Occupational Safety and Health Management Scheme

Workers around the world are facing a global health crisis due to occupational exposure to toxic chemicals. Every year more than 1 billion workers are exposed to hazardous substances, including pollutants, dusts, vapours and fumes in their working environments. Many of these workers lose their life following such exposures, succumbing to fatal diseases, cancers and poisonings, or from fatal injuries following fires or explosions. We must also consider the additional burden that workers and their families face from non-fatal injuries resulting in disability, debilitating chronic diseases, and other health sequela, that unfortunately in many cases remain invisible. All of these deaths, injuries and illnesses are entirely preventable.

The Occupational safety and health management scheme aims to provide practical guidance to prevent or reduce illnesses or injuries caused by hazardous chemical exposures in the workplace. In order to provide targeted and relevant advice, different sections have been created for governments, employers and workers.

Information is provided about many different topics related to chemical safety, including:

• Occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and frameworks.
• Key ILO international labour standards on chemicals safety and other international instruments.
• OSH management systems.
• The safe storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous chemicals, including classification and labelling.
• Workplace risk assessment and exposure monitoring.
• Common hazardous chemicals in the workplace and sectors of high risk.
• Information and training.