In this toolbox meeting we focus on hazardous substances and what they are, where you can encounter them and where they can crop up. In brief:

• Hazardous substances are substances that potentially can harm the health and safety of employees;
• These substances may be contained in packaged products, such as cleaning agents, sealants, paints and lubricants;
• Hazardous substances can also be generated during work. Examples of this include: welding fumes, wood and (quartz) dust, and diesel motor emissions (DME).

You can recognize a hazardous substance by:

1. Recognizing the hazard symbols on the label " see explanation below
2. Recognizing high-risk work " painting, degreasing, sanding, working in confined spaces
3. Seeing " dust clouds, layers of dust, dirty floors
4. Smelling " strange odours, know what you are smelling!
5. Feeling " itching, irritation, burns
6. Hearing " strange sounds, hissing sound, bang
   

Where are the hazard symbols located?

• On the product’s packaging.
• On the material safety data sheets (MSDS). This is a structured document with information about the risks of the hazardous substance or preparation, and recommendations concerning its safe use at work. It lists all of the product’s properties.
• On the Workplace Instruction Card (WIC). This card contains the ‘interpretation’ of the information on a material safety data sheet: Workplace Instruction Card.

The supplier of the product, by law, is obliged to prepare an MSDS for a substance or mixture if the product is classified as hazardous in accordance with the guidelines.

Where is this information located?

• All hazardous substances we use at Heijmans must be recorded in Toxic.
• Toxic is available in GO!

H and P statements

Aside from a pictogram, much packaging also contains H and P statements.

• H stands for ‘Hazard’
• P stands for ‘Precaution’

The explanation of the H statements can easily be found in the ‘stoffencheckapp’ [substance check app]. See at the bottom of this toolbox under Tips.

Key H statements:

• H350: May cause cancer
• H340: May cause genetic defects
• H360: May damage fertility or the unborn child

What you must do when working with hazardous substances

• Know what the hazards are → in other words be aware of the information contained in the WIC; this means that:

• You are aware of the risks → how you could become exposed
• You know how to safely work with the substance
• You know which PPE you must use

If there is no WIC:

Immediately report this to your supervisor. In fact, you may not work with a hazardous substance when insufficient information is available.

Discuss the following topics with each other:

1. Do you know where to locate Toxic?
2. Go over an MSDS and WIC together.
3. If you have any questions, discuss them with your supervisor.

For more information, download the Stoffencheck app [hazardous substances app]. This app is available in the app store. Search the Stoffencheck app! This app is an initiative of the Dutch Labour Inspectorate and the FNV Trade Union and provides information about working with certain substances and the associated risks.

Also check out the Heijmans toolboxes for additional toolboxes on Hazardous substances.

Hazardous substances and their environmental impact

There are materials we no longer use as building materials because of their adverse impact on health and the environment. For example, asbestos is hazardous to humans as well as animals and its use has been prohibited in the Netherlands since 2001. When we use a circular building approach, this also means that we use healthier materials to build with and that we reduce the adverse impact on the environment, animals, residents and of course our own employees.

For a complete overview of the current impact of a product on the environment, we can produce a lifecycle analysis (LCA) of the products used. In this analysis we produce and overview of the raw materials used and the entire production cycle is reviewed (in other words, from, for example, mining up to the raw material’s inclusion in the product) in order to determine the environmental impact. This is expressed in kg of CO₂ emitted by factories and transport, fertilisation in agriculture, acidification of water and soil, as well as toxic substances that end up in water and have an impact on people.

Within the construction industry, these lists with impacts are converted into environmental cost indicators (MKI) and building performance indicators (MPG). Heijmans is actively focused on reducing the value of these indicators. Developing and creating a healthy living environment is not only our goal. Clients and government increasingly ask for and demand more from environmental score-based management.