Part of your job may involve using cleaning solutions. Perhaps you work as a janitor, or perhaps part of the duties of your regular job are simply cleaning up your station or the workplace around you. Either way, your company provides you with cleaning solutions to get the job done.
It is important to remember that you should never mix these solutions together. If you have to use multiple chemicals, do it at different times. Don’t use them in an enclosed space, and don’t try to save time by making a solution out of multiple cleaning products. Doing so can be very dangerous, depending on what those solutions are made up of.
Bleach and ammonia
One of the most common examples of how this can go poorly is if you were to mix bleach and ammonia together. This creates chloramines, which are toxic gases. If this happens, you could experience some of the following:
- Nausea
- Trouble breathing
- Coughing
- Chest pain
- Eye irritation
- Coughing
- Fluid in the lungs
- Pneumonia
In the worst cases, someone who is exposed to this could even pass away from that exposure. This is very serious and can also be harmful to those around you. Likewise, if someone else is working near you and they mix these chemicals, you could be harmed by their mistake. This is why it’s important to have everything clearly labeled and to keep these solutions apart.
Have you been injured already?
If you’ve already been injured due to the use of chemicals and cleaning products on the job, then you need to make sure you understand all of your rights to workers’ compensation.
