Chemicals and working environment at the precision mechanics workshop

A fine mechanics workshop rarely uses large quantities of chemicals at once, but on the other hand many different ones: coolants for processing, degreasing agents before assembly, acids and bases for passivation, as well as adhesives and thread locks. Each has its own hazard profile, and the rules for handling them responsibly are not optional.

CLP Regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging) is EU legislation that sets out how chemical substances and mixtures must be classified and labelled according to their hazardous properties — fire hazard, corrosion, health hazard and environmental hazard. The marking on a can of cooling lubricant or degreaser — hazard symbols, signal words and hazard statements — is not random, it is a legal requirement that tells you how the substance must be stored and handled.

For every hazardous chemical product, the supplier must provide a safety data sheet. The data sheet describes, among other things, the substance's composition, hazards, first aid, handling, storage and which protective equipment must be used. The safety data sheet is the basis for the chemical risk assessment in the company's workplace assessment and for the instruction of the employees (Executive Order no. 581/2026 §§ 6 and 23) — so before a new chemical is put into use in the workshop, the data sheet must have been read and be available to those who work with it.

The employer must carry out a workplace assessment (APV) that specifically covers the risk from the chemicals and materials used — including cutting fluids, which can cause eczema with prolonged skin contact, and degreasers, which can give off vapours with poor ventilation. The assessment must include a register of the hazardous substances with references to the safety data sheets, which the employees must have access to, and the employees must be instructed in how the products are handled safely at this particular workplace (Executive Order no. 581/2026 § 6(4) and § 23). The separate workplace instruction sheet for each product was abolished on 1 July 2019.

The sequence in occupational health work is important: first you try to eliminate or replace the hazardous substance (substitution) — for example a less harmful degreaser — next technical solutions such as extraction, and only last personal protective equipment such as gloves and glasses. Gloves must be chosen based on the specific chemical as not all glove types protect against all substances; the safety data sheet typically indicates which glove type is recommended.

• 01Always check the CLP marking on the packaging before using an unknown chemical
• 02The safety data sheet must be accessible at the workplace not just in an archive
• 03Chemical APV must be updated when new substances or processes are introduced
• 04Substitution before protective equipment — ask if a less hazardous alternative exists
• 05Store chemicals separately by hazard category, and never in unmarked containers

Chemicals at a precision mechanics workshop are not more dangerous than at many other craft workplaces, but the precise, close work often means skin contact and inhalation close to the source. Knowing labeling, data sheet and APV is therefore not administration for its own sake — it is the practical difference between a safe and a harmful working day.