law in order to limit exposure to any liability arising from the workers exposure to hazardous chemical substances. The number of occupational diseases caused by chemicals is not well known, partly because the workers compensation system and the factory inspectorate are still concerned with accidents and injuries.

Chemical suppliers have introduced new chemicals onto the market with little concern for the likely health consequences on the people exposed to these materials. Chemicals are marketed under a variety of misleading brand-names and companies deflect the efforts of health and safety professionals to establish their chemical composition by appealing to “commercial confidentiality”. Information when it is supplied is often insufficient, irrelevant or misleading.

New chemicals are being introduced into workplaces, while large numbers of chemicals already in use pose significant long-term threats.

Chemical hazards are insidious, gases without colour or odour, acids can cause blindness and give terrifying burns, flammable gases can leak undetected and explode, chemical powders can be handled for years without any obvious problems and then suddenly the worker is seized by cancer, chronic liver or kidney disease all of which are irreversible and sometimes fatal.

The regulations require suitably qualified occupational health consultants to carry out chemical risk assessment and medical surveillance.

Vivienne Stern is an Occupational Health Consultant/Ergonomist working as a consultant to industry.

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