Designing safe working practices for hazardous substances.
Hazardous substances are substances or mixtures that are potentially hazardous or harmful to humans or the environment. The aim of the tasks and measures realised by BAuA is to ensure the safe handling of chemicals and materials.
Hazardous substances have specific physical, chemical or toxicological characteristics. For example, they may be highly flammable, poisonous, corrosive or carcinogenic.
To ensure the safe handling of hazardous substances, a series of laws, regulations, tasks and measures operate at the state, national and EU level as part of a complex risk management system.
The Chemicals Act (ChemG) appoints BAuA as the Federal Office for Chemicals (BfC) and, as such, as the statutory body for tasks under the REACH, CLP and Biocidal Products Regulations. In accordance with the key elements of the REACH Regulation, these tasks include the
registration,
evaluation,
authorisation and
restriction
of substances.
As part of the authorisation of biocidal products, the BfC is responsible for ensuring that biocides are only placed on the market if they can be handled safely. Active substances are evaluated and authorised in a two-stage process.
If substances are assigned to specific hazard classes, then specific measures usually apply to the use of these substances. Risk minimisation measures are chosen based on the results of extensive risk assessments and taking account of socio-economic factors, which can be estimated and evaluated using, for example, the "Socio-Economic Analysis (SEA)" instrument.
Easy-to-use workplace control scheme for hazardous substances
Practical guidance on risk assessment and the implementation of suitable protective measures are key prerequisites for protecting workers' health in activities involving hazardous sub-stances. In this context, it is important that hazards presented by hazardous substances can be identified quickly and associated with suitable protective measures. BAuA provides practical guidance in the form of the "Easy-to-use workplace control scheme for hazardous substances" (EMKG). The EMKG includes all potential hazards due to inhalation and skin contact as well as fire and explosion hazards. In a systematic approach companies are allowed to identify hazards associated with the handling of hazardous substances, as well as the correct measures to reduce exposure.
Biomonitoring
Biomonitoring is an important tool in occupational medicine for ensuring the safest possible design of work involving hazardous substances. It identifies individual forms of exposure, contributes to the assessment of working conditions and helps with the evaluation of occupational safety measures with a view to preventing health damage due to chemicals.
To the topic
Find out about scientific and recent developments surrounding the topic of hazardous substances.
Project numberF 2510StatusOngoing Project
Derivation of suitable biomonitoring methods to determine the current work-related lead exposure of employees
Project numberF 2458StatusCompleted Project
Investigations into the feasibility of a cohort study among workers exposed to diisocyanates to accompany new regulations for diisocyanates under chemicals legislation
Project numberF 2486StatusOngoing Project
Determination of the inhalative exposure to hazardous substances and biological agents during the commercial use of gardening devices
Project numberF 2430StatusCompleted Project
Collection of toxicokinetic data for the assessment of different exposure routes using the example of the antibiotic enrofloxacin
Project numberF 2410StatusCompleted Project
Determination of hazardous substances exposure during "Additive Manufacturing" – Application of powder-based systems
Project numberF 2366StatusCompleted Project
Human exposure to biocidal products: Measurement of inhalation and dermal exposure during the application of biocide foams
Project numberF 2365StatusCompleted Project
Development of an enforceable test method for determination of the rigidity of respirable biopersistent fibres
Project numberF 2346StatusCompleted Project
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - Implementation of the concept of exposure-risk-relationships in enterprises handling strong polluted materials
Project numberF 2314StatusCompleted Project
Easy-to-use workplace control scheme for hazardous substances 3.0 - Technical and didactical revision of the overall concept
Project numberF 2265StatusCompleted Project
Field Study on a Future Module "Fire and Explosion Risks" for an Easy-to-use Control Scheme for Hazardous Substances at the Workplace (EMKG)
Project numberF 2307StatusCompleted Project
Development and validation of control guidance sheets for protection against chemicals in maintenance and parking of cars
Performance of test methods for checking the observance of acceptable and tolerable concentrations of carcinogenic substances, described with reference to the example of metals
Reply to: Pesch B, Weiss T, Pallapies D, Schlüter G, Brüning T. Letter to the editor. Re: Seidler A, Jähnichen S, Hegewald J, Fishta A, Krug O, Rüter L, Strik C, Hallier E, Straube S. Systematic review and quantification of respiratory cancer risk for occupational exposure to hexavalent chromium
First Evaluation on the Joint Research Strategy of German Governmental Research Institutions "Nanotechnology - Risks related to Nanomaterials for Humans and the Environment" (2007 - 2011)
Cooperation
2013
This document presents a first review of over 80 projects on safety research in the field of nanotechnology that the …
