Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has experience of using digital saftware for COSHH assessment.  I'm working with a lab based chemical company with a list of over 350 chemicals with various hazards associated.  Trying to work out a useable system for the scientists regarding COSHH assessments for use of the substances in their workflow.  Ideally a sfotware that allowed chemical inventory, link to current safety data sheet and an interactive way to do the COSHH assessment to speed process up.  Any ideas/comments/reviews would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by: SChap

Ideally a sfotware that allowed chemical inventory, link to current safety data sheet and an interactive way to do the COSHH assessment to speed process up.

"two out of three ain't bad"

You can input information to an inventory, you can link that inventory to a current Safety Data Sheet.

Software could copy, paste and re-arranges SDS information on to a template.

What it is unlikely to be able to do is consider site specific usage and conditions.

Hi SChap

The problem with your question is included in what you have written.

So scientist wants to mix chemicals Nos 37, 122 and 269.

The SDS for each tells you what the nature of each of those chemicals is, so that is ONE starting point for your COSHH assessment.

BUT the COSHH assessment also needs to consider both the intended and potentially unintended consequences of what happens when you mix these chemicals, and possibly that depends on what order you mix them in and other variables such as temperature and pressure and quantities.

When I was at school doing A Level chemistry, we got charged for any breakage of glassware. Not a lot but quite enough to not want to drop the glassware.

We had a reaction that involved dropping a very small amount of sodium into a little of some liquid, a permanganate I think. It was boring.

So, wen the teacher wasn't looking, I doubled the quantities and the glassware became VERY hot, VERY quickly. It wasn't boring. I didn't drop it. I did run my hands under the cold tap.

Your COSHH assessment needs to consider the variables. What happens if somebody doesn't put the right,  quantity of chemical No 37 and/or 122 and/or 269, or when you scale up from the first small experiment or you heat or cool it, or you pressurise the reaction?

You won't find the answers on the Safety Data Sheets!!

Yep i two have tried a number - including HSE COSHH-Essentials and never found one that allows you to work out the hazards of a combination of product exposure

Originally Posted by: chocolatekittykatt

it takes SDS from the European side of SDS (ECCA i think the guy said) and you can 'mix' them over % quantities into a 'cured SDS'

"Cured" means the reactives have reacted and as such are no longer hazardous substances.

Be interesting if it is drawing data from ECHA as that would be for tregistered component substances and not mixtures in the workplace.

ECHA of course has currently stopped updating its substance Brief Profiles whilst they transition data.