RiskAssess Frequently Asked Questions

I can't log in. When I enter my user name and password, the page flickers and my details are gone. What should I do?

This is can occur if you are using Internet Explorer 7 or below and is caused by the cookies stored in the browser becoming corrupted. To fix it:

• From the Tools menu in the upper right, select Delete Browsing History.
• Click Delete All.
• Close and open your browser.
• Go back to http://www.riskassess.com.au and log in.

Where can I find the RiskAssess user guide?

You can download it here.

Do I need to install any software on my computer to use RiskAssess?

All that is required to use RiskAssess is an internet connection and a standard web browser such as Internet Explorer or Firefox with a PDF reader such as Adobe Acrobat. RiskAssess runs from the website so you do not need to install any software. This also means that all database updates and program updates are instantly available to everyone.

How do user names work for RiskAssess?

When you sign up, you get to choose a user name for logging in for your school. For example, if your school was called 'Ecosolve High School', you could choose a user name like 'ecs'. Once the sign up and payment process is completed, anyone from your school could then log in using that user name.

How many people from my school can use RiskAssess at once?

The RiskAssess user name is for your whole school campus, and allows any number of staff from your school campus to use RiskAssess at the same time.

My school has several campuses. How many subscriptions do I need?

Each user name and subscription is for a single campus (with an unlimited number of users at that campus). If your school has multiple campuses, each campus will need its own subscription.

Do I need to pay online for RiskAssess?

You do not need to pay online for RiskAssess. When you subscribe, you will be issued with a tax invoice, and you can choose to pay by cheque or bank transfer. Learn more about subscribing.

My browser does not remember my user name and password for RiskAssess. How can I fix this?

For Internet Explorer
1. Choose 'Options' from the 'Tools' menu
2. Click on the 'Content' tab
3. Click on the 'Settings' button in the 'AutoComplete' section
4. Tick 'User names and passwords on forms' and 'Prompt me to save passwords'
5. Click 'OK', and then 'OK'.
6. Go back to http://www.riskassess.com.au.
7. Enter your user name and password, and click 'Log in'
8. You will be shown a dialog asking if you want Internet Explorer to remember the password. Say 'Yes'.
9. Next time you go to the RiskAssess site, and you start to type in your user name, you will be able to choose it from a list and your password will be filled in automatically.

When I click the print button, sometimes the risk assessment font is too big. How can I print out on less pages?

For optimum font size and minimum number of pages, we recommend you use the 'Save / Print PDF' button, and print from the PDF. This is automatically set up to use a small font.

However, if you want to print direct from the browser, and the font is too big, rather than pressing the print button, choose 'Print Preview' from the 'File' menu and you will see at the top there is a box saying 'Fit to page'. Click it and there will be a list of percent sizes. Choose a smaller one and your printing will be much more efficient. It is unfortunately a problem with Internet Explorer printing that it sometimes automatically chooses a very big size.

After I electronically sign a document, and it gets converted to an electronic document, I only see an empty box in the middle of the screen. How can I fix this?

RiskAssess displays electronic documents in the standard PDF format. If your browser does not have a PDF reader installed, you will not be able to view the electronic document. We recommend you install Adobe Acrobat Reader (free). If you use Firefox on a Mac, you will also need this plugin.

I sent an email from RiskAssess but it didn't arrive. Why?

The most common reason for emails not arriving is spam filters on school email accounts. First of all, check in your 'Spam' or 'Junk' folder to see if the risk assessment has ended up there. If it is not there, it is worth contacting your IT department to ask if there is any school level spam filtering, and ask to have it disabled for emails from 'no_reply@riskassess.com.au'. You can also try emailing risk assessments to another address (eg, gmail, hotmail).

What is the difference between the "Author's Update" and "Create Modifiable Copy" buttons?

If you wrote the risk assessment, and you notice a problem with it (eg, a missing chemical), you should use "Author's Update". This allows you to modify the existing risk assessment.

If you see a risk assessment that is similar to what you want (eg, written by another member of staff), then you should use "Create Modifiable Copy". This will give you a completely separate copy of the risk assessment which you can then modify to suit your experiment. The original risk assessment that you copied will not be effected in any way.

Does RiskAssess have information on all chemical solutions?

RiskAssess has information on commonly used chemical solutions.

In nearly all cases, dangerous goods classes and packaging groups are only defined for pure materials, not solutions. The exceptions are some strong acids and alkalis (e.g different concentrations of sulfuric acid or sodium hydroxide).

In NSW, the Department of School Education worked out a series of classifications of the general risks associated with chemicals and selected solutions, and expressed them in terms of the people allowed to handle them. These classifications are shown in the RiskAssess database as Category (X, N Tch, 11-12, 7-12) and User Code (1,2,3,4,5). This information was only developed for a small number of solutions.

The underlying problem is that there are so many chemicals and possible concentrations. The good news is that solutions are virtually never more dangerous than the parent compound. The only exception I can think of is a strong alkali such as sodium hydroxide, for which it might be better to have a pellet of the solid bounce off your cornea rather than have a drop of concentrated solution of equivalent mass go splat all over your cornea.

Given this unsatisfactory situation, it is the job of the person doing the risk assessment to take into account the dilution of the chemical. Usually, solutions of chemicals have fewer potentially hazardous properties than the pure material. In most cases, the potential hazards are much less. Dilute copper(II) sulfate solutions, for example, are much less dangerous than the pure solid, but could still make you very sick if you drank them. Nitrate solutions can not support combustion in solution, so this risk is virtually zero when the material is dissolved in water.

It becomes a matter of judgment by the person doing the risk assessment, based on the potentially hazardous properties of the pure material, the dilution factor, and many other factors including even the characteristics of the class members.

My question is not here. How can I find out more?

The RiskAssess user guide is worth reading for further information.
If your question is still not answered, please contact us.