Chemical Risk Assessment

When working with hazardous substances and materials, a written assessment of the risk must be included in the workplace assessment (APV = overall assessment of work at the Institute) - Working Environment Authority Executive no. 381 2023. At DTU, we prepare a chemical risk assessment. The purpose is to ensure that the employees / students / guests are aware of the dangers associated with the use of the substance or material, and especially to know the measures against these dangers. Thus, the employer / supervisor / course manager's responsibility is to ensure that a chemical risk assessment is present, and that the employee / student or guest is instructed before work is initiated.

In order to prepare a chemical risk assessment, it is necessary to obtain information on the substances included in the study / work / work process. All substances and materials used at DTU are registered in Kemibrug.dk. Based on the supplier's safety data sheets, Kemibrug.dk prepare chemical safety instructions and literature studies on your chemicals, in order for the instructions to comply with national legislation. In Kemibrug.dk you will find the information you need to prepare the chemical risk assessment.

What should be included in the chemical risk assessment?

In the fact box to the right is a template that can be used to prepare the chemical risk assessment. The form must be regarded as an offer and can be used for both research and teaching activities. The contents of the form are closely aligned with the requirements of the Executive Order on the instruction to be given before the work is carried out. If you leave out something in the form, you must make sure that this is irrelevant information - or consider where the information otherwise appears.

When should a chemical risk assessment be prepared at DTU?

A chemical risk assessment should be prepared when substances and materials or combinations thereof, during use, or handling, or process may pose a particular risk because of their physico-chemical, chemical, or toxicological properties.

E.g.:

• Working under high pressure (P x V>2 Liter bar) e.g. 1 Liter with 1 bar overpressure or 100 ml with 10 bar overpressure 
• Working at temperatures above boiling point
• Working with incompatible or reactive substances or mixtures 
• Working with mixtures that can develop hazardous bi-products 
• Working with highly toxic gases / vapors / aerosols
• Working with carcinogens, mutagens, or nanoparticles
• When handling equipment / processes that during use, handling, or process, may pose a particular risk.
• Inexperienced employees or students

When could a chemical risk assessment be omitted at DTU?

• When working with non-hazardous substances or processes (i.e. ”Not labelled” and “non-reactive” substances) 
• When Kemibrug has included the necessary and required information for the individual substances and individual processes 
• When a chemical risk assessment has been prepared for similar equipment / processes with similar substances / mixtures with similar risks 
• When working in such small quantities that risks are considered "non-existent".

However, independently of the above, a substitution statement should be available for carcinogens, mutagens, or nanoparticles.

Where to register the chemical risk assessment?

Registration and documentation of common chemical risk assessments, is required, but they should not be approved. It is therefore recommended that they are held in Kemibrug, or on the Institute's own drive, or in a log file / note in the Institute's workplace assessment (APV), or at a point in the minutes from a meeting within the working environment organization.

Exception:

• If the template is used as an ATEX-APV, the risk assessment must be approved by AMU - see here      
• If the template is used as a written substitution statement for carcinogens, mutagens or nanoparticles, AMU must be included in the assessment of whether substitution can be made – see here

The Danish Working Environment Authority has prepared some tools for individual work processes, which deal with the most common issues. The tools give you a good basis for your further work. Note that there may be specific issues in your workplace, that the tool does not cover, and that you must enter in the risk assessment yourself. So far, the tool supports 2 work processes:

- Use of cleaning agents (in danish only):  Brug af rengøringsmidler - Arbejdstilsynet (at.dk)

- Welding and thermal cutting in metal (in danish only): Svejsning og termisk skæring i metal - Arbejdstilsynet (at.dk)

The results from this tool can be inserted in the "Scheme for chemical risk assessment" in the fact box to the right.