Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology is using Editorial Tracking System to maintain quality and transparency to the author in the peer-review process. Review processing will be performed by the editorial board members of the Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology or by Reviewers (outside experts in the field). Two independent reviewer’s approval (Minimum reviewer’s approval) followed by editor approval is obligatory for acceptance of any manuscript excluding an editorial.

A chemical hazard is a type of occupational hazard caused by exposure to chemicals in the workplace. Exposure to chemicals in the workplace can cause acute or long-term detrimental health effects. There are many types of hazardous chemicals, including neurotoxins, immune agents, dermatologic agents, carcinogens, reproductive toxins, systemic toxins, asthmagens, pneumoconiotic agents, and sensitizers. These hazards can cause physical and/or health risks. Depending on chemical, the hazards involved may be varied, thus it is important to know and apply the PPE especially during the lab.

Defining Chemical Hazard

OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) defines a hazardous chemical as ‘any chemical which can cause a physical or a health hazard. And with so many employees regularly exposed to or using hazardous substances at work, knowing how to identify common workplace chemical hazards – and how to avoid them – becomes paramount. Employers with hazardous substances are legally obliged to include warning labels and Safety Data Sheets (SDS) with their products as chemical hazards and toxic substances can present a wide range of short- and long-term health issues, including poisoning, skin rashes, and disorders of the lung, kidney, and liver. There are 750,000 hazardous chemicals used in the workplace around the world.

Effects

The methods in which chemicals enter the body are called “routes of entry”. Understanding these various routes of entry is necessary to prevent exposure to hazardous chemicals. There are three main Routes of Entry Absorption, Inhalation and Ingestion. There are three main sources of information used to convey a chemical’s hazards: Chemical Manufacturer’s Label, Supplemental Hazard Labels and Material Safety Data Sheets.

Unlike many toxic health effects of chemicals, a carcinogenic effect may take many years to develop and there may be no early warning of adverse effects. A diagnosis of cancer may not be made until long after exposure ceases and it may not be simple to link the disease to an exposure at work. And it’s not enough to only consider the chemicals you actually use and store onsite. You must also consider what work practices might produce chronic health hazards too. For examples carcinogens can be generated by plant and machinery emitting exhaust fumes or wood dust.

Chemical hygiene

Through the ages people have been interested in toxic chemicals, primarily as medicines or as poisoning agents, but occasionally as issues of occupation.7 In the early 1500s, Swiss physician Philippus Paracelsus documented that specific chemicals were responsible for toxicity of poisons and that the human body’s reaction to those chemicals was dose dependent, and encouraged the use of experimental animals to study the toxic effects of chemicals. However, it was the 19th century before the first structured research using experimental animals to explore the relationship between chemical exposure and toxic effect was undertaken. In Germany in 1883, Max Gruber published the results of experiments on hens and rabbits exposed to carbon monoxide; this work constituted the earliest documented effort directed at setting an occupational exposure limit (OEL).

Regards

Mary Wilson

Editorial office

Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology

E-mail: pharmatoxicol@eclinicalsci.com