Some common chemicals can be dangerous when mixed

Workers are sometimes asked to use chemicals. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are intentionally handling hazardous materials. It could be as simple as a janitor who is asked to use certain chemical cleaners. They don’t think of their job as being particularly dangerous, and they use these chemicals every day. These are just cleaning solutions that you can purchase at the store.

But the key thing to remember is that mixing some of these chemicals can be very dangerous. For instance, both ammonia and bleach can be used as cleaners. But if you combine them, then this creates chloramine gas. When people are exposed to chloramine gas, it can lead to extensive irritation of the lungs, the throat, the nose and the eyes. When someone is exposed to significantly high levels of this gas, they could lose consciousness and even pass away.

This means that employees are sometimes accidentally exposed. A worker may believe that both cleaning solutions are the same and mix them in a bottle to save space or to save time when cleaning. They don’t realize that they are exposing themselves and everyone around them to potentially deadly chloramine gas, but that’s exactly what’s happening.

Handling the expenses

This type of workplace accident can lead to very high expenses. Employees may have medical expenses if they need immediate treatment. Someone could suffer serious injuries that mean they miss time at work, so they’re losing wages – and may have a lost earning capacity for the future.

For all of these reasons and more, it’s crucial that workers understand their legal rights to workers’ comp benefits. When they have been injured on the job, they may be able to get compensation to cover some of these costs.