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Health effects from hazardous substances in workplaces
It is important when using hazardous materials in the workplace they are properly controlled if they are:
- toxic
- harmful
- corrosive
- irritant
- sensitising
- carcinogenic (causing cancer)
- mutagenic (causing genetic damage)
- teratogenic (causing abnormalities of the foetus).
Some of the health effects of exposure to hazardous materials include:
- skin irritation
- occupational asthma
- systemic chemical poisoning
- chemical burns from corrosives
- cancer.
Factors that determine whether illness or disease occurs include:
- amount and route of exposure
- simultaneous exposure to other hazardous substances
- sensitivity to the substance’s effects.
Some of the ways hazardous materials can enter the body include:
- breathing in (inhalation)
- skin contact (where skin is the target organ)
- absorbed through the skin and mucous membranes of the eye
- accidentally swallowed by eating or smoking with contaminated hands
- accidental injection through the skin.
These health effects can be acute, resulting from short-term (usually high) exposure, or chronic, resulting from long term (often low level) exposure over a period of time. Chronic effects may not occur for many years and the cause is often hard to identify.
Last updated 21 August 2008
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