Are your staff working around volatile substances? A thorough chemical safety training course will ensure that they and their family remain healthy. Whether you run a rural or urban business, you need a chemical safety certification to operate according to EPA norms. If you wish to remove that task from your checklist, you've come to the right place.

Throughout this piece, you'll learn about the various direct and indirect safety hazards that make workers vulnerable daily.

Chemical Hazards in Various Industries

Contrary to popular belief, chemical hazards are prevalent in most large-scale industries, from manufacturing to agriculture. Sometimes, the staff becomes exposed to toxic compounds without knowing how dangerous they can be. DuPont's backlash and lawsuits after catastrophic safety violations in the USA are an excellent example.

Regarding chemical hazards, the following industries have the highest exposure for workers:

Agriculture

To improve crop yield and shorten harvest times, nitrogen-based fertilisers and pesticides are a must. Yet, if not handled carefully, these compounds can cause severe lung and eye diseases in the machinery personnel. According to recent statistics, 21% of all worker deaths in Australia were from those who worked in agriculture.

The hazards don't just stop at the farm. Sorting facilities often pose a threat to untrained workers who get exposed to compounds such as ammonia. In the case of sugar processing, the levels of nitrates, sulphates, and carbon compounds emitted prove toxic for the personnel involved and the environment alike.

Hospitals and Specialised Medical Facilities

Potent drugs, radiation, and acids have become routine in the medical field. Like those dedicated to chemotherapy and bone repair, some specialised centres often contain potent chemicals that can prove harmful to human cells.

Further, certain medicines can cause permanent damage to the eyes and skin if not handled with care. Several cases of fire hazards have also occurred due to improper handling of flammable materials in a medical facility.

Mining and Oil Refinement

Probably the most hostile working condition in the world, mining has the highest rate of per capita injuries than any other industry. Even if you make working with drills and explosives as safe as possible, the unpredictable release of chemicals proves quite a challenge to overcome. These vary with the type of mineral in question. Bauxite mines can have lethal quantities of sulphur, whereas extraction of iron ores can release carbon oxides that can prove fatal without the workers even sensing it.

The risks are high for oil extraction and processing as well. Crude oil undergoes fractional distillation that extracts the valuable compounds from within it. But, the process also releases flammable gases like butane and propane that can easily catch fire if not disposed of correctly.

Additionally, dealing with other resources from the process, such as paraffin wax and asphalt, can cause long-term health issues without appropriate measures.

Waste Processing and Disposal

Both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste produce countless chemicals that pose a hazard to employees in waste management. When biological matter decomposes, it releases toxic gases that can kill an adult within minutes, especially in a confined area like a sewer.

The increased production of e-waste means more toxic compounds that release volatile elements like mercury and palladium when dissolved in water. Rusted circuit boards can cause severe skin and blood infections among the waste disposal teams, often with a critically short treatment window.

Maintenance of Public Places

Public recreational places such as swimming pools, national parks, and zoos require specific chemicals as part of their maintenance cycles.

Swimming pool water must have ample chlorine and alkalinity adjusters, while national parks need fertilisers and herbicides to keep the vegetation healthy.

In doing so, the maintenance staff can get exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. For example, DEET (N, N-Diethyl-m-toluamide) is a common insecticide that can cause problems for the nervous system. It is also known to have detrimental effects on children and pregnant women.

Need for an Effective Chemical Safety Training Course

Now that you're aware of the widespread use of harmful chemicals, you can understand the value of training your staff, especially the organisation's youth. Inexperienced employees are often casual with their approach to chemical safety measures. Thus, you must leave a margin of error that maintains an acceptable standard with a few faults.

As the industrial world develops rapidly, there are upgrades with pieces of equipment and methodologies around volatile compounds. While some personnel in your organisation may be well aware, updating the training procedures and re-educating the staff is crucial for ensuring their safety. Even organic products, like organochlorines, can develop health complications over time.

A practical chemical safety training course is a must-have from a legal standpoint. Specific licences and federal applications require safety training before approving your firm's application. It might not directly involve representatives from your company visiting an office. Many government agencies could often conduct independent surveys from multiple employees.

How to Make An Effective Chemical Safety Training Campaign

Disasters don't wait till the implementation of proper methods, and neither should you. To ensure the adequate safety of your workers, you can't simply create the perfect course and expect the entire staff to follow through. It would help to have an effective safety campaign that gets the information to all the relevant personnel in as little time as possible.

Here are some practical ways that experts from most industries approve.

Updating the Induction Program

As with most safety training courses, it starts from the bottom. Any fresh recruits in your company should complete a valid chemical certification course about the risks they are willing to undertake. It reduces the chance of any mishap and builds trust within them regarding your firm's conduct.

Routine Safety Inspections

Of course, you can't just expect each individual to follow all safety procedures perfectly. There can still be some vulnerabilities that you can only detect with routine inspection checks. Your chemical safety campaign should include safety inspection modules that cater to your machinery. If there is any direct contact with hazardous materials, your safety course should include instruction regarding appropriate safety equipment and safety signs should be installed within a visible range.

Creating Co-Worker Training Incentives

Incentivising volunteers is a proven method to maximise the reach of your chemical safety training course. If you promise your employees a couple of perks, they can take time from their schedule to impart the necessary safety training to others. It might take some time, but you can save on time and resources that would otherwise halt the entire facility.

What Change can Countryco Bring About?

The scope of training and time required for any chemical certification course is substantial. Therefore, the best approach is to outsource the course to a professional firm that has seen the industries evolve for decades. With Countryco, you get chemical safety courses crafted and delivered by experts in various fields. We can develop a safety course after thoroughly analysing your organisation's workings regardless of which industry you're part of.

As a licenced company based in Queensland, we understand what it takes to make each training campaign worthwhile. We can work within a reasonable timeframe to train hundreds of employees at once, giving them accurate information regarding the safety risks they face daily. In addition, you can consult with us regarding the use of chemicals and the respective safety measures, should you desire.

Final Thoughts

A safe employee is a productive employee. They can help your company reach the desired goals if they know that you care for their well-being. An exemplary chemical safety training course can also help your firm shine in the eyes of regulatory agencies, investors, and the general public. It is never the wrong time to re-assess the safety measures in your business and see if you might be lacking somewhere to get your chemical certification card.

Book Your Training Course With Countryco. Ag Services Today!