Chemical reactivity hazard situations

Introduction Chemical reactivity is the tendency of substances to undergo chemical change. A chemical reactivity hazard is a situation with the potential for an uncontrolled chemical reaction that can result directly or indirectly in serious harm to people, property, or the environment. A chemical reaction can get out of control whenever the reaction environment is not able to safely absorb the energy and products released by the reaction. The possibility of such situations should be anticipated not only in the reaction step of chemical processes but also in storage, mixing, physical processing, purification, waste treatment, environmental control systems, and any other areas where reactive materials are handled or reactive interactions are possible. 

Somewhat different organizational structures may be needed for managing different kinds of chemical reactivity hazards. As defined in Section 1.3, three general situations involving chemical reactivity hazards are as follows ... 

Three general situations involving chemical reactivity hazards are described in this section. Examples of significant incidents are given for each situation. Additional case histories are summarized in Appendix A-l,... 

Many facilities have chemically reactive materials and systems without knowing the hazards they pose. Others are aware of the hazards, but have inadequate safeguards. Still others have situations where materials are adequately controlled individually, but the potential for a major incident exists if materials are inadvertently combined. Here are five examples ... 

You may find it helpful to identify and control reactivity hazards in two broad categories reactive materials and reactive interactions. Reactive materials are commonly regarded as those materials that can be hazardous by themselves when caused to react by heat, pressure, shock, friction, a catalyst, or by contact with air or water. Reactive interactions require the combining of two or more materials to pose a hazardous situation by chemical reaction. 

A performance-based system-rather than a list of reactive chemicals -is suggested as another alternative for extending regulatory coverage of reactive hazards. Such a system would consider the risk of reactive chemicals, site-specific (extrinsic) factors such as siting and proximity, and conditions that create potentially reactive situations. Objective criteria such as the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, accident history, or number of employees could be used to establish coverage. 

Used Not pertinent Special Hazards of Combustion Products Oxides of sulfur and phosphorous may be formed when exposed to a fire situation Behavior in Fire Data not available Ignition Temperature (deg. F) Not pertinent Electrical Hazard Not pertinent Burning Rate Not pertinent. Chemical Reactivity Reactivity with Water No reaction Reactivity with Common Materials No reactions Stability During Transport Stable Neutralizing Agents for Acids and Caustics Not pertinent Polymerization Not pertinent Inhibitor of Polymerization Not pertinent. 

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