Exposure to toxic fumes

Edema Edema is an abnormal accumulation of body fluid in tissues. An edema can be as trivial as a blister on your thumb, as life-threatening as a constriction of your airway. As in real estate, the three factors that determine the dangers associated with an edema are location, location, location. Exposure to toxic chemicals can cause a variety of edemas. Pulmonary edema (fluid in the lungs) is particularly dangerous, if not treated. Be sure to avoid inhalation of chemicals whenever possible and to use proper protective measures, as suggested on the MSDS (fume hoods, respirators, etc.). 

Just as laboratories are unique from other buildings, so are their ventilation systems. The laboratory chemical fume hood is the primary engineering control used to protect workers from potential serious exposures to toxic substances, yet they are often the last furnishings considered. 

More serious than dermatoses caused by skin contact with Tetryl, TNT, DNT, Hg-Fulminate, solvents etc, during explosives and ammunition production, are exposures to toxic dusts, fumes and vapors. Among these are TNT, DNT, oxides of N, Pb-dusts and vapors, and solvent vapors. Special skin cleansing agents and solns for detecting these harmful materials on the skin are discussed in Ref 1... 

A number of studies have examined the potential for airborne aluminum to induce respiratory effects in chronically exposed workers. Exposure to aluminum fumes and dust occurs in potrooms where hot aluminum metal is recovered from ore, in welding operations, and the production and use of finely powdered aluminum. Wheezing, dyspnea, and impaired lung function have been observed in potroom workers (Bast-Peetersen et al. 1994 Chan-Yeung et al. 1983 Simonsson et al. 1985). Because these workers were also exposed to a number of other toxic chemicals including sulfur dioxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbon monoxide, and hydrogen fluoride, it is difficult to ascribe the respiratory effects to aluminum. 

There are several major types of chronic lung disorders that can be caused by exposure to toxicants. A common symptom of chronic lung damage is chronic bronchitis. Among the toxicants that cause this condition are ammonia, arsenic, cotton dust (brown lung disease), and iron oxide from exposure to welding fumes. 

Two of the standards directly related to worker health and important in design work are Toxic Hazardous Substances and Occupational Noise Exposure. The first of these two concerns the normal release of toxic and carcinogenic substances, carried via vapors, fumes, dust fibers, or other media. Compliance with the Act requires the designer to make calculations of concentrations and exposure time of plant personnel to toxic substances during normal operation of a process or plant. These releases could emanate from various types of seals and from control-valve packings or other similar sources. Normally, the designer can meet the limits set for exposure to toxic substances by specifying special valves, seals, vapor-recovery systems, and appropriate ventilation systems. 

Zinc is another essential metal, a cofactor to many metalloenzymes. Its deficiency can induce effects on liver, nervons system, eye, skin and testis. Excessive intake of this metal, however, may prodnce adverse effects. The toxicity of the metal from ingestion is relatively low as it is readily excreted. Chronic exposure to the fume, however, may lead to metal fume fever, which could probably be attributed to the bivalent zinc ion, Zn +. Althongh the metal in its zero-valent state exhibits little inhalation toxicity, in its oxidation state or as oxide it can present a serions health hazard. Inhalation of Zn2+ or metal oxide fnme can prodnce a sweet metallic taste, congh, chills, fever, dry throat, nansea, vomiting, blnrred vision, ache, weakness, and other symptoms. The nontoxic fnme of the metal is snsceptible to oxidize in the air in the presence of moistnre and in contact with many other snbstances in air. The metal powder or its dnst is a skin irritant. 

Cadmium was previously used for batteries, electroplating, pigments, and alloys. However, applications of cadmium have declined over the years because of its toxicity to humans. Acute exposure to cadmium fumes can cause flu-Uke symptoms (examples chills, fever, etc.). 

Thirteen firefighters, one ambulance officer, and three bystanders were hospitalized after exposure to the fumes but released the next day. After discussion with the National Poisons Centre, the hospital medical superintendent issued a statement declaring that the fumes were an irritant rather than toxic. This indicates the low level of concern for the environment and personal well-being 30 years ago. 

Figure 2.1 A chemical plant in the industrial section of north Fort Worth explodes mtofhmtes in July 2005. sending toxic smoke hundreds of feet into the air. The blast and subsequent fire were fueled by a mixture of sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ethanol, methanol, and isopropyl alcohol, with SO different chemicals used and stored in tanks at the plant. Injuries from exposure to the fumes were apparently limited by fortuitously strong winds that helped to dissipate the plume relatively quickly. Photo reprinted with permission, courtesy of David Bailey.

Chemical - exposure to toxic materials such as dusts, fumes and gases... 

In this case, a high-resolution scanner is used to monitor the electrolytic cells in the tankhouse of a zinc refinery, where acres of acid-filled tanks contain pure metal anode starter plates onto which the refined metal is deposited electrolytically from unrefined cathodes in close proximity. When contact short circuits occur between electrode pairs in the tankhouse, metal production between the shorted pairs is halted, excessive current flows, and power is wasted. An IR scanner, mounted in a fiberglass environmental enclosure on the same overhead crane used to deposit and remove electrodes from the acid bath, maps the process and pinpoints the shorts, allowing service personnel to clear them with minimal exposure to toxic acid fumes. The shorts appear as hot spots on the computer-monitored thermal map. 

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