What are chemical health hazards?

What are chemical health hazards?

The term “health hazard” includes chemicals which are carcinogens, toxic or highly toxic agents, reproductive toxins, irritants, corrosives, sensitizers, hepatotoxins, nephrotoxins, neurotoxins, agents which act on the hematopoietic system, and agents which damage the lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes.

What are the two types of health effects of chemical exposure?

Depending on the chemical, these longer-term health effects might include:

• organ damage.
• weakening of the immune system.
• development of allergies or asthma.
• reproductive problems and birth defects.
• effects on the mental, intellectual or physical development of children.
• cancer.

What are the 5 chemical hazards?

Chemical hazards include acids, pesticides, carbon monoxide, flammable liquids, welding fumes, silica dust and fiberglass fibers.

What are two types of chemicals?

Different types of chemical substance

• an element contains just one type of atom.
• a compound contains two or more types of atom joined together.
• a mixture contains two or more different substances that are not joined together.
• the different substances in a mixture can be elements or compounds.

What is the example of chemical hazard?

Some commonly used workplace chemical hazards include: Cleaning products such as toilet cleaners, disinfectants, mildew remover and chlorine bleach. Glues. Heavy metals, including mercury, lead, cadmium, and aluminum. Paint.

What are the two main types of chemical hazards?

In the workplace there are two types of chemical hazards: health hazards and physicochemical hazards.

What are the causes of chemical hazard?

Chemicals can enter the environment from many different sources such as landfills, incinerators, tanks, drums, or factories. Human exposure to hazardous chemicals can occur at the source or the chemical could move to a place where people can come into contact with it. Chemicals can move through air, soil, and water.

How are chemicals harmful to the human body?

Hazardous chemicals can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, swallowed, and ingested. Chemical health hazards can affect a person immediately (nausea, vomiting, acid burns, asphyxiation — also known as acute hazards) or the affects might take time to develop (dermatitis, asthma, liver damage, cancer — these are known as chronic hazards).

How are chemical hazards different from physical hazards?

The health effects of hazardous chemicals are often less clear than the physical hazards. Data on the health effects of chemical exposure, especially from chronic exposure, are often incomplete. When discussing the health effects of chemicals, two terms are often used interchangeably – toxicity and hazard.

How are chemical hazards found in the workplace?

Chemical Health Hazards. A chemical health hazard occurs when workers or other personnel are exposed to a hazardous substance. Hazardous chemicals can be inhaled, absorbed through the skin, swallowed, and ingested.

What kind of diseases are caused by exposure to chemicals?

Some diseases get worse when you come into contact with a harmful substance, and some diseases are caused by exposure to chemicals. A few examples of diseases caused by an exposure include smog and asthma caused by exposure to smog, mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos, and learning disabilities caused by exposure to lead.