Health Hazards Associated with Chemicals

One or more of the following health hazards may be associated with chemicals that the process technician works with  

Mutagen—a chemical that is suspected to have the properties required to change or alter the genetic structure of a living cell 

Teratogen—a substance that is suspected to have an adverse effect on the development of a human fetus 

Reproductive toxin—a chemical that inhibits the ability of a person to have children chemicals are routinely tested for this property 

Asphyxiation—occurs when oxygen is removed or displaced by a chemical or when a chemical blocks or impedes the ability of a person s body to use oxygen Anesthetic—dulls the senses (e.g., alcohol) 

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In the framework of Europe s future Chemicals Policy and due to the obligation to document environmental and health hazards associated with chemical substances, the supplier-customer relationship will be compelled to acquire an entirely new quality. The REACH system is in a way going to mandate an intensified dialogue between producers and users of chemicals in both directions of the supply chain ... 

Many of the chemical elements and their compounds are toxic and should be handled with due respect and care. In recent years there has been greatly increased knowledge and awareness of the health hazards associated with chemicals, radioactive materials. 

Many of the chemical elements and their compounds are toxic and should be handled with due respect and care. In recent years there has been a greatly increased knowledge and awareness of the health hazards associated with chemicals, radioactive matmals, and other agents. Anyone working with the elements and certain of their compounds should become thoroughly familiar with the prt r safeguards to be taken. Information on specific hazards and recommended exposure limits may also be found in Section 16. Reference should also be made to publications such as the following ... 

The physical and health hazards associated with chemicals should be determined before working with them This determination may involve consulting literature references. Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries (LCSSs), Matmal Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs), or other reference materials (see also Chapter 3, section 3.B) and may require discussions with the laboratory supervisor and consultants such as safety and industrial hygiene officers. Every step of the waste minimization and removal processes should be checked against federal, state, and local regulations. Production of mixed chemical-radioactive-biological waste (see Chapter 7, section 7.C.1.3) should not be considered without discussions with environmental health and safety experts. 

Langard S, Norseth T (1986) Chromium. In Friberg L, Nordberg GF, Vouk V (eds) Handbook on the toxicology of metals, 2nd edn, vol 2. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 185-210 Lee HS, Goh CL (1988) Occupational dermatosis among chrome platers. Contact Dermatitis 18 89-93 Mathias CGT (1982) Contact dermatitis from cyanide plating solutions. Arch Dermatol 118 420-422 Neverland P (1976) Health hazards associated with chemical and electrolytic surface treatment (in Swedish). IVF-Resultat, vol... 

Process technicians who transport, store, and handle chemicals must understand the systems, equipment, and technology they are working with the physical hazards associated with chemicals in their facility the health hazards associated with chemicals in their facility chemical routes of entry into the human body use of the material safety data sheets and proper usage of labeling, signs, and tags. 

In Section III, you will find an explanation on risks codes and the CLP system (classification, labeling, and packaging of substances and mixtures), which are important in defining the health hazards associated with chemicals. 

Toxicology. The toxicity of ethyl ether is low and its greatest hazards in industry are fire and explosion. The vapor is absorbed almost instandy from the lungs and very prompdy from the intestinal tract. It undergoes no chemical change in the body. Prevention and control of health hazards associated with the handling of ethyl ether depend primarily on prevention of exposure to toxic atmospheric concentrations and scmpulous precautions to prevent explosion and fire. 

The first major objective for the inherent safety review is the development of a good understanding of the hazards involved in the process. Early understanding of these hazards provides time for the development team to implement recommendations of the inherent safety effort. Hazards associated with flammability, pressure, and temperature are relatively easy to identify. Reactive chemistry hazards are not. They are frequently difficult to identify and understand in the lab and pilot plant. Special calorimetry equipment and expertise are often necessary to fully characterize the hazards of runaway reactions and decompositions. Similarly, industrial hygiene and toxicology expertise is desirable to help define and understand health hazards associated with the chemicals employed. 

It is worthwhile drawing attention to health hazards associated with film infected water systems which also cause corrosion. Two of the most common are Legionnaires disease and so called humidifier fever . Because of strong adhesion of biofilms and diffusion rates through the film treatment based on cleaners and chemical sterilisers such as chlorine often fail similar considerations apply to other systems in industry, e.g. food, paint, oil and gas are examples where biofilm activities have given massive problems. 

Our current state of knowledge is insufficient to fully assess potential health hazards associated with the use of nano-objects and relate health effects to then-chemical, structural and morphological properties. The main danger of nanoobjects is that they are capable of easily penetrating the blood stream and internal organs via inhalation, ingestion and through the skin. Further systematic research of structure-properties of nano-objects is required. 

Another health hazard associated with exposure to UV radiation is the potential cocarcinogenic activity of UV light with the contaminant on the skin. Past studies have found that exposure to UV radiation results in a significant enhancement of the effects of chemical carcinogens such as 7,12-dimethyl benzanthracene (13) and benzo[a]pyrene (14). Even normally innocuous compounds such as anthracene, n-decane and n-tetradecane can develop tumorigenic activity in mice under irradiation with long-wavelength (>350 nm)... 

Asbestos constitutes several types of hydrated silicate mineral fibers. The types of asbestos, their chemical compositions, and CAS Numbers are presented in Table 3.8.1. These substances occur in nature in rocks, silicate minerals, fibrous stones, and underground mines. This class of substances exhibits unique properties of noncombustibility, high resistance to acids, and high tensile strength for which they were widely used in many products, including floor and roofing tiles, cement, textiles, ropes, wallboards, and papers. Because of the health hazards associated with excessive exposure to asbestos, the use of these substances is currently banned. 

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. 

With pentaBDE and octaBDE no longer manufactured, decaBDE is now the sole PBDE chemical still in production, with global consumption at 56,418 metric tons per year. Similar to its lower brominated cousins, decaBDE is found widely in the environment in houses, cars, humans, and wildlife." DecaBDE degrades into lower PBDE congeners. And there are health hazards associated with commercial decaBDE and its breakdown products. The European Union, for example, recently banned decaBDE use in electrical and electronic equipment because decaBDE formulations contain significant concentrations of nonaBDE (nine bromine atoms). ... 

D. Problems in assessing health hazards. The nature and magnitude of the health hazards associated with occupational or environmental exposures to any chemical depend on its intrinsic toxicity and the conditions of exposure. 

They have been used extensively in the past in many different applications including RPs. The fibers offer advantages such as excellent/high strength and stifBiess, good rigidity, chemical resistance, and particularly fire resistance. However its use has ceased in all but closely controlled applications, following realization of the health hazards associated with it. 

Capable of protecting employees from health hazards associated with hazardous chemicals in the laboratory. 

Chapter 5 presents general guidelines for laboratory work with hazardous chemicals rather than specific standard operating procedures for individual substances. Hundreds of thousands of different chemicals are encountered in the research conducted in laboratories, and the specific health hazards associated with most of these compounds are generally not known. Also, laboratory work frequently generates new substances of unknown properties and unknown toxicity. Consequently, the only prudent course is for laboratory personnel to conduct their work under conditions that minimize the risks due to both known and unknown hazardous substances. The general work practices outlined in this chapter are designed to achieve this purpose. 

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