Department of Biology
Introduction
‘There is no such thing as a harmless substance, but there is such thing as a harmless dose’
- The management of hazardous chemicals in the Department of Biology aims to reflect the use of chemicals for most biological research activities. These typically involve the use of:
- small quantities of chemical substances
- routine, well practiced procedures
often (but not necessarily always) presenting a low risk to health even if control measures broke down.
- The application of the Code of Good Laboratory Working Standards and other recommended controls are generic departmental control measures that should prevent or adequately control exposure to any hazardous chemical. These controls represent the minimum measures that should be applied to all work activities using chemicals to reduce risks to a low and acceptable level. There are no circumstances when significant risks should be tolerated that could cause exposure to harmful levels of a chemical.
- Risk assessment is not just a paper exercise. It’s about taking sensible, practical steps to prevent ill health. You need to know how workers are exposed, and to how much, before you can decide if you need to do anything to reduce their exposure.