HS1_1 Health and Safety

WHMIS Definitions
Acute Effects
Effects that appear immediately or very soon after exposure.

Asphyxia
♦♦ Simple: a gas that replaces the oxygen in the air causing
suffocation.
♦♦ Chemical: substances that prevent the red blood cells from
delivering oxygen to the other cells in the body.

Cancer
A general term describing an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells
caused by damage to the cell’s DNA.

Carcinogen
A substance that is known to cause cancer.

Chronic Reaction
Symptoms that develop and appear over a period of time.

DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material of the cell responsible
for growth and development.

Hazard
A situation that poses a level of threat to life, health, property, or
the environment.

Latency
The time period between first exposure to a substance and the
appearance of the disease.

Odour Threshold
The concentration of a substance that can be detected by smell.

Product Label
Any label on products used in the workplace. Supplier labels and
workplace labels are product labels.

Synergistic Effect
An effect between two or more substances that produces an effect
greater than the sum of the individual effects.

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 Teratogen
A substance that causes birth defects by damaging the developing
fetus.

TLV – Threshold limit value

The average concentration of a substance to which personnel may
be repeatedly exposed without adverse health effects.

Toxic Substance
A chemical or mixture that is harmful to health.

WHMIS SDS Definitions

Auto-ignition temperature
The lowest temperature at which a material will spontaneously
ignite in air.

Boiling point
The temperature at which a material changes from a liquid to a gas.

Controlled product
A material, product or substance that is imported or sold in Canada
and is regulated by WHMIS. Controlled products are hazardous
materials.

Evaporation rate
A measure of how quickly a material will become a vapour at room
temperature.

Flashpoint
The lowest temperature at which a liquid or solid can give off
enough flammable vapour that can be ignited.

Freezing point
The temperature at which a liquid becomes a solid.

Hazardous material
Any material that represents a risk to health.

Incompatible materials
Materials that when mixed together may cause a fire, an explosion
or a dangerous reaction.

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 LC50
The lethal concentration of a material in air that causes the death of
50% of a group of test animals.

LD50
The lethal dose of a material, given all at once, that causes the death
of 50% of a group of test animals.

pH
A measure of the acidity or alkalinity (basicity) of a material when
dissolved in water. Materials between 0–2 and 12–14 are considered
corrosive.
♦ pH 0–2: strongly acidic
♦ pH 3–5: weakly acidic
♦ pH 6–8: neutral
♦ pH 9–11: weakly alkaline
♦ pH 12–14: strongly alkaline

Specific gravity
The ratio of the density of a material to the density of water.

Vapour density
The ratio of the density of a gas or vapour to the density of air.

Vapour pressure
A measure of the ability of a material to form a vapour. In general, a
high vapour pressure is more likely to become an inhalation or fire
hazard compared to a low vapour pressure material.

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