18. Describe the hazardous substances in your workplace 

COSHH symbols
You
will use lots of different types of products every day.

Some of these will be hazardous substances that can be
harmful and some can even cause death. In the workplace, you have a duty of
care to make sure substances are used, stored and disposed of safely. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations
2002 (known as COSHH) say that employers must identify which hazardous
substances are present in the workplace.

Our COSHH course will provide you with lots of
information and identify the many hazardous products that you will use in your
role.  People are usually surprised by how many everyday
products are hazardous.  We recommend you use this course to learn more about
COSHH after the Care Certificate.

These
are some examples of the hazardous substances you will find at work:

-Cleaning products and air fresheners
-Glue
-Sprays
-Paint
-Medication in different formats
-Germs
-Fuel
-Flowers and pollen
-Fruit and vegetables
-Contaminated water
-Waste materials
-Uphostery cleaners
-Body waste

Were
you surprised at any of these?
They are everywhere!

Flammable symbol
Hazardous products that are purchased will have a hazard
warning triangle like this one for “flammable”. 
There will also be manufacturer’s datasheets that you can
download and read. These give vital information about what to do if there is an
emergency involving the product.

Some of the more common issues relating to hazardous
products in social care are:

·        
Bleach, for example, if an individual drinks
this without understanding what it is, it can cause death. Spillages can cause
nasty burns and also death in severe cases.
·        
Medication, for example, if an individual has
too much (overdose) or too little (under dose), the wrong medication is given
to the wrong person.
·        
Rubbish bins, for example, not being emptied
or kept clean enough and attracting vermin leading to cross-contamination.
·        
Dirty laundry, for example, where people have
soiled with blood, urine, sick or diarrhoea.

Hazardous substances can enter the body via these
methods:

-Inhalation (breathing in)

-Ingestion (swallowing)

-Injection (needle)

-Absorption (through skin)