Sources, information

1 Information Sources Material Safety Data Sheets 

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are a means of communicating properties and safe-handling procedures to users of industrial and laboratory chemicals. 

They also give professionals such as doctors, paramedics, firefighters, and emergency services, information regarding the nature of any problem situations that they may be called on to assist in. 

Initially, MSDSs were in many different formats and levels of completeness. They have now been standardized into a recommended format so that the information is readily available. 

There are national codes of practice for the preparation of MSDSs. The current trend is to use an internationally recognized 16-point standard. This is a comprehensive document referring to how and where to obtain the information as well as including approved terms and forms of wording that must be avoided, for example, the use of N/A, which could mean either not applicable or not available. Such terms should be written out in full. An outline of the international standard is included at the end of this chapter. 

The primary sources of information for this study are documented research results published in the countries investigated, accompanied by investigations to clarify the country specific policy background and including expert assessment. The methodology of an expert survey has been chosen for data collection. The expert survey conducted in 18 European countries (all EU-member states, plus Norway, Switzerland and the Czech Republic) uses a questiormaire that consists of two types of questions questions that are to be answered on the basis of literature reviews and expert knowledge, and those based on additional surveys that are to be performed by national experts. 

Because of the challenges faced by covering 18 European countries (e.g. the resulting language problems), and in order to increase work efficiency, the national experts were asked to review and summarise the relevant literature. 

Due to this faet, data analysis was confronted with the problem that only research material documented in English and German could be double-checked by the authors of this report. The reviews of material written in other languages represent the individual focus of the contracted expert. Data quality delivered is correlated with both data availability and expert knowledge. A comprehensive literature review in international scientific databases was part of each expert survey. 

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The World Wide Web is the main information source which combines many resources. 

This does not have to be so Why not build an uninterrupted stream of information from the producer (the bench chemist) to the consumer (the reader of a journal or book, or the scientist that puts a query into a database) It is quite clear that the producers of information knows best what experiments were done, what observations were made, what results have been obtained. They should put this information into electronic laboratory books, augmented with spectral data (that they can obtain directly from the analytical laboratory). From this electronic repository aU other information sources -manuscripts, journals, books, databases - could be filled, clearly sometimes by manual selection, but not by changing data ... 

C. S. Read with T. Gibson and Z. Sedaghat-Pour, "Acetone" in Chemical Economics Handbook, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif., 1989. An excellent information source. 

The design of air conditioning systems is a highly specialized branch of engineering. A number of excellent information sources regarding air conditioning are available (1). 

The literature of chemistry and associated fields has iacreased enormously siace 1980. Kstahlishment of subspecialties and newly defined disciplines as well as iacreased research output have led to an explosion of journals, books, and on-line databases, all of which attempt to capture, record, and disseminate this plethora of knowledge (1). Tertiary reference tools ia chemistry and technology (eg, KJrk-Othmer, 4th ed.) help track the primary Hterature. Excellent references that discuss basic chemical information tools are The Titerature Matrix of Chemistry (1), Chemical Information Sources (2), and Mow to Find Chemical Information (3). 

G. Wiggins, Chemical Information Sources McGraw-HiU Book Co., Inc., New York, 1991. 

E. J. Stmgha, Standards and Specifications—Information Sources, Gale Research, Detroit, Mich., 1973. 

Assessment Phase The assessment phase aims to collect data needed to identify and analyze pollution-prevention opportunities. Assessment of the facility s waste-reduction needs includes the examination of hazardous waste streams, process operations, and the identification of techniques that often promise the reduction of waste generation. Information is often derived from obsei vations made during a facihty walk-through, interviews with employees (e.g., operators, line workers), and review of site or regulatory records. One professional organization suggests the following information sources be reviewed, as available (Ref. 7) ... 

Information sources that can help the team make a supportable recommendation whether to use or not use a toller again are ... 

Most web sites listed contain links to other web sites. This hyperconnectivity is what makes the WWW a virtually unlimited information source, which we hope you will be able to exploit to expand the limited list of sites presented below. In addition, this appendix will be regularly updated at the following web site ... 

Mixture Name or Other Identifier Percent by Weight Information Source Total Weight (in lbs) Amount of the Listed Chemical by Activity (in lbs.) ... 

Federal/State Information Source (e.g., historical accident records). 

Equation 1.4-7 showed that as long as consequences are small enough, that effects are lineai, i.e., not so catastrophic as to affect the perpetuation of civilization, the number of injuries or fatalities in either case are the same whether or not there are many small accidents or a few large accidents. But the public, either because of information sources or for more fundamental reasons does not see it this way. Since the public affects government, public perception is a concern. 

TABLE 6.3-2 Zion Principal Information Sources (from Joksimovich. 1983) ... 

Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a compilation and evaluation of inputs, outputs, and the potential environmental impacts of a product system throughout its life cycle. The LCA methodology is comprehensively described based on the ISO 14000 series standards. References are also given to I.CA information sources. 

Life cycle cost (LCC) calculations are made to make sure that both the purchase price and the operating costs for life cycle are considered in investment decisions. In the chapter the basic calculation methods and sensitivity analysis are introduced. Examples of calculation results and references to LCC information sources are given. 

There are several sources of information on LCA methodology and of LCA studies. There are a considerable number of cross-references in these information sources, so only a few of them need be considered here in order to provide a starting point for further studies. 

Environmental RouteNet provides a single gateway to the world s foremost databases and information sources available on the Internet. The sendee includes searchable links to hundreds of carefully-screened environmentally-related resources, selected and indexed by the editors at Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. In addition, the site provides access to proprietaiy environmentally-related databases and to daily updates of environmentally-related news stories, regulations and legislation, plus much, much more. 

In considering how to communicate the importance of PSM, a useful place to start is by reviewing the ways in which your company ordinarily communicates. Make a list of every company communication you receive. Then consider how you get the information you need to do your job and how you communicate with your colleagues and subordinates. Make a list of the information sources you rely on professionally. Finally, make a list of all the... 

External information sources industry groups, professional associations, technical journals, print and broadcast media, professional development coursework, etc. 

Scan information sources (dials, chart recorders, etc.). If the pattern of indicators is very familiar, the worker will probably immediately branch to the Execute Actions box (via the thin arrow) and make the usual response to this situation (e.g., pressing the alarm accept button if the indications suggest a nonsignificant event). 

Another effect of noise on tasks involving monitoring and interpretation of a large number of information sources is the "narrowing of the span of attention." In a noisy environment, personnel monitoring the control panel would tend to concentrate on the most obvious aspects of the situation which seem to be familiar to them and fail to incorporate any novel features of the... 

Prepare an event-symptom matrix showing the status of each information source for each event. 

In this fashion, the way in which the workers reach decisions and deal with problems can be recorded. The problem with this technique is that the representation of the event is artificial and this may distort the data collection. The main objection is that the information offered to the worker is usually limited to easily identified information sources. It is quite feasible that workers can encode several sources of information in a display in a quite novel way which they cannot describe and which the analyst cannot anticipate. 

Hierarchical Task Analysis commences by stating the overall objective that the person has to achieve. This is then redescribed into a set of suboperations and the plan specifying when they are carried out. The plan is an essential component of HTA since it describes the information sources that the worker must attend to, in order to signal the need for various activities. Each suboperation can be redescribed further if the analyst requires, again in terms of other operations and plans. 

The first step in the design of procedures is to identify the required information sources. These can include interviews with the workers and supervisors, reviews of existing documentation (e.g., existing SOPs), actual observation of the job, and reviews of past incidents. 

When planning new installations, manufacturers catalogues may be the only information source of equipment data, but they rarely indicate the space needed outside the equipment outline. This requires careful consideration from an experienced facility planner to establish realistic space requirements. 

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