Safety Precautions When Using Chemicals in the Workplace

Chemical ingredients have several uses in many industries, especially the food industry. If your business uses chemicals, you must understand the physical and health risks that chemicals pose for your employees. As a result, you must take proper measures to protect employees who work near or with chemicals. 

Consider the following safety measures.

Know the Regulations

OSHA has created safety standards that employers can use to control the chemicals in the workplace. As an employer, you must make this information available to all your employees. The information must be in the form of a hazard communication plan. 

You should also create a plan to identify and evaluate chemical hazards in the workplace. This requires your organization to establish surveillance and monitoring procedures for airborne concentrations of chemicals. Workers’ exposure must also not exceed specific exposure limits. The exact regulations depend on the type of industry your business is in and the type of chemicals your business uses.

TLC personnel are well-versed on various food safety and other chemical-related regulations and can help you with any compliance-related questions.

Prepare for Emergencies and Accidents

Every employee should know the location of emergency tools, such as fire alarms, pull stations, and fire extinguishers. Telephones should also be in strategic locations within the workplace to enable quick reporting of any chemical accidents.

In addition, employees should have access to first aid kits and know how to use them. Some workplaces even have emergency override buttons that employees can use to override ventilation and get maximum air into a specific place.

Train Employees on Chemical Hazards

Establish a comprehensive training program for your employees about the chemical hazards in the workplace. The training should occur whenever the employee starts work. The training should be in simple language and in a manner that employees can easily comprehend. Some of the safety measures that employees should learn about include the following:

• Who to reach out to about a chemical problem
• The various chemical protections in place
• How to identify hazardous chemicals
• How to access safety data sheets

You can also organize regular seminars where safety experts talk to employees about the latest chemical hazards and safety protocols. It may also help if there are penalties for employees who don’t adhere to the workplace’s safety regulations about chemical handling. Consider using TLC Ingredients personnel as subject matter experts for safety training.

If you’re looking for the best chemicals and ingredients to use in your food or industrial manufacturing company, look no further than TLC Ingredients. We are a Midwest-based distributor of chemicals and ingredients that meet industry accreditations. We have put processes in place to guarantee that our products are safe. Contact us to make your order.