Difference between Hazardous Substances and Dangerous Goods

You might have heard or read the terms ‘dangerous goods’ and ‘hazardous substances’ on numerous occasions. These words help you in determining whether the things around you are safe or not for normal usage.

The usage of these two terms varies for different products. They can be used for the same purpose at times but their meaning is entirely different and you should not get confused.

One activity, for which both hazardous and dangerous are used, is smoking. If you visit a clinic or a hospital, you might see a board stating, “Smoking is dangerous for health.” Similarly, there are some places where you will see the usage of word hazardous instead of dangerous while speaking of smoking.

The basic purpose of both these words is to spread awareness about things that can cause harm to human beings. However, using them in the same context is not always correct as there are a few dissimilarities between them. If you closely look at the meanings of these two words, you will be able to end the confusion and use them in their true sense.

When you talk about hazardous substances, they are things that can negatively affect the health of a human being. Such products are used in your daily routine whether we are at the office or home. They include paints, cleaning powders, glues, and liquids. Although some of them are not very harmful but they are still listed under the same category of hazardous substances.

Dangerous goods are those which can not only cause harm to human beings but to the property or environment as well. This means that all hazardous substances can be considered as dangerous. However, you cannot classify all dangerous products as hazardous.

Another major difference between dangerous goods and hazardous substances is that the latter does not cause immediate damage. For example, smoking can affect your health but you don’t suffer any instant problems no matter how much you smoke.

On the other hand, dangerous goods can cause immediate damage and you don’t get much time to react to such situations. For example, one doesn’t get a chance to run for safety in case of an explosion.