Hazard

A hazard is generally anything that

can hurt you or make you ill.
 Hazardous chemical
A material that has physical or chemical characteristic of
potential for causing harm

human injury,
damage to property,
damage to environment
or some combination of these is known as hazardous
chemical.
 Chemical Hazard
The undesired effects which are caused with the
absorption of hazardous chemicals by the
human body- are called chemical hazards.
The hazardous chemicals alone in
concentration, or when mixed with other
chemical substance, can cause injury, disease or
death.
TYPES OF CHEMICAL HAZARD

HEALTH HAZARD

PHYSICAL HAZARD
 PHYSICAL HAZARD
• Flammable gases • contact with water,
• Flammable aerosols emit flammable
• Oxidizing gases gases
• Gases under • Oxidizing liquids
pressure • Oxidizing solids
• Flammable liquids • Organic peroxides
• Flammable solids • Corrosive to metals
• Self-reactive • Combustible dusts
substances and • Pyrophoric gases
mixtures
• Pyrophoric liquids
 HEALTH HAZARD
• Acute toxicity • Specific target organ
• Skin toxicity – single
corrosion/irritation exposure
• Serious eye • Specific target organ
damage/eye irritation toxicity – repeated
• Respiratory or skin exposure
sensitization • Aspiration hazard
• Germ cell • Bio hazardous
mutagenicity infectious materials
• Carcinogenicity
• Reproductive toxicity
 Types Of Chemical Hazard
Naturally Occurring Chemicals
Ex. Mycrotoxin, Pyrrolizidine Alkaloides
Intentionally Added Chemicals
Ex. Preservatives: Nitrite and Sulfiting agents.
Unintentionally Or Incidentally Added Chemicals
Ex. Pesticides, Lead, Arsenic, Mercury.
 WHMIS
Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System
Goals-
 Prevent Health Hazards
 Reduce Accidents
The effect a certain chemical depends
on several factors
• The routes of entry
- The physical properties of the substances
- Work practices
- The nature of the exposure
- Combined exposures
- The susceptibility of workers
- Toxicity
 Effect Of Chemicals
- Causing irritation
- Allergies
- Lack of oxygen
- Systemic poisoning
- Cancer
- Damage to the unborn fetus
- Effects on the future generations
- Pneumoconiosis (Dusty lung)
Controlling Chemical Hazards in the Workplace
• Reduce or eliminate the use of hazardous
chemicals whenever possible.

• Maintain adequate ventilation systems to reduce

concentrations of airborne chemicals.

• Practicing good personal hygiene (e.g. washing

hands) and maintaining regular workplace
cleaning routines.

• Learn how to avoid carrying hazardous

substances home.
• Introduce administrative controls to minimize exposure
to chemicals (e.g. rotate workers through different jobs
or locations.

• Perform maintenance work in off-hours so that

accidental release of toxic substances will affect fewer
workers).

• Use personal protective equipment and devices.

• Maintain equipment in good order to prevent leaks

and breakdowns that may release toxic
substances.
 General Tips for Chemical Safety
now how to protect yourself from the health hazards of th
hemicals you use.

ead the warning labels on any chemical before you use it.

emember that an unlabeled chemical is a dangerous one.

ever sniff or smell an unlabeled chemical.

lways follow the directions and precautions listed on th

bel.
lways dispose of a chemical properly.
TOXICOLOGY
“All substance are poisons”; there is
none, which is not a poison. The dose
differentiates a poison and a remedy.
Sources of Toxin:
• Environment
• Food/Feed/Water
• Drugs
 Environment
 Air Pollution
 Carbone monoxide
 Nitrogen oxides
 Smoke

 Poor Ventilation
 Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulfide

 Volatile Compounds
 Chlorine, Hydrocarbon fuels
 Toxicity
Toxicity is the degree to which a substance can damage
an organism.
Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such
as an animal, bacterium, or plant
as well as the effect on a substructure of the organism,
such as a cell (cytotoxicity)
or an organ such as the liver (hepatotoxicity).
Toxicity is the capacity of a chemical compound to
produce injury.
Some possible outcomes of Toxicant:

- Death after a short period of time- Acute toxicity

- Cancer / mutation in DNA
- Skin / eye irritation
- Fertility problems
- Carcinogenicity / mutagenicity
- Reproduction effects
- Sudden heart failure and death
Types of Toxicity
Acute toxicity

Sub-acute toxicity

Sub-chronic toxicity

Chronic toxicity
 Conditions of strong poisoning

1. High temperature
2. Deep or rapid breathing
3. Long working hours
4. Combination of two or more poisonous
substance
Median Lethal Dose (LD50)
-1
LD50 may be defined as the statistically derived single dose of a chemical (mgkg ) that can be
expected to cause death to 50% of a given population of organisms under a defined set of
experimental conditions. LD50 is used to classify and compare toxicity among chemicals. The
toxicant can be graded according to their LD50 values are as follows:
Degree of harmfulness LD50 (mg/kg ) Degree of harmfulness LD50 (mg/kg )
<1 Slightly toxic 501 – 5000
Extremely toxic
Highly toxic 1 – 50 Practically non-toxic 5001 – 15000
Moderately toxic 51 – 500 Relatively harmless > 15000
 Median Lethal Concentration
(LC50)
LC50: Concentration of a toxicant
(mg/m3) in air to kill 50% of the
animals exposed for the specific
length of time.
Maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of toxic chemicals
It is the maximum concentration of toxic chemicals that healthy
male adults can breath for 8 hours a day over a period of years
without any harmful effects on his health

The lower the MAC value, the more poisonous is the

substance.
Odour perception limit (Threshold of smell)
The concentration of the substance in the air at which the smell of the substance becomes
noticeable is called odour perception limit. It is not directly related to MAC value. Some poisons
such as C0 has no smell at all. MAC value of toxic substances may be higher or lower than the
odour perception limit of those substances. It is obvious that the smell is not only the condition
of a toxic hazard.

MAC/odour perception limit of some chemicals:

Chemical MAC value (ppm) Odour perception limit (ppm)

Ammonia 25 5
Benzene 10 100
Carbon tetrachloride 10 70
Toluene 100 50
 Human Health and Heavy Metal Exposure

Metals, a major category of globally-distributed pollutants, are

natural elements that have been extracted from the earth and
harnessed for human industry and products for millennia.

Metals are notable for their wide environmental dispersion

from such activity; their tendency to accumulate in select
tissues of the human body;
and their overall potential to be toxic even at relatively minor
levels of exposure.
Adverse health effects of metals are illustrated in following table:
Name of Metal Adverse Health Effects
Arsenic, As Skin pigmentation, Hyper keratosis,
Nasal congestion, Abdominal pain,
Cancer- Skin, Lungs, Lump glands
Lead, Pb Hypertension, Anemia, Hemoglobin
Synthesis, Convulsion, Coma, Renal
failure, Death.
Cadmium, Cd Kidney damage, Painful bone, Joint
disease (Rice contaminated),Cancer-
Liver, Prostate
Chromium Dermatitis, Nasal cavity, Ulcers on
the hands and arms, Inflammation of
larynx, Liver and Bronchitis,
Lung cancer.
Mercury Kidney damage, memory loss, Manufacture of fluorescent lamps,
insomnia, timidity and delirium.
Metal Exposure
Drinking water, inorganic arsenic
compounds formerly used in pesticide
sprays, Wood preservatives, arsenic
containing fossil fuels, leaching of mine
tailing, smelter runoff, paints and
Microelectronics industry.
Combustion leaded gasoline,
Drinking water (lead pipe, lead solder.)
Solder used in food can, paint, ceramic
ware etc. Pigments, glaze solder,
automobile batteries, cable sheathing,
weights.
Contaminated in river by tannery
wastage. Smelting plants, Pigments,
metal plating, Cigarette, and some
plastic and batteries.
Contaminated in river by tannery
wastage, Dyeing, Paints industry.
Dental amalgams, Building industries,
Chemical and metal processing