Precautions explosive chemicals

Sodium 2-amino-4,6-dinitrophenoxide Definition Sodium salt of picramic acid Empirical C6H4N3O5 Na Properties Solid m.w. 221.12 Toxicology TSCA listed Precaution Explosive chemical flamm. 

Some chemicals and combinations used in laboratories are known to be explosive. Laboratory manipulations with known explosive chemicals or reagent combinations should be performed only by trained personnel who are thoroughly familiar with the hazards involved and the precautions that must be taken. The worker should know the procedures for destroying or disposing of potentially explosive materials. Any laboratory procedure that results in an unexpected explosion should be investigated to ascertain the probable cause, and a laboratory safety rule established to prevent recurrence. Circumstances of an unexpected explosion should be brought to the attention of workers, team members, management, and the concerned public to help observe caution under similar work conditions. 

Because of its extreme reactivity, toxicity, and gaseous nature, fluorine should be handled using the "basic prudent practices" of Chapter 5.C, supplemented by the additional precautions for work with reactive or explosive chemicals (Chapter 5.G) and work with compressed gases (Chapter 5.H). Work with fluorine requires special precautions and protective equipment and should be carried out only by specially trained personnel. Fluorine wiU react with many materials normally recommended for handling compressed gases. 

Companies involved in processing certain hazardous chemicals are required to take additional precautions to protect the employees. The purpose is to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals that may result in toxicity, fire, or explosion hazards. They are required to document what the company has done in regard to process safety if... 

Part 5, Section 5.1 1982 Halon 1301 total flooding systems BS 5345 Code of Practice for the selection, installation and maintenance of electrical apparatus for use in potentially explosive atmospheres Part 1 1976 Basic requirements for all parts of the code BS 5423 1987 Specification for portable fire extinguishers BS 5499 Fire safety signs, notices and graphic symbols Part 1 1984 Specification for fire safety signs BS 5839 Fire detection and alarm systems in buildings Part 1 1980 Code of Practice for installation and servicing BS 5908 1980 Code of Practice for fire precautions in chemical plant... 

Precaution Wear chemical gloves, impervious clothing dust may form an explosive organic dust cloud use with adequate ventilation Hazardous Ingredients Acetic acid ethenyl ester, polymer with ethanol Hazardous Decomp. Prods. CO NFPA Health 1, Flammability 1, ReactivityO... 

Precaution Wear chemical goggles, protective gloves incompat. with strong oxidizers sol ns can be very slippery use grounded explosion-proof equipment Hazardous Decomp. Prods. CO, COj, corrosive, toxic oxides of sulfur HMIS Health 2, Flammability 1, Reactivity 0 Storage Keep containers closed when not in use Norfox 92 Granules [Norman, Fox]... 

Chemical safety data sheets for individual compounds should be consulted for detailed information. Precautions for the higher aldehydes are essentially those for most other reactive organic compounds, and should include adequate ventilation in areas where high exposures are expected fire and explosion precautions and proper instmction of employees in use of respiratory, eye, and skin protection. 

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. 

This is a location which is continuously contaminated with explosive gases, chemical vapours or volatile liquids and thus is highly susceptible to fire hazards. Installation of electrical machines in such areas should be avoided as far as possible, to reduce cost, facilitate maintenance and take other precautions. 

An explosion and fire (March 13, 1991) occurred at an ethylene oxide unit at Union Carbide Chemicals Plastics Co. s Seadrift plant in Port Lavaca, TX, 125 miles southwest of Houston. The blast killed one, injured 19, and idled the facility, that also produces ethylene, ethylene glycol, glycol ether ethanolamines, and polyethylene. Twenty-five residents were evacuated for several hours as a safety precaution. The plant lost all electrical power, for a few days, because its cogeneration unit was damaged. The Seadrift plant, with 1,600 workers, is capable of making 820 million lb per year of ethylene oxide which is one-third of Carbide s worldwide production of antifreeze, polyester fibers, and surfactants Seadrift produces two thirds of Carbide s worldwide production of polyethylene. 

Controls for the safe transfer of chemicals between ship and shore will vary in detail. The escape of dust and vapour should be minimized when loading and unloading of bulk liquids or solids and persons should not be at risk. Precautions to avoid contact with water are needed when transferring water-incompatible materials (page 229). Precautions for handling explosives include ... 

Hazard, i.e. the potential of the material to cause injury under certain conditions (flammability, explosion limits in air, ignition and autoignition temperatures, static electricity (explosions have occurred during drying due to static electricity), dust explosion, boiling point, fire protection (specification of extinguishers, compounds formed when firing), R S (nature of special risk and safety precautions). Table 5.2-5 lists hazards associated with typical chemical reactions. 

When an explosive device is used to disperse radioactive, chemical, or biological materials, the treatment of casualties is more difficult because of the presence of contamination. In this situation, emergency responders could face a life-threatening situation unless appropriate precautions are taken. These precautions include using screening instruments (see Section 6.12) to assess hazard conditions before responding, then selecting the appropriate level of personal protective equipment (see Section 6.7) to provide protection from the hazard. 

One can view samples from an explosion scene as belonging to one of two work streams (i) clean and (ii) dirty. Separation between these work streams needs to be established at the earliest possible moment in the process with appropriate laboratory facilities to handle each. The clean work stream contains items which are to be examined for invisible chemical traces of explosives. Such items need protection from any external contamination to a degree commensurate with the sensitivity of the chemical analysis techniques to be employed. The dirty work stream contains items that do not require trace analysis precautions, e.g., scene debris for physical searching. Nonetheless, such items still need to be handled in a way which protects their evidential integrity. Some items can start in the clean stream and then be transferred to the dirty stream, e.g., damaged motor vehicles may first be examined for explosive traces, and then transferred out of the trace examination area to be searched for physical evidence. 

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