Acute hazards

After polymerization, excess monomer is stripped and recycled. The residual monomer content of the stripped emulsion does not represent an acute hazard. Worker exposure to monomer is monitored, and sources of exposure identified and corrected. 

In this guide, we will focus on the use of QRA in the safety assessment of acute hazards and episodic events only. 

Acceptable risk Accident (sequence) Acute hazard... 

A substance known to be toxic to man or, in the absence of adequate data on human toxicity, is presumed to be toxic to man but which is unlikely to afford a serious acute hazard to health during conveyance. 

TYPES OF HAZARD / EXPOSURE ACUTE HAZARDS / SYMPTOMS PREVENTION FIRST AID / FIRE FIGHTING... 

HD in the body is very slow, and repeated exposures produce a cumulative effect. Its toxic hazard is high for inhalation, ingestion, and skin and eye absorption, but the most common acute hazard is from liquid contact with eyes or skin. Agent HD is distilled H, it has been purified by washing and vacuum distillation to reduce sulfur impurities. Agent H is a mixture of 70% bis-(2-chloroethyl) sulfide and 30% sulfur impurities produced by unstable Levinstein process. 

The waste contains such dangerous chemicals that it could pose a threat to human health and the environment even when properly managed. Such wastes are known as acutely hazardous wastes. 

Acutely hazardous wastes are the second most common type of listed waste. U. S. EPA designates a waste as acutely hazardous if it contains the appendix constituents that scientific studies have shown to be fatal to humans or animals in low doses. In a few cases, acutely hazardous wastes contain no appendix constituents, but are extremely dangerous for another reason. An example is a listed waste that designates unused discarded formulations of nitroglycerine as acutely hazardous. Although nitroglycerine is not an appendix hazardous constituent, wastes containing unused... 

The hazard codes assigned to listed wastes affect the regulations that apply to handling the waste. For instance, acute hazardous wastes accompanied by the hazard code (H) are subject to stricter management standards than most other wastes. 

Acute hazard The potential for injury or damage to occur as a result of a short-duration exposure to the effects of an accident. 

Acute Hazardous Events Database EPA Reviewed only... 

Short-term (acute) hazards of lighter, more volatile, and water-solnble aromatic compounds (such as benzenes, toluene, and xylenes) include potential acnte toxicity to aquatic life in the water column (especially in relatively confined areas) as well as potential inhalation hazards. However, the compounds that pass through the water column often tend to do so in small concentrations and/or for short periods of time, and fish and ofher pelagic or generally mobile species can often swim away to avoid impacfs from spilled oil in open waters. Most fish are mobile and it is not known whether or not they can sense, and thns avoid, toxic concentrations of oil. 

Some hazardous wastes, or mixture of hazardous wastes (such as cyanides, hydrogen sulfide, and parathion) are extremely or acutely hazardous because of their high acute toxicity. These extremely hazardous wastes, if human exposure should occur, may result in disabling personal injury, illness, or even death. 

Small Quantity Generator (SQG) generates less than 1000 kg of hazardous waste in a month, and/or less than 1 kg of acutely hazardous waste (acutely hazardous waste is listed in the State regulations). 

Note This matrix guide does not reflect acutely hazardous wastes. 

Additional flexibility is offered by allowing an industrial plant to accumulate up to 55 gal (or 208.18 L) of hazardous waste, or one quart (or 1 L) of acutely hazardous waste, at each point where the plant generates its waste if the plant meets the following conditions ... 

The USEPA has developed extensive lists of waste streams (40 CFR Sections 261.31, 261.32) and chemical products (40 CFR Section 261.33) that are considered hazardous wastes if and when disposed of or intended for disposal. The waste streams listed in Sections 261.31 and 261.32 include numerous pesticide manufacturing and formulating process wastes. The lists of commercial chemical products in Section 261.33 include two sublists both include numerous insecticides, herbicides, and other pesticides. The E List (Table 7) identifies pesticides and other commercial chemicals regulated as acutely hazardous wastes when discarded. The F List (Table 8) identifies pesticides that are regulated as toxic (hazardous) wastes when discarded. 

Listed pesticides (formulated, manufacturing-use, and off-specification) are regulated as hazardous wastes under the RCRA if they are discarded rather than used for their intended purposes. State listings are often more extensive. Both onsite and offsite disposal options are regulated under the RCRA. Onsite facilities that generate more than 1 kg/month of acutely hazardous wastes in the RCRA E List or 1000 kg/month of any waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.31, 261.32, or 261.33 will require an RCRA hazardous waste permit for treatment or for storage for more than 90 days. Offsite disposal must be handled by an RCRA-permitted facility. 

Table 7 Pesticide Active Ingredients That Appear on the RCRA Acutely Hazardous Commercial Products List (RCRA E List)...

The acute hazard to humans from vapor exposure appears to be relatively slight, as ample warning in the form of eye, nose, and throat irritation occurs at low concentrations no chronic effects have been reported in humans. ... 

When devising a scheme for evaluating acute hazards, it is important that the intraday variability of exposures be considered. Air sampling must be oriented towards determining those brief periods of maximum exposure during the workday. 

If the exposure illustrated in Figure 1 involved an acute hazard, it would be critical to identify the peak air concentration of 158 mg/m3 occuring at 2-hr into the day. 

Given this or a similar distribution of exposures, the air-sampling scheme should either measure or account for the interday variability so that accurate estimates of long-term exposure can be obtained. Furthermore, the intraday variability of air concentrations which is the most important factor related to acute hazards is relatively unimportant when considering chronic hazards. 

Application of the 0SHA/NI0SH Scheme to Acute Hazards. 

Although the 0SHA/NI0SH air sampling scheme has not been applied to acute hazards, it would be useful to illustrate the implications of doing so. Consider exposures to the acute toxin, hydrogen cyanide (HCN). Let us assume that the current exposure limit recommended by NIOSH of 5.0 mg/m3 (18) is used as the PEL and that the AL is one half of this value (2.5 mg/m3). The air concentration of HCN required to produce death in man in 10 min is V lOO mg/m3 (18 >19) or 20 times the PEL. 

---