Safety contamination control

Effective planning is again the key. We need to keep in mind that proper decontamination can be costly, but improper decontamination can be even more costly. One large but variable cost is the time it takes workers to decontaminate. The time that decontamination will take should be estimated and incorporated into the budget. In addition, contamination control and decontamination strategies and procedures should be outlined in the safety plan, communicated to workers, and implemented before any worker enters any area where there is a potential to become contaminated. 

EPA regulations also limit lead in drinking water to 0.015 milligrams per liter (mg/L). The 1988 Lead Contamination Control Act requires the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), EPA, and the states to recall or repair water coolers containing lead. This law also requires new coolers to be lead-free. In addition, drinking water in schools must be tested for lead, and the sources of lead in this water must be removed. 

Therefore, while consumers expect the food that they eat to be safe, as a consequence of industrial development, pollution, and climate change, the variety of food contaminants are increased. Currently, one of the great challenges in food safety is controlling the risks associated with mixtures of contaminants, which continuously are changing. 

Plans for decontamination of the HCF in response to an accidental release would be formulated subsequent to a detailed assessment of the event All in-situ decontamination of HCF structures and equipment will be conducted in accordance with DOE and SNL radiation-safety and contamination-control policy. Ail decontamination plans would be submitted through the appropriate unreviewed safety question determination (USQD) channels for approval before implementation. 

A comprehensive site safety and control plan should include the following summary analysis of hazards on the site and a risk analysis of those hazards site map or sketch site work zones (clean zone, transition or decontamination zone, work or hot zone) use of the buddy system site communications command post or command center standard operating procedures and safe work practices medical assistance and triage area hazard monitoring plan (air contaminate monitoring, etc.) decontamination procedures and area and other relevant areas. This plan should be a part of the employer s emergency response plan or an extension of it to the specific site. 

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSH Act) requires that every employer provide a safe and healthful work environment. This includes ensuring that workers are protected from unacceptable levels of airborne hazards. Although most air is safe to breathe, certain work operations and locations have characteristic problems of air contamination. Control measures are required to reduce airborne hazard concentrations to safe levels. When controls are not feasible or while they are being implemented, workers must wear approved respiratory protection. 

Special safety constraints apply to equipment selection, design, and operation in nuclear reprocessing (269). Equipment should be reHable and capable of remote control and operation for long periods with minimal maintenance. Pulsed columns and remotely operated mixer—settlers are commonly used (270). The control of criticaHty and extensive monitoring of contamination levels must be included in the process design. 

Orga.nic Colora.nts. The importance of coal-tar colorants cannot be overemphasized. The cosmetic industry, in cooperation with the FDA, has spent a great deal of time and money in efforts to estabUsh the safety of these dyes (see Colorants for food, drugs, cosmetics, and medical devices). Contamination, especially by heavy metals, and other impurities arising from the synthesis of permitted dyes are stricdy controlled. Despite this effort, the number of usable organic dyes and of pigments derived from them has been drastically curtailed by regulatory action. 

For exposure to occur, workers should have access to the hazard (e.g., they should work in or near contaminated areas). Under normal circumstances, those workers who are prevented from entering contaminated areas (by using access controls) are not exposed to contaminated material. In many cases these workers do not fall under the requirements, provided that they are not exposed to other safety hazards as a result of the operation. Conversely, workers in contaminated areas are covered because they have access to health hazards and could be potentially exposed [1]. 

More recently, in the middle 1990s, the UK s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) also reviewed the push-pull system. Hollis and Fletcher offer a comprehensive literature review on push-pull ventilation and note that the main conclusions of previous work on push-pull ventilation of tanks are that the control is primarily supplied by the inlet jet, forming a wall jet along the surface of the tank, and that the main purpose of the exhaust hood is to remove the air and contaminant contained within the push jet. 

After the type of system has been selected, many of these same factors must be considered in selecting the fluid for the system. This chapter is devoted to hydraulic fluids. Included in it are sections on the properties and characteristics desired of hydraulic fluids types of hydraulic fluids hazards and safety precautions for working with, handling, and disposing of hydraulic liquids types and control of contamination and sampling. 

A successful program of quality control also involves maintenance of sanitary conditions and production of products free from adulteration, contamination, and filth. Methods given by the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (1) should be applied to the finished product to ensure against seizure and prosecution by federal and state food and drug authorities. In many instances such methods of analysis are not adaptable to production-line control and less accurate but more rapid methods must be substituted. With such procedures, more severe tolerances must be used to provide a sufficient margin of safety. 

With plastics that decompose, there may be hazards such as personal bums or wounds and air contamination. Faulty controllers and/or freeze-off can cause the overheating situation from a burned out heater. Safety devices should be used that alert the plant when problems develop people have to be aware of these possible situations. Recognize that personnel injury in plants due to machinery represents 10% of all accidents (Fig. 8-77). 

The high-high probe is completely independent of the other probes and is hardwired to shut down the system completely, independent of the computer. (In the preliminary safety review, the hazards associated with HF overfeed were identified as important thus the independent high-high shutdown probe system was installed.) All systems are designed to fail into safe conditions. The HF control valves are air operated and of a design that makes it impossible for HF to contaminate the air supply. 

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