Risk Assessment in Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, UiTM Pasir Gudang Campus

Abstract

Accident can happen anytime and anywhere. To avoid the accident, the hazard must be reduced and controlled. In this study, the method of Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC) was used in order to minimise the hazard. This study was conducted in Chemistry Laboratory, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, UiTM Pasir Gudang Campus. This laboratory was chosen because most of the first-year students did their experiments which involved chemicals and apparatus in this laboratory. This study started with identified the potential hazards, followed by risk assessment, which is to calculate the risk level and lastly implementing the risk control, if necessary. From the results obtained, there were 8 major routine activities in this laboratory. The highest risk level value was 6, which contributed from 3 activities. The activities are handling chemicals in the fume hood, disposing acidic waste chemicals and preparing solutions. There are some recommended controls measures need to be implemented to make sure the risk level can be reduced in the future. In conclusion, the HIRARC method used in this study is a useful method to identify the potential hazard in order to minimised the accident rate.