CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN THE WORKPLACE

This chapter covered only a small proportion of the vast number of chemicals that can be found in the workplace. For more definitive information on a wide variety of toxic substances, the reader is referred to standard references on industrial toxicology. Of these, one of the most useful for a quick summary of toxic effects and management is Chemical Hazards in the Workplace by N. H. Proctor and J. P. Hughes. Definitive reviews of many chemicals are published by the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the National Safety Council among others. Sources are given in Appendix III. 

We have seen that many different factors can contribute to chemical hazard in the workplace. The degree of hazard, however, is fundamentally determined by two factors the basic toxicity of the agent concerned, that is, its intrinsic capacity to damage or affect biological tissue and the severity of the exposure, or what is sometimes called the dose-response relationship. The duration of the exposure, of course, must also be considered. 

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