Fertilizer production involves the manufacture of:

Fertilizer production involves the manufacture of:

• hazardous chemicals (ammonia),
• strong mineral acids (sulphuric, nitric and phosphoric),
• oxidizing agents, some that can be potentially detonated, such as ammonium nitrate and, to a lesser extent, some NPK compounds. 

At the various stages of fertilizer manufacture, distribution and use, several thousand tonnes of these substances are stored and handled.

Stringent regulations protect workers and consumers from the health risks (such as toxic dust, radiation and fumes) they may be exposed to during the manufacture, storage and use of fertilizers.

Over and above these regulations, many fertilizer companies have established their own codes of conduct to reinforce safety. These include SHE (Safety, Health and Environment) management procedures and HAZOP (Hazard and Operability) studies, which introduce measures to be taken in the event of a shortcoming in the system.

Among reasons for establishing good occupational safety and health standards: 

• moral - an employee should not have to risk injury at work, nor should others associated with the work environment,
• economic - many governments realize that poor occupational safety and health performance results in increased costs to the state (e.g. through social security payments to the incapacitated, costs for medical treatment, and the loss of the "employability" of the worker). Employers also sustain costs in the event of an incident at work (such as legal fees, fines, compensatory damages, investigation time, lost production, lost goodwill from the workforce, from customers and from the wider community),
• legal - occupational safety and health requirements may be reinforced in civil law and/or criminal law; it is accepted that without the extra "encouragement" of potential regulatory action or litigation, many organizations would not act upon their implied moral obligations.