Important Terms

To better understand the potential risk involved with handling a particular chemical, it is necessary that you understand a couple of important concepts.

First, the degree to which a chemical will harm you is dependent on both the TOXICITY of the chemical, and the DOSE that you receive.  Toxicity refers to the potential of the chemical to harm you (some chemicals are more toxic than others).  Dose refers to the amount of the chemical that enters your body.

The type of harmful effect that a particular chemical exhibits can be classified as either ACUTE or CHRONIC.  Acute effects happen within a short period of time, for example, the tissue damage you may experience if you have skin contact or breath in vapors of a corrosive chemical.  Also, temporary dizziness or headache shortly after inhalation of paint vapors would be considered an acute effect.

Chronic effects, by comparison, take a relatively long time to occur, usually after repeated exposures over an extended period of time. A good example of a chronic effect is the onset of asbestosis or lung cancer after 40 years of exposure to asbestos fibers.

Next, let's look at some commonly used symbols, used to denote health hazards, that can be found on chemical containers.