These 5 Chemical Hazards Are Anything But Basic 🧪

Chemical safety: sounds straightforward, right? You’ve got your SDS, PPE, and eyewash stations. But what happens when your team mixes, sprays, or supercharges those chemicals in ways the manufacturer never imagined?  With a CHMM on the mic, this is part coaching, part humor, and 100% actionable.

Key Takeaways – 

1. The SDS might not be helpful based on how youre using the chemical. 

• Reality check: Most Safety Data Sheets are written based on lab conditions and "intended use"—not how your sanitation team might be using them.  
• Pro Tip: Ask yourself, “Was this SDS written by someone who’s ever worn PPE, on a harvest room floor, at 2 AM?” Maybe not.

2. Exposure Limits Are Great—If You Can Measure Them

• Common failure: SDS says “use respirator if above X ppm.” Great. Now… how are you measuring ppm in your facility?
• Real examples:
  • No meter for that specific chemical
  • Using outdated Dräger tubes that are non-specific

3. “More Isn’t Better” 

• Scenario: You double the chemical strength during deep cleaning due to finding some "buggies."  Now your PPE, risk profile, engineering controls—all need to change. Did they?
• Surprise consequences:
• Equipment degradation because the stronger solution wasn’t considered $$$
• PPE may not be adequate for the levels used

4. Training Misses the Human Factor

• You’ve trained on:
  • Where the SDS is
  • How to handle and/or mix
  • Which PPE to wear
• But you forgot to train on:
  • What happens when the goggles fog up
  • That instinctive move to scratch your eye with a gloved hand
  • Spraying above your head and having chemical rain down your back

5. Eyewash Stations: Functional on First Shift, ???? On Off Shifts

• Classic issue: “We check them every Monday at 9 AM.” But chemical use spikes on nights, weekends, and during deep cleans
• Also overlooked:
  • Eyewashes with scalding hot water
  • No eyewash where non-routine chemical usage occurs

Actionable Advice :

• Revisit every chemical on-site: How is it used, applied, stored, and disposed? Does that match the SDS?
• Evaluate your meters: Can you measure the chemical levels you're basing levels of PPE on?
• Update PPE assessments based on how chemicals are used
• Retrain your teams with realistic, scenario-based walk-throughs
• Audit all eyewash stations across all shifts, all departments, and all rarely used rooms 

Final Words from Joe & Jen:

• We’re not saying you have these problems. We’re saying we’ve seen them—a lot.
• These gaps sneak in when paperwork replaces field observations.
• If you need help identifying these gaps, we do onsite audits, coaching, and training at AllenSafety.com and AllenSafetyCoaching.com.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to Chemical Safety Gaps
• 1:02 SDS Limitations and Measurement Challenges
• 3:02 PPE Problems and Non-Standard Chemical Use
• 5:06 Training Gaps and Daily Handling Behaviors
• 7:00 Eyewash Stations and Final Recommendations

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

All right, welcome back. I have no idea what we're covering this week.

Speaker 2: 0:03

Let's do chemical safety gaps.

Speaker 1: 0:05

Okay, chemical safety gaps Five.

Speaker 2: 0:07

What, whatever, we'll just start counting.

Speaker 1: 0:10

Okay, here we go.

Speaker 2: 0:18

Welcome back Today, joe Jen. Chemical safety gaps A week started counting the other day. A lot of chemicals we work with.

Speaker 1: 0:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:27

Yeah, I need a lot more. We really let's just do an evaluation and start talking about it.

Speaker 1: 0:30

I just did a call with somebody today and they're like oh, and we have formaldehyde on site. And I was like oh yeah, no problem.

Speaker 2: 0:35

I've done that too.

Speaker 1: 0:36

I worked with that at the mill too. No, problem.

Speaker 2: 0:38

So Almost everywhere we go has a chemical Large quantity, not just little bags. We deal with lots of questions and problems. We're like you know what, Maybe this is a faster way to help more people.

Speaker 1: 0:50

Also, I guess, spoiler alert, you have a CHMM.

Speaker 2: 0:53

There is that too, and I deal with chemicals every once in a while. All right, so we're going to start off one of the weird things, because these are just random. Order of your five.

Speaker 1: 1:00

No particular order okay. No particular order okay.

Speaker 2: 1:02

You know that the SDS is made for most the way we use it right. It's just use it in normal state.

Speaker 1: 1:08

Okay, so yeah, who is writing the SDSs is really what you want to know. So, when you're getting a chemical from a company, you're thinking in your mind there's this very, very intensified testing being done.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Right. How it affects the human, different ways it can be used chemist is writing this sds not always so usually always yeah. So there's different ways that people do it. We just want you know that sds is a good idea.

Speaker 1: 1:38

Most of the way that people use the products we're around, sds is just it doesn't cover it Right the chemical in a way that maybe the manufacturer didn't take into consideration when writing yes.

Speaker 2: 1:50

We may mix them.

Speaker 1: 1:51

Yep, Mix them, dilute them, atomize them change our PPE.

Speaker 2: 1:55

Yeah Cause, it'll say on there if you here's, here's the other one that goes with it. Second one here. It'll say on the sds you go to this level must wear something respiratory how are we measuring?

Speaker 1: 2:07

oh, that's my number two.

Speaker 2: 2:09

There's a lot of chemicals that there's no meter for the sds yeah so I'm so stupid way that I can measure the particulates in there.

Speaker 1: 2:16

That's correct yeah, I can do things like get an o2 meter. Great, that tells me percentage of displaced oxygen. It doesn't tell me how chemicals doing a million of that chemicals in the room.

Speaker 2: 2:26

It's greater tubes where you'll say you'll get some meters, when you'll get some SDS, and you'll say huh milligram cubed.

Speaker 1: 2:36

What?

Speaker 2: 2:37

is that so? Yeah, so when you so, when you get these different, different things, yeah, you got to figure out is the SDS relevant for what you're doing? Is it relevant the way you're going to use that product? And then how are you going to decide which is another one, my third one's, ppe. How do I decide the PPE? I got to have a way to measure so they all start tying in together, but they're not.

Speaker 1: 2:57

So here's my question, because this is something that we hear always More is better, more is always better. Let's make it stronger.

Speaker 2: 3:05

If I decide to add more today, then that changed all the stuff I did for normal use.

Speaker 1: 3:12

Yeah, we may not be in normal use.

Speaker 2: 3:14

I may not have the right PPE, the meter may not be. Oh, we don't need a meter because we do it at this level, but on Fridays we add more chemical.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Or we're doing some kind of intensified sanitation, hand scrubbing, things like that Absolutely. Yeah, so now I'm using stronger and instead of foaming, I am doing something different with it? Correct, or it's stronger and we haven't taken into consideration for one being in an engineering background. What's that doing in my electrical and in my equipment? That I'm just hosing down everywhere first.

Speaker 2: 3:42

I could also have.

Speaker 1: 3:44

The human being.

Speaker 2: 3:45

Absolutely that could change the respiratory. What if that air change was in a confined space now and uses the same chemical, with the same parts per million, with the same PPE, but you change the surface area and the area around that person breathing because now you're in a confined space.

Speaker 1: 4:01

So I'm thinking in scenarios like in the rendering areas or we've got like different, like kind of little off rooms.

Speaker 2: 4:08

You've got a lot of plants. Also have duct work on the roofs.

Speaker 1: 4:10

Yeah, we've got the duct work. I'm thinking ovens and fryers and all those things that we don't clean maybe every day, but it's the periodic stuff and it's kind of built up some stuff and we've got to use more chemicals. The idea to get it broken up and that really does change your PPE, your exposure levels, your respiratory contact. Dermatitis exposure really does change your ppe, your exposure levels, your respiratory contact dermatitis, exposure, potential things like that, absolutely another one I have.

Speaker 2: 4:36

This is like four, I think training and here's the here's the biggest one about training. It's not to me if we train people on an sds or train people on how to use a chemical, sometimes we don't train them. When you're upside down, you're spraying the chemical, or maybe you're crawling on your back and then you move a couple feet and it drips on you and you move a couple of your drip turn, you got're spraying the chemical or maybe you're crawling on your back and then you move a couple feet and it drips on you and you move a couple feet, it drips on you. You got to keep the chemical off the people. Who cares how much PPE is if it's dripping on you Below, wherever it is?

Speaker 1: 5:01

So that to me goes back to job hazard analysis and PPE assessments and stuff. And you know that, again, that's a routine, non-routine routine, right? Kind of in that gray area and it goes back to spraying above your head whether you're laying down or standing up, whether you've got stuff around your neck to protect you. This move right here, yeah my nose itches.

Speaker 1: 5:30

It's pick up my pick up, pick up my goggles real quick yeah, because they're fogging and yeah that's the, that's the conversations that we're not having in correct in the chemical that's the training thing I'm looking for.

Speaker 2: 5:40

I'm fogged, but now I can't see. It was better to have clear glasses when I'm handling the chemical than to be fogged when I'm handling the chemical.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Well, I mean, you just have to consider someone's normal, daily, how many times they touch their face, their nose itches their eye itches, their glasses are fogged.

Speaker 2: 5:56

You don't realize how many times you do it.

Speaker 1: 5:58

Until you're not supposed to, it's not the.

Speaker 2: 6:00

Everyone has trained on how to use a chemical.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Everyone has trained about chemical stuff and we're usually pretty good about covering. Here's where you find your sds that's correct how you mix it. Pour this into this. Don't do it the other way. We're pretty good about covering a lot of that information about the step-by-step and how it relates to your job. It's the other stuff that we've got to consider of wash your gloves first, before you touch your face.

Speaker 1: 6:21

Take them off or whatever, be careful about the angles that you don't get the stuff running down the back of your neck. And then it's burning every night. Chronic exposure stuff, absolutely.

Speaker 2: 6:30

And here's my fifth one, I guess oh, I don't know Each episode we try to give you something to take back, look at your business and see your real risk. So for today's episode, you need to go evaluate every place. You have an eyewash and shower, and the reason for that is is because we put eyewash and showers in when they build plants for normal day use, like the SDS.

Speaker 1: 6:54

Oh, that's not where I'm headed with this, but on the eyewash and shower.

Speaker 2: 6:58

There's things that come about you're not sure of, yeah, so one of them is is that you may have chemicals that entire area during two hours of the day and there's no eye wash and shower never close.

Speaker 2: 7:08

We're really great at doing eye wash inspections on day shift at nine o'clock every monday at nine, I do it yep day shift, everything's perfect go check your eye wash in the boiler room yeah because sometimes they're hot for the first few seconds and you're like that's weird's weird. Well, it's not weird, but I mean. The point I want you to look at is just go back and look at eye wash and showers. Use that as your baseline and start breaking down all these other variables.

Speaker 1: 7:28

Some of the folks that have maybe got some tenure on sanitation in the utilities and the oil and engineering areas, they may know this stuff. You hire a new individual.

Speaker 1: 7:38

They have no idea that that's how this is plumbed. You've got to just double check that stuff. Maybe make a note If we can make some changes. Obviously that's what we want to do. These are our opinions. This is my opinion. This is his opinion, based on what we've seen. We're not saying every one of these are at your location. We're not saying any of them are. We're saying they could be. We've seen them in the past.

Speaker 1: 7:59

Absolutely Double check when you're doing your rounds and your inspections, your periodic safety evaluations or walkabouts, whatever you want to call them. Just check for some of this stuff. Check on different shifts, go in and just see what's going on. Absolutely, joe and I do sanitation audits and evaluations A lot of chemicals, sanitation safety training and chemical stuff.

Speaker 1: 8:17

So if you want some on-site support in regards to internal sanitation, external sanitation, an evaluation, safety audit, safety training, any of that stuff how to navigate the gray area between sanitation and guarding the safety rules that get a little little gray Sometimes when we're trying to do sanitation give us a call, alan-safetycom. We are more than happy to get you on the books and on the schedule. We're happy to come see you. Otherwise, allensafetycoachingcom is a really great in-between and economical way that you can have email-based coaching with us. It's free, it's included in your membership, as well as access to over 100 different videos. So that's a great in-between in between. And, as always, thanks for watching, thanks for watching and please, if this helps you, please like, subscribe, share, do all the things I know most of you don't want to comment. You don't want to put your name out there because people say weird stuff. I totally get that, but it really truly does help us. If you are willing to share this to your company, use it as a toolbox, talk any of those things.

Speaker 1: 9:24

So if you thought it was helpful, please help others find us, because that's really the only reason why we're doing this to try and help.

Speaker 2: 9:27

Trying to help you, it's not sure, not for making money because we are in the hole, you guys.

Speaker 1: 9:29

Thank you everyone thanks, take care and have a great week. Thank you for listening to Safe, Efficient, Profitable a worker safety podcast. If you're looking for more in-depth discussions or step-by-step solutions on all of the different safety and regulatory topics, please visit us at wwwallensafetycoachingcom for web-based virtual coaching and training, or at wwwallensafetycom to book our team for onsite services, training sessions to order merchandise, to learn more about our team and what services. Thank you so much for your support. Thank you.