Hazards safety

There are such a myriad of safety hazards feeing employers and workers within the workplace that it is difiScult to select the most important ones and thus err by leaving out ones which others beheve to be signifieant Although great detail eannot be provided in one chapter, it is the intent of this chapter to provide enough information to set the tone. If detailed information is needed, then other references ean be sought by the reader. 

Abrasive blasting cleaning is in wide use in many industries and presents both a physieal hazard, due to the force of paitieles being propelled, and a health hazard 

All blast cleaning nozzles are to be equipped with an operating valve that must be held open manually and should operate as a deadman or positive-pressure control. A support should be provided upon which the nozzle may be mounted when not in use. All abrasive blasting cleaning enclosures need to be exhaust ventilated in such a way that a continuous inward flow of air will be maintained at all openings in the enclosure during the blasting operation. 

Grinding wheels rotate at high speeds and have the potential to break apart (explode). Thus, abrasive wheel machinery and portable power tools should only be used on machines provided with safety guards with the following exceptions  

Wheels used for internal work while within the work being ground. 

Accident/Incident Prevention Techniques. New York, NY Taylor Francis, 2001. 

Eidson. Handbook ofOSHA Construction Safety Health. Boca Raton, FL CRC/ Lewis Publishers, 1999. 

Department of Energy, OSHA Technical R erence Manual. WashmgXon, DC 1993. 

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Since the principal hazard of contamination of acrolein is base-catalyzed polymerization, a "buffer" solution to shortstop such a polymerization is often employed for emergency addition to a reacting tank. A typical composition of this solution is 78% acetic acid, 15% water, and 7% hydroquinone. The acetic acid is the primary active ingredient. Water is added to depress the freezing point and to increase the solubiUty of hydroquinone. Hydroquinone (HQ) prevents free-radical polymerization. Such polymerization is not expected to be a safety hazard, but there is no reason to exclude HQ from the formulation. Sodium acetate may be included as well to stop polymerization by very strong acids. There is, however, a temperature rise when it is added to acrolein due to catalysis of the acetic acid-acrolein addition reaction. 

Great care must be exercised ia the preparation and use of Ziegler-Natta catalysts. They are easily poisoned by moisture, among other things. They are pyrophoric and are used ia conjunction with large amounts of flammable monomer and solvent, and so can present a significant safety hazard. 

Essential Parameters. Traditionally, all vacuum environments are characterized in terms of one parameter, ie, pressure in the gaseous phase. However, when costs, energy, safety, hazardous wastes, and other requirements are taken into account, each system must be characterized by a host of parameters. Their magnitudes must be deterrnined in order to judge system performance. 

Piping Modifications One resiilt of the inspec tion of the sample locations is a list of sample locations that will require modifications. The mechanical department will be required to make these modifications before the unit test is run. It is likely that the locations that are not typically used will be plugged with debris. The plugs will have to be drilled out before the test begins. Drilling out plugs presents a safety hazard, and those involved must be aware of this and follow the plant safety protocols. 

Sample temperatures may be below ambient. If the sample vessel is liquid-full, a hazard results due to overpressurization as the hquid expands. Venting may be required, but it can distort the results. This safety hazard must be accounted for in the procedure and in interpreting the laboratoiy results. 

Nitrous gases originating from the combustion units in nitric acid plants carry small amounts of unreacted ammonia, NH3. The ammonia may react with the nitrous gas to form microscopic particles of ammonium nitrate that adhere to solid surfaces. Within a short time, there is a growing layer of ammonium nitrate salt covering the internal surface of the nitrous gas compressor (Figure 4-27). This layer can obstruct the flow passages because it tends to increase the power consumption, provoke excessive vibrations, and even present a safety hazard since ammonium nitrate explosions can occur. 

JoAn Wiley Sons, Inc, is pleased to publish this volume oj Organic Syntheses on behalj of Organic Syntheses, Inc. Although Organic Syntheses, Inc. has assured us that each preparation con tained in this volume has been checked in an independent laboratory and that any hazards that were uncovered are clearly set forth in the write-up of each preparation, John Wiley 4c Sons, Inc. does not warrant the preparations against any safety hazards and assumes no liability with respect to the use of the preparations. ... 

Identify the major safety hazards and eliminate them, if possible Locate critical areas on the flow diagrams and layout drawings... 

Refresher course on fundamentals of safety, hazard recognition, procedures Participation in hazard and operability studies on existing operations and procedures... 

Fail Safe-An instrument that on loss of power (pneumatic, electric, etc.) will go to a position that cannot create a safety hazard. 

Training is the heart of any safety program, espeeially when the work involves hazardous substanees and other related issues. Training is intended to enable the workers to reeognize health and safety hazards, and to prevent ineidents. As a result, training inereases produetivity and in some eases ean improve worker morale [4]. 

Does the aetivity inherently expose workers to hazardous substanees, or to health and safety hazards from a hazardous waste operation ... 

HAZWOPER applies only where exposure to hazardous substanees or to health and safety hazards resulting from a hazardous waste operation is likely (see Eigure 2-1). This ean be determined by analysis of exposure monitoring data, hazard eharaeterization, hazard analysis, or exposure assessment [1]. Some of the speeifle examples of work aetivi-ties and situations will be eovered later. 

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]. 

Safety hazards are treated in the same manner. For example, workers who work in trenches in clean areas of the site would be covered by the OSHA Excavation and Trenching Standard, Subpart P, 29 CFR 1926. Workers who work in trenches in contaminated areas would fall under both Subpart P and HAZWOPER. Workers who do not work in trenches fall under HAZWOPER only when working in contaminated areas and would not be covered by either standard when working solely in clean areas, provided they are not exposed to safety hazards resulting from hazardous waste operations. 

If the area and eorridor ean be maintained free of safety hazards arising from the hazardous waste operation, the work probably would not fall under the requirements. In this ease, the area and eorridor would eonstitute a temporary support zone. Beeause the work involves eleetri-eal utilities, it would fall under the most proteetive standard of praetiee, sueh as OSHA s Eleetrieal Standard or the National Eleetrie Code (NEC). Also, there may be other requirements that apply. Administrative eontrols sueh as HAZWOPER-trained eseorts are used to make eertain that the utility workers are not exposed to any hazards from the operation. The proeedures to be followed are doeumented in the site-speeifie HASP [1]. 

For example, in considering workers in contaminated areas of the site who work on scaffolds, the OSHA Scaffolding Standards are more protective for safety hazards resulting from working on scaffolds. HAZWOPER is more protective for health hazards resulting from the contamination. The applicable provisions of both standards would apply to the work. 

Exactly what type of lessons are learned cannot be foreseen. The size and diversity of site activities give rise to a wide variety of health and safety hazards. Individual sites need to document and disseminate information that could enhance their hazard recognition and mitigation. Effective documentation is an important concept that everyone needs to buy in to if the safety program is going to be effective. Wliy workers fail to document potential problems has been the subject of much debate. 

Wlien the appropriate researeh has been eompleted, it is time to use the information to develop the site-speeifie safety plan. Keep in mind that this plan will provide the basis for proteetion of workers, visitors, and the publie. The plan defines health and safety hazards, eontrols, and requirements for individual aetivities at a speeifie worksite and provides doeumentation to help identify and eontrol health and safety hazards before fieldwork begins [1],... 

The HASP should describe how potential health and safety hazards at the work site are located, identified, and measured. A written schedule including inspections and walk-throughs conducted by designated individuals should be specified. 

Notiee that eaeh level of proteetion speeifies a eomplete elothing ensemble. However, in praetiee, the level of proteetion seleeted for a partieular task is driven by the respiratory proteetion requirements. Onee respiratory proteetion is ehosen, elothing is matehed to the dermal and safety hazards. OSHA requires that the level of PPE be seleeted based on three distinet tasks ... 

In addition, responses to releases of hazardous substances where there is no potential health or safety hazard (i.e., fire, explosion, or chemical exposure) are not considered to be emergency responses. Keep in mind that qualified personnel who are trained to clean up incidental... 

The lack of specificity and the potential reasons for a lack of specificity were discnssed in the previons section. The SSHAP shonld he specific enongh to discnss site-specific health and safety hazards. A rationale for the nse of PPE shonld he provided, especially when npgrading levels of protection. 

The contractor s SSAHP for Site C contained task- and operation-specific hazard analyses and safety and health procedures that covered general operations, but they were not specific enough for prescribing control methods and PPE for each job task. The plan identified some safety hazards for each operation but did not describe SOPs for protecting employees from these hazards. The SSAHP did, however, contain personnel and equipment decontamination procedures used at the site. 

The contractors SSAHPs at Sites I and K required that safety and health program inspections be conducted however, these requirements were not effectively implemented at either of these sites. Both Site K contractors required the HSO to conduct daily inspections, and both stated in their written plans that hazards would be immediately corrected. Neither contractor, however, had established hazard abatement procedures to ensure the prompt correction of hazards, and site records for both contractors indicated that hazard abatement activities were either not documented or not completed. For example, the subcontractor s daily safety log contained several notations of safety hazards, including an unstable concrete well and storage of diesel cans near the propane tank however, later log entries and site records did not track the abatement of these hazards. 

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