DOHSbase Compare

In complex industrial environments, managing multiple hazardous substances requires precise and efficient chemical risk assessment tools. DOHSBase Compare, integrated within DOHSBase Online, empowers safety professionals to evaluate and prioritize chemical risks effectively through structured hazard ranking, ensuring a safer workplace.

When a production facility uses dozens or even hundreds of chemical substances, the question is not just whether each substance is hazardous – it is which substances pose the greatest risk and therefore deserve the most attention. DOHSBase Compare answers that question with a structured, reproducible chemical risk assessment methodology.

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What DOHSBase Compare Does for Chemical Risk Assessment

DOHSBase Compare is a chemical risk comparison tool that allows you to place multiple substances side by side and rank them according to their potential risk. Rather than evaluating each substance in isolation, you can build a comparison list of all chemicals used in a particular process, department, or facility and immediately see which ones require priority action.

The tool is fully integrated within DOHSBase Online. Any substance you look up in the main database can be added to a comparison list with a single click. Once your list is complete, DOHSBase Compare calculates a Risk Assessment Score (RAS) for each substance and presents the results in a ranked overview.

The Risk Assessment Score (RAS) Methodology

The RAS is a composite index that combines three critical parameters into a single, comparable score for each substance:

Hazard Statements (H-phrases)

The GHS/CLP H-phrases assigned to a substance describe its intrinsic hazards – whether it is acutely toxic, a carcinogen, a respiratory sensitizer, or presents other health risks. DOHSBase Compare evaluates all relevant H-phrases and assigns a hazard score based on the severity of the most critical classification. Substances classified as carcinogenic (H350), mutagenic (H340), or toxic to reproduction (H360) receive the highest hazard ratings, while substances with less severe classifications score lower.

Saturation Concentration

The saturation concentration represents the maximum vapor concentration that a substance can reach in air at a given temperature. This is a key parameter for inhalation risk: a substance with high intrinsic toxicity but very low vapor pressure may present less inhalation risk than a moderately toxic substance that evaporates readily. By incorporating saturation concentration into the RAS, DOHSBase Compare accounts for real-world exposure potential, not just theoretical hazard.

Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs)

The third parameter is the applicable occupational exposure limit. DOHSBase Compare uses the same limit value hierarchy as DOHSBase Online, meaning it will apply the most authoritative available limit – whether that is a legal limit, a health-based value, a DNEL, or a kick-off value. A lower OEL indicates that a substance is considered more hazardous at lower concentrations, which increases the RAS score.

The combination of these three parameters produces a balanced risk score that reflects both the inherent danger of a substance and the likelihood of significant exposure under workplace conditions.

Practical Use Cases

Prioritizing Chemical Inventories

Many organizations maintain substance registers with hundreds of entries. DOHSBase Compare allows you to rank the entire inventory by risk, so you can focus your risk assessment efforts, monitoring budgets, and control measures on the substances that matter most.

Supporting Substitution Decisions

When you are considering replacing a hazardous substance with a less harmful alternative, DOHSBase Compare provides an objective comparison. By placing the current substance and the proposed substitute side by side, you can verify that the alternative genuinely reduces risk rather than simply trading one hazard for another.

Demonstrating Due Diligence

Regulatory bodies expect employers to demonstrate that they have systematically assessed chemical risks in the workplace. A DOHSBase Compare report provides documented evidence of a structured, methodology-based risk ranking that meets the expectations of inspectors and auditors.

Process and Facility Assessments

When conducting workplace assessments, safety professionals can use DOHSBase Compare to quickly identify the highest-risk substances in a specific production area, prioritize measurement campaigns, and allocate exposure monitoring resources where they will have the greatest impact.

Integration with DOHSBase Online

DOHSBase Compare is not a separate product – it is a built-in feature of DOHSBase Online. This means that all the data behind the RAS calculation comes directly from the same expert-validated database used for individual substance lookups. There is no need to import data, maintain separate spreadsheets, or manually enter parameters. The substance data, limit values, hazard classifications, and physical-chemical properties are always current and consistent with the latest database update.