High hazard materials

Any special equipment requirements, including that needed for charging or handling highly hazardous materials... 

Near Miss - (Precursors) An event that did not result in an accidental release of a highly hazardous material but would have if another failure occurred. 

Process - An activity that involves highly hazardous materials reacting chemically, their use, storage, manufacturing, handling, or movement... 

OSHA, 1996, Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Materials, 29CFR1910.119. 

Hazard code Larger letter size indicates greater hazard. For example, high hazard materials (R) include phosgene, carbon disulfide, ethylene oxide, etc. Moderate hazard materials (E) include toluene, sulfuric acid, etc. Low hazard materials (J) include soda ash, alum, etc. 

High hazard material - selection of lower hazard material recommended if I substitution is not feasible perform health risk assessment and adopt exposure control strategy to reduce health risks... 

While the commercial material damped with 30% water is not shock- or friction-sensitive, if it dries out it may become a high-hazard material. As a typical low-melting diacyl peroxide, it may be expected to decompose vigorously or explosively on slight heating or on mechanical initiation [1], It is shock sensitive (presumably when dry) [2]. 

Since discharges of vapors from highly hazardous materials cannot simply be released to the atmosphere, the use of a weak seam roof is not normally acceptable. It is best that tanks in low-pressure hazardous service be designed and stamped for 15 psig to provide maximum safety, and pressure relief systems must be provided to vent relieved overpressure to equipment tfiat can collect, contain, and treat the effluent. 

While either rupture disks or relief valves are allowed on storage tanks by Code, rupture disks by themselves should not be used on tanks for the storage of toxic or other highly hazardous materials since they do not close after opening and may lead to continuing release of hazardous material to the atmosphere. 

It is essential to ensure that employees are not exposed to toxic materials at levels above or for durations beyond those permitted by TLV s or the equivalent. It is thus necessary to ensure by periodic measurement that atmospheric levels of toxic materials throughout the work shift do not exceed the permitted levels. Measurement of atmospheric toxic exposures has been discussed in Chapter 11. The frequency of this air sampling depends on the potential for exposure and injury. Where the hazard is relatively low and actions have been taken to control it, occasional checks by a knowledgeable but not necessarily professional person are desirable to ensure that the control is effective. Where there is a potential for serious hazard, for example, where high-hazard materials are handled in quantity,... 

The waste classification system must be flexible so that it can accommodate special circumstances without need of a continuing series of separate classifications or ad hoc solutions. Common instances where flexibility is required include (1) taking the presence or absence of engineered waste forms into account, (2) providing for classification of small amounts of highly hazardous materials,... 

Operations supervisors should provide procedures to ensure proper isolation of flammable, toxic, or environmentally sensitive fluids in pipelines. Typically these procedures must be backed up with the proper overpressure device. If the trapped fluid is highly flammable, has a high toxicity, or is otherwise very noxious it is not a candidate for a standard rupture disc or safety relief valve, which is routed to the atmosphere. Those highly hazardous materials could be protected with standard rupture disc or safety valve if the discharge is routed to a surge tank, flare, scrubber, or other safe place. 

This test is not very accurate, although it is widely used to evaluate the hazards of organic peroxides. A new test procedure has been developed to classify the violence of decomposition of self-reactive chemicals into three levels. In the new test, only 1mm and 9mm orifices are used. Ten trials are conducted for each diameter, and the chemicals which explode 5 times or more are classified as medium and highly hazardous materials, respectively.This test has been adopted to classify hazardous materials under the Fire Services Law (See Chapter 3). 

A process safety program must be relevant to the company and its operations. The program must also be relevant to employees personal safety and success. The link between safety actions and safety outcomes is most obvious in operations that directly handle highly hazardous materials. Unfortunately, that nexus may not be as obvious in the systems that support and are otherwise indirectly associated with hazardous materials. Appropriately developed, implemented, and communicated process safety metrics can help educate personnel on the importance of different aspects of the process safety system. 

Consider using two drivers or driver relays to minimize stops. Avoid layovers, particularly for high-hazard materials. 

Absence of highly hazardous materials, reactions, or intermediates. 

At Pantex, the preliminary hazards analysis takes the form of a questionnaire (PX-1245), which is used to collect information about facility inventories of highly hazardous chemicals, explosives, and nuclear material. This information serves as an objective basis for facility hazard classification. The information also allows ranking of facilities based on the quantity and form of nuclear material the eonsequences associated with an explosive event, as well as the type of explosives operation and the eonsequences of a release of highly hazardous materials. 

One application of the General Duty clause with respect to process safety occurred following a serious accident in April 1995 at a plant in Lodi, NJ. None of the chemicals involved in the accident were on the OSHA list of highly hazardous materials. OSHA s citations, therefore, were based on the General Duty clause. (Since then, the chemicals involved in that accident have been incorporated into the standard.)... 

Minimize stops en route. If you must stop, select locations with adequate lighting on well-traveled roads. Check the vehicle after each stop to make sure nothing has been tampered with. Consider using two drivers or driver relays to minimize stops during the trip. Avoid layovers, particularly for high hazard materials. 

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