Safety and health considerations

Safety and hazard problems can justify important design decisions. The following elements deserve attention  

Identify potential explosive mixtures in the chemical reactors and storage facilities, particularly the mixtures with air. Specify concentration and temperature range. 

Find information about flash point, autoignition temperature and flammability limits. 

Specify the toxic or nontoxic character of the main chemicals involved in the process. Information on toxicity and hazard effects can be found on the websites of agencies for public environment and health, such as for example the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the European Environmental Agency. A good introduction to environmental engineering is the book of Allen and Shon-nard [4]. In the field of process safety, the book of Crowl and Louvar [5] is still popular. The book of Kletz [6] covers the topics of hazard and operability, as well as hazard analysis. 

Here we shall restrict consideration to safety and health considerations that can be built in while the design is developing rather than the detailed hazard and operability studies that take place in the later stages of design. The three major hazards in process plants are fire, explosion, and toxic release.  

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Animal facilities have traditionally been under the purview of the scientist. However, there are special safety and health considerations which should be involved in the design of individual animal rooms. These facilities may, also, include housing for insects, parasites, etc. 

Operating Procedures. Employers must develop and implement written operating instructions for safely conducting activities involved in each covered process consistent with the process safety information. The written procedures must address steps for each operating phase, operating limits, safety and health considerations, and safety systems and their functions. Included must be normal... 

A significant drive for the need to lovrer detection limits stems from occupational safety and health considerations and requirements. Hazcurdous chemicals such as dimethyl sulfate may be used as educts in the synthesis of industrial goods, others such as epichlorohydrine or bis(chloromethyl)ether may be generated during a chemical process. 

Finally, within the context of chemical management, pollution prevention is often associated with chemical substitution. However, the environmental benefits of pollution prevention should be carefully evaluated to ensure they never override worker safety and health considerations. 

B. Steps required to correct or avoid deviation, ill. Safety and health considerations ... 

Has a process been established to involve affected personnel in the safety and health considerations pertaining to the change ... 

Safety and health considerations (precautions necessary to prevent exposure including engineering controls and administrative controls)... 

Develop SOPs relevant to safety and health considerations to be followed when laboratory work involves the use of hazardous chemicals. This is especially the case if your lab operations include the routine use of select carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and substances of acute toxicity. SOPs can function as stand-alone documents or supplemental information included as part of research notebooks, experiment documentation, or research proposals. The key idea with laboratories having SOPs is to ensure a process is in place so that an experiment is well thought out and includes and addresses relevant health and safety issues. 

Elliot, L.J., Halperin, W.E. and Landrigan, P.J. (1990). Perspectives on opportunities towards a hazard free bioprocessing environment. In Bioprocessing Safety, Worker and Community Safety and Health Considerations, Ed. Warren C. Hyer Jr., ASTM, Philadelphia, STP 1951, pp. 20-26. 

Bioprocessing Safety, Worker and Community Safety and Health Considerations, Ed. Warren C. Hyer Jr., ASTM, Philadelphia, STP 1951, pp. 14-19. 

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