A structured strategy for assessing chemical risks, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises.

BACKGROUND: A previous study carried out in 20 Belgian companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), showed that prevention advisors did not use any structured approaches to assess chemical risk. They used their personal judgement and the information contained in manufacturers' Safety Data Sheets to assess the risk. OBJECTIVE AND
METHOD: The purpose of the Regetox network is to provide companies with a global approach for assessing chemical health risks. The structured approach proposed consists of two successive steps of increasing complexity. For the first step, we chose a method developed by the INRS (France), the 'ranking of potential risk', which allows the safety officer or staff member to identify hazards and to set priorities among all the supplied products used in the workplace. For the second step, we applied the COSHH method and EASE model established by the UK Health & Safety Executive for assessing 'chemical risk by reference to occupational exposure limits'. The INRS and COSHH Essentials methods were chosen because they define hazards using R-phrases of the European classification system and assess the exposure by using simple information that is easy to collect in the workplace and toxicological databases. A feasibility study conducted in two enterprises shows the usefulness of this approach. In addition to the intrinsic limitations of the methods, the approach showed some limitations related to the inaccuracy of the manufactured safety data sheets and to the collection of the basic information needed for ranking potential risks.
CONCLUSION: The use of the Regetox approach needs training of prevention advisors and a strategy involving employers, staff members and workers in collecting basic information and managing chemical risks. Under these conditions, Regetox seems to be a useful tool for chemical risk assessment in SMEs.