Accidents safe practice

Human activities are associated with the use and disposal of a variety of chemicals and chemical products. This is the situation for a householder, a laboratory student, and also the industry worker. Many materials have properties that make them hazardous. They can create physical (fire, explosion) or health hazards (toxicity, chemical bums). However, there are many ways to work with chemicals which can both reduce the probability of an accident and reduce the consequences should an accident occur. Risk minimization depends on safe practices, appropriate engineering controls for chemical containment, the proper use of personnel protective equipment, use of the least amount of material necessary, and substitution of a less-hazardous chemical for a more hazardous one. Before beginning any chemical processing or operation, ask What would happen if. .. The answer to this question requires understanding of the hazards associated with chemicals, the equipment, and the procedure involved. The hazardous properties of the material and its intended use will dictate the precautions to be taken. 

Recognizing that external pressures are forcing academic Chemistry departments to abandon their traditional relaxed attitudes toward safety, we have attempted to construct the safest building possible with the available funds. This alone will not guarantee accident- and hazard-free operation, however. The faculty, administration and staff must support and encourage safe practices. In this spirit, the University in 1977 established a campus-wide safety committee to assist and advise departments and the various support services when questions on safety arise. 

There are several ways to use chemicals wisely. One can reduce both the probability and consequences of accidents to negligible levels. Use of chemical substances is always associated with risks. However, these risks can be minimized with knowledge, proper use, and good practices. In other words, safety from chemical substances depends on knowledge, judicious use, safe practices, appropriate methods of engineering controls, proper use of personal protective equipment, use of minimum quantities of materials, and substitution of a less hazardous chemical substance when possible. 

The safe practices described in the previous section are primarily for assurance that the equipment have adequate performance over anticipated ranges of operating conditions. In addition, the design of equipment and plant must minimize potential harm to personnel and the public in case of accidents, of which the main causes are... 

In former years, many efforts to promote safe practices consisted almost entirely of a campaign that alerted employees to the hazards in their workplace and urged them to work safely. The modem concept is that hazards that cannot be eliminated should be controlled, first by design and then by procedural means. Procedural means consist in relying on employees to perform tasks properly and safely. Use of procedures is a less desirable means of accident prevention than is good design but because all hazards cannot be eliminated by design companies rely on the safe practices of their workers. To ensure safe work practices by their employees, companies must have an effective safety promotion plan. 

This chapter focuses on safe practice in relation to educational activities and experiences that take pupils away from the school and into the outdoor classroom. Here, the complex interplay of human and environmental factors is a significant issue and one which differentiates the learning context from that found on the school site and within the classroom. Drawing on case studies and research on accidents in the outdoors, this chapter begins by considering the unique nature of the outdoor classroom and what can be learned from tragedy in terms of understanding accidents in the outdoors. It also identifies supervision as the basic principle of safe practice and discusses elements of this and the... 

Knowledge of how and why accidents happen can, therefore, raise generic principles related to safe practice in the outdoors and provides an effective basis for modifications to practice that should minimise the occurrence of injury. Similarly, understanding the factors contributing to accidents allows them to be foreseen and anticipated, so that the focus is proactive and preventative rather than reactive. 

Material safety data sheets can, like product declarations, be accessible immediately, provided that they are available and that the user is able to read and understand chemical names. The value of the data is also restricted to the information which the manufacturer, importer or supplier has to or is willing to provide, and again, information on components less than 1% is needed. Material safety data sheets make it possible to include additional information on safe use and precautions in case of accidents. The practical use is dependent on the local management and administration of a workplace system ensuring easy access to the relevant material safety data sheets. 

Human error seems to have been the cause of the accident. Safe and standard operating procedures and practices should be established. In this case, the ammonia could have been added at the top of the tank and not at the bottom. 

List eight design features and/or safe practices intended to reduce the risk of accidents on staircases used as internal pedestrian routes within work premises. 

Fires and explosions are the large-scale accidents most to be feared in the typical process plant. For diorough coverage of the vital topic of protection from these hazards, the reader should consult the large body of specialized literature. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the publisher of the National Fire Codes, provides good summaries of codes and safe practices. 

Accidents have a particular rhetorical force within agencies. Because they draw media attention, they provide emotionally laden demonstrations of the failures of safe practice. A spike in accident rates can also serve as evidence... 

Souder (1988) cites examples of behavioral accidents in which normally safety-conscious employees acted irrationally. He notes that many individuals who engage in anomalous behaviors are frequently experienced and well-trained personnel. These examples seem irrational because the behaviors seem so deliberately to violate the assumptions that govern ordinary instruction and safe practice ... 

From an institutional perspective, ETs narrative serves a rhetorical function as both example and warning of the consequences of the victim s carelessness getting on the belt. El frames this narrative with an institutional warning that even the best lockout system will not prevent an accident if miners fail to follow safe practice. In these analytic viewpoint gestures (indicated within the narrative), he depicts the miner with his hand and fingers only—not with his entire body. The action appears in front of El—at arm s length ... 

A disproportional amount of accidents occur during construction and major maintenance activities. Safe work practices are written with this in mind and, as a minimum, should cover the following ... 

Electrical accidents appear to be caused by any one or any combination of tlirec possible factors unsafe equipment, unsafe installation, or both workplaces made unsafe by the emiromiicnt and misafe work practices. Possible ways to protect people from the hazards caused by electricity include insulation, guarding, grounding, nieclnuiical devices, and safe work practices. These are detailed below. 

Many accidents occur because the operator or maintenance person does not understand the hazards involved or has not been instructed on the precautions to be taken. The policy document should identify the main hazards within the company with advice on which rules must be obeyed while carrying out a hazardous task. General rules should also be included to cover items such as untidy work areas, replacement of guards, the use of protective cloth-ing/equipment where appropriate, safe working practices in handling goods and materials, etc. It is essential that on the introduction of new products, processes, operations or plant and equipment that any hazards associated with these are brought to the attention of all concerned. 

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