It is clear that every site will have, at some point, hazardous materials that could put employees and visitors at risk of injury.  You have certain legal obligations requiring you to manage these risks including elimination and substitution of the material, that way you remove the risk completely.

Hazardous substances include:

•  substances used directly in work activities (e.g. adhesives, paints, cleaning agents);
•  substances generated during work activities (e.g. fumes from soldering and welding);
•  naturally occurring substances (e.g. grain dust);
•  biological agents such as bacteria and other micro-organisms.

Effects of hazardous substances

Examples of the effects of hazardous substances include:

•  skin irritation or dermatitis as a result of skin contact;
•  asthma as a result of developing allergy to substances used at work;
• *losing consciousness as a result of being overcome by toxic fumes;
•  cancer, which may appear long after the exposure to the chemical that caused it; infection from bacteria and other micro-organisms (biological agents).