In most cases you will be able to manage your chemical safety in-house. You will be familiar with the types of chemicals involved and the type of work activities in which these chemicals are used. In addition, your employees will have experience and knowledge that you can use when deciding on the precautions you are going to take. You will probably already have precautions in place. 

You are now checking if these are sufficient and if you need to take further steps to protect people. Small or low-risk businesses will find it straight forward to identify their chemical hazards and put in place appropriate control measures. Larger businesses, and particularly those working in high-risk sectors, may need more resources and competency to manage their chemical safety. It is important to remember - if you are unsure of any aspect of managing chemicals safely in your workplace, you should seek help from a competent person. This guide is intended to help you complete a risk assessment for the chemicals you use in your workplace. A chemical risk assessment follows the same steps as a risk assessment for any other hazards in your workplace. 

There are three basic steps: Identify the hazard: This involves identifying the chemicals you have in your workplace and the hazards associated with them. Assess the risk: This involves assessing the risk from chemicals or processes in your workplace. Control the exposure: This involves considering the various recognized control measures to eliminate or reduce the risk.