Additional Hazards

Individuals who have had previous exposure to materials that chap or dry the skin, such as alcohols, gasoline, or paint thinners, may be more susceptible to percutaneous exposure from dermal contact with these agents. In these situations, the rate of percutaneous penetration of the agent is greatly increased resulting in a decrease in the survival time that would otherwise be expected. 

Meat from animals that have suffered only mild to moderate effects from exposure to nerve agents should be safe to consume. Milk should be discarded for the first 7 days postexposure and then should be safe to consume. Meat, milk, and animal products, including hides, from animals severely affected or killed by nerve agents should be destroyed. 

Plants, fruits, vegetables, and grains exposed to carbamate nerve agents should be quarantined until tested. 

Animals can be decontaminated with shampoo/soap and water (see Section 2.5.3). If the animals eyes have been exposed to the agent, they should be irrigated with water or saline solution for a minimum of 30 minutes. 

The topmost layer of unprotected feedstock (e.g., hay or grain) should be destroyed. The remaining material should be quarantined until tested. Carbamate nerve agents are very persistent and forage vegetation could still retain sufficient agent to produce severe effects 

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Ethers — (R-O-R) are low on the scale of chemical reactivity. Aliphatic ethers are generally volatile, flammable liquids with low boiling points and low flashpoints. Well known hazardous ethers include diethyl ether, dimethyl ether, tetrahydrofuran. Beyond their flammability, ethers present an additional hazard they react with atmospheric oxygen in the presence of light to form organic peroxides. 

Many additional hazards result from the hazardous reactivity of combinations of chemicals. The open literature contains numerous lists of the reactivity of different types of chemical combinations. Table 4.3 presents examples of combinations of compounds which are known to be reactive. More complete discussions and lists of highly energetic chemical interactions are found in CCPS (1995d, especially Table 2.14), Yoshida (1987), Medard (1989), FEMA (Appendix D, ca. 1989), and Bretherick (1995). 

Tank trucks or cars that carry liquefied gases under pressure at ambient temperature present additional hazards. 

Rupture Discs Used in Multiple Or For Additional Hazard Due To External Heat... 

Figure 7-31B. Rupture disks used in multiple or for additional hazard due to external heat. By permission, Fike Metal Products Div., Fike Corporation.

Effects of use of safety equipment assessed apposite possible creation of additional hazard (e.g. loss of ability to hear emergency signals while wearing ear protection) ... 

Apart from the toxic nature of many gases, the additional hazards are those of excessive release of gas due to pressure changes, spontaneous ignition of flammable gases and sudden vaporisation of liquefied gases. 

D. Enclosed or indoor process units accounts for the additional hazard where ventilation is restricted. 

Convention on Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and 69 ratified the ban on all kinds of hazardous waste export from wealthy OECD-countries to non-OECD countries, large amounts of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) are shipped overseas for recycling, the majority to China as reported by Brigden et al. [2] and Puckett et al. [3], lesser quantities to India and Western Africa reported by Kuper and Hojsik [4]. WEEE contains a variety of harmful substances like endocrine disruptors and persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Additionally, hazardous substances may be formed during informal recycling. This often practised informal treatment without proper equipment for metal extraction and labour safety heavily affects the environment and human health of workers and the inhabitants of whole stretches of land. 

The components, by-products of the reaction or solvents used to facilitate mixing the components may have their own toxic properties and could present additional hazards. They may also change the rate that the binary nerve agent volatilizes or penetrates the skin. Residual components may react with common materials, such as alcohols, to produce other nerve agents. For data on binary components, see the Component Section (C01-C) following information on the individual agents. 

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