Hazards, risks and precautions

In a nutshell

Hazards can cause harm to people and things. A risk is the chance of harm due to a hazard.

Definitions

Keyword	Definition
Hazard	Something that can cause harm to someone or something. A hazard will potentially cause health risks, whether they are immediate or delayed.
Risk	The chance that someone or something will be harmed when exposed to a hazard.
Precaution	A precaution will reduce the risk of harm from a hazard.

Risk

Risks are dependent on:

How often a person is exposed to the hazard
How someone is exposed to the hazard
How serious the effects are when exposed to the hazard

Hazard labels

To minimise the risks of hazards, labels are used to signify harmful substances. They are placed on the bottle that the substances are stored in.

The purposes of hazards labels are to:

Warn people about that dangers associated with a particular substance
Make people aware of the precautions they should take when handling the substance

hazard	description	hazard label
Harmful/irritant	The irritation to a body surface.
Flammable	The ability for a chemical to ignite and burn.
Respiratory sensitiser	Can be the cause of respiratory diseases.
Toxic	Any substance that causes harm to living organisms.
Corrosive	Visible destruction to living tissue.
Oxidising	Substances that intensify burning.

Precaution

Definition

A precaution will reduce the risk of harm from a hazard.

Examples

Use a less hazardous substance
Wear protective clothing (gloves, eye goggles)
Use a different method
Reduce object obstructions during an experiment (reduces spills and trips)

Example

A student is in the middle of an experiment when they experience difficulty breathing due to the chemicals they are handling. What type of hazard are they experiencing?

Respiratory sensitiser - The student is struggling to breathe so the substance must be a respiratory sensitiser hazard.