Working with hazardous chemicals is an integral part of university research, teaching and operations. It’s a shared responsibility to ensure a safe environment for all staff, students and visitors. To support this shared commitment to safety, we have summarised important procedures and resources to help you stay safe whilst working with hazardous chemicals.
Understanding hazardous chemicals
Hazardous chemicals are substances that can pose a risk to your health (e.g, irritants, carcinogens) or physical safety (e.g, flammable, explosive materials). At Flinders University, we follow strict guidelines to manage these risks. Our primary resource for this is the Hazardous Chemical Manual, which provides best practices for their use, storage, and disposal.
To comply with WHS legislation, we utilise Chemwatch, an online database where you can:
- access and maintain your area’s chemical register by adding volumes & weights
- obtain Safety Data Sheets (SDS)
- print compliant chemical labels
- Use CREDO, module that allows mini SDS and labels to be created for mixtures or substances
Remember: Your Chemwatch manifest must be kept up to date, as this database is used to monitor chemicals across the University.
Risk management and documentation
Before undertaking any work involving hazardous chemicals, you must complete the required risk process:
- Hazardous Chemical Risk Assessments: Always conduct a thorough risk assessment before you begin working with any hazardous chemicals.
- Safe Work Procedure: Complete a Safe Work Procedure (SWP) for complex chemical-related tasks or experiments.
Prohibited and restricted carcinogens
Work involving Prohibited or Restricted Carcinogens is highly regulated and requires specific authorisation.
- Mandatory: Staff and students must complete a Prohibited or restricted carcinogen worker registration form prior to any work.
- Approval: The form requires detailed information on amounts, location, risk assessment, and SWP which must be signed by your Supervisor and the Dean of College (or delegate) before submission to the WHS Unit for official registration and submission to SafeWork SA.
Where to find more information and essential WHS training
For a deeper dive into our chemical safety procedures, forms, chemical storage guidelines, segregation guidelines and manuals, please visit the Hazardous Chemicals Safety website.
Online training courses are available to ensure up-to-date knowledge in safe handling and emergency response (e.g Liquid nitrogen training, Managing Chemical Spills).
Compliance with work health and safety requirements is a shared responsibility. Please ensure you and your team are compliant by completing the required documentation and training.
Don’t hesitate to contact the WHS Unit for guidance and clarification on the proper handling, use and disposal of hazardous chemicals.