Controlling the risks of working with chemical substances is widely recognized as one of the major elements in ensuring a healthy workplace. Not surprisingly, control strategies for chemicals used in the workplace feature prominently in both regulatory and voluntary approaches to improving the work environment.
But their impact on the vast majority of workplaces in which chemicals are used remains problematic. This is especially so in small enterprises across the whole range of economic sectors and work activity, in which there is demonstrably poor understanding among owner managers concerning their responsibilities for chemical risk management.
Why this has been so, how it is being addressed, and with what results are the subjects of a new book from David Walters - Professor of Work Environment, Director of the Cardiff Work Environment Research Centre, Cardiff University, and editor of Policy and Practice in Health and Safety.