Reactive chemicals data handling

Surveyed companies share chemical data of a general nature for most chemicals (e.g., material safety data sheets [MSDS]) and good handling practices for some. However, detailed reactive chemical... 

The handbook provides ready information on the fire and chemical reactivity of commonly used chemicals. Its purpose is to provide basic information important to the safe handling of chemicals and to help provide guidance in responding to a hazardous materials incident, in particular, incidents involving reactive chemicals and materials posing fire and explosion hazards. The data and information on each chemical have been compiled from several sources, including the CHRIS data base, material safety data sheets from chemical manufacturers and suppliers, and various references cited at the end of this first chapter. This first chapter provides an explanation of the terms used in chemical specific discussions and also provides basic guidance on how to extract information from the handbook. 

Safety. Solvents with low potential for fire and reactive chemistry hazards are preferred as inherently safe solvents. In all cases, solvents must be used with a full awareness of potential hazards and in a manner consistent with measures needed to avoid hazards. For information on the safe use of solvents and their potential hazards, see Sec. 23, Safety and Handling of Hazardous Materials. Also see Growl and Louvar, Chemical Process Safety Fundamentals with Applications (Prentice-Hall, 2001) Yaws, Handbook of Chemical Compound Data for Process Safety (Elsevier, 1997) Lees, Lo.ss Prevention in the Process Industries (Butterworth, 1996) and Bretherick s Handbook of Reactive Chemical Hazards, 6th ed., Urben and Pitt, eds. (Butter-worth-Heinemann, 1999). 

Adhesives consist of a number of components as described in Chapter 6, usually containing reactive chemicals. Adequate precautions must be taken when working with adhesives to prevent harmful exposure. Adhesive manufacturers are required by law to provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each product that they sell. The MSDS must contain sufficient details about the composition, hazard rating, first aid measures, handling and storage, personal protection (exposure control), stability and reactivity, and toxicology of adhesives. 

The following is a summary of the nonoxidizing biocides that are most commonly used in all aspects of oilfield operations. For each biocide, the structures, mechanism of action, and compatibility concerns will be discussed. It should be noted that all oilfield biocides are reactive chemicals that should always be handled with extreme care and in accordance to the manufacturer s instructions on the material safety data sheets (MSDS). 

To an experienced operator trained in the handling of industrial chemicals, the dimers present Httle cause for concern in handling or storage. The finished polymer coating presents even less of a health problem contact with the reactive monomer is unlikely. In the ancillary operations, such as cleaning or adhesion promotion, the operator must observe suitable precautions. Before using the process chemicals, operators must read and understand the current Material Safety Data Sheets, which are available from the manufacturers. 

More than just a few parameters have to be considered when modelling chemical reactivity in a broader perspective than for the well-defined but restricted reaction sets of the preceding section. Here, however, not enough statistically well-balanced, quantitative, experimental data are available to allow multilinear regression analysis (MLRA). An additional complicating factor derives from comparison of various reactions, where data of quite different types are encountered. For example, how can product distributions for electrophilic aromatic substitutions be compared with acidity constants of aliphatic carboxylic acids And on the side of the parameters how can the influence on chemical reactivity of both bond dissociation energies and bond polarities be simultaneously handled when only limited data are available ... 

If you supply chemicals to others, whether you are a manufacturer or distributor, you obviously need to provide your customers with the data they need to safely handle any reactive materials. Do not use published data indiscriminately. If possible, track down and consider the original source. It may be necessary to have your own testing performed, if the available sources of data are questionable or your own experience indicates that testing may be warranted. Your customers may be looking to you as the first and best source of data and information on the reactive properties of your products. 

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