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Whether you are an occupier, a manufacturer or a supplier, you need to gather as much information as you can on all the dangerous goods that you deal with in order to identify any hazards and assess the risks involved.

To do this, you must identify all dangerous goods stored and handled at the premises and any dangerous goods generated during any manufacturing process.

The MSDS, package markings and class information for all dangerous goods supplied to the premises should be reviewed to determine the product’s chemical and physical properties, precautions for use, and safe storage and handling requirements.

Other sources of information include:

• National Industrial Chemical Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS) Summary Reports
• sources listed in appendix 1 of the National Code of Practice for the Preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets
• relevant Australian standards

To identify hazards effectively, you must look at how the dangerous goods are stored and handled, taking into account:

• the inherent hazards of the dangerous goods, including their form and their chemical and physical properties
• manufacturing and transport processes
• how the goods are used, including any equipment involved
• potential chemical or physical reaction between dangerous goods and other substances or objects
• the types of incidents that have occurred or could occur

To assess the risks, you need to consider how likely it is that injuries will occur and how severe they could be.  

See the Code of Practice for storage and handling for further information