Do you know what happens when you mix the two household cleaners javex bleach and comet cleanser?
Years ago, as a young housewife, I decided to do a good bathroom cleaning. Like many naive people, I didn’t give a second thought, and commenced to clean with the two chemicals above. When I began to feel light-headed I left the tiny washroom to sit down a few minutes. Realizing I was ok, I returned to the small room and noticed a cloud rising from the flush. That’s when I understood what I shouldn’t have done; mixed two cleaners (chemicals) that didn’t like each other at all. The vapour was why I felt sick. I flushed the flush, opened the window and shut the door for a period of time.
Watch this 4 minute video on SDS sheets
At work, as well as at home, people need to understand the products they work with and know the potential hazards. Each product or chemical has its own unique properties. Those characteristics are what makes a product good for its intended purpose; yet at the same time can make the substance deadly when used improperly like the javex and comet.
In June 2015 the former Material Safety Data Sheets changed to Safety Data Sheets (known as SDS sheets). Suppliers are required by law to send these Safety Data Sheets with each product they ship or sell, so users will know the risks of using the material, and what precautions or protection is required (for example specific gloves to protect against skin burns).
There are 16 different sections to the SDS and 10 WHMIS 2015 symbols to identify all required and precautionary information. These facts are for your safety. Look at them, understand them and know what to do in an emergency. Reading the information when an emergency occurs may be too late depending on the circumstance and the urgency by which action needs to be taken.
Almost every field of work uses some form of chemical. Find the SDS sheets for the products you work with, read and understand the information. Not sure where to find the SDS sheets? Ask the employer or safety department. By law, that information has to be accessible to employees, and proper training must be provided before using new products workers aren’t familiar with. The natural response to clean something from your hands is to use soapy water. Those SDS sheets specify if a product reacts with water, which could cause a potential injury. Know and be sure.
As added enforcement in the workplace, make SDS sheets part of your toolbox talk, or shift safety meetings. Ensure required personal protective equipment (PPE) is always acknowledged on your Field Level Hazard Assessment (FLHA). Each time you update a procedure, consider if the same materials are used on a reoccurring basis and if so, add a caution bar to your procedure – identify the product, the PPE required and what to do in an emergency. Make sure staff members know where the SDS sheets are kept for further reference. Remember to update staff when products change. New suppliers may have products for the same task but with different characteristics. That information needs to be updated to users.
One section on the SDS sheet of high importance is product disposal. How should the excess substance or container be disposed? Can it be tossed in a recycle bin, or must it go through a hazardous waste disposal process? Mixing products in a garbage truck could be an explosion waiting to happen if the wrong containers are crushed together and substances combined.
All things to think about next time you use a product of which you’re not familiar.
Interested in the SDS for your barbecue propane?
