Handling Chemicals

Safely

Handling Chemicals Safely

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Throughout this presentation
we will understand the
concepts that MSDS’s tell us
about.

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 Any substance which has a
potential for harm is a
hazardous chemical.

Hazardous Chemicals are

designated by the
Occupational Safety and
Health Administration
(OSHA) to be a physical or
health hazard
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Hazardous Chemicals that can do physical
harm
• Combustible Liquids
• Compressed Gases
• Oxidizers
• Flammable Gases
• Explosives
• Pyrophoric Substances
• Organic Peroxides
• Water Reactive Substances
• Unstable Substances
• Radioactive Substances

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 Toxic chemicals can
• damage the lungs
• damage liver, kidney, nervous
systems
• damage bone marrow and
blood cells
• damage eyes
• cause cancer
• Cause death

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 Employees Have The

♦right to know

♦right for protection

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Employers Have The Responsibility
to

♦Evaluate hazards

♦Have a program to protect

employee

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This pr ogram must
“comm uni cate th e
haza rds” of
chemi cal s to
em plo yees.

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Hazard Communication Standard

is first developed by the

Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) in the
USA and is adopted in most
countries today.

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Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
are used to communicate
chemical hazards to employees

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 A typical MSDS provides the
following
♦ chemical identity
♦ Fire and explosion hazard data
♦ physical and chemical
characteristics
♦ Reactivity details
♦ Health-hazard information
♦ Precautions for safe handling
♦ Use of the material
♦ Any control measures to be taken
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 MSDS
NAME: HYDROGEN SULFIDE, liquefied
SYNONYMS: hydrosulfuric acid; sulfureted hydrogen
FORMULA: H2S
DOT CLASS: Class 2.3, Poisonous gas
SHIPPING LABEL: POISON GAS and FLAMMABLE GAS
ID NO.: UN 1053
CAS NO.: 7783-06-4
MOL. WT.: 34.1
STATEMENT OF HAZARDS: Severe health hazard. Flammable gas. Low ignition energy.
EMERGENCY RESPONSE PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT: Wear special protective
clothing and positive pressure self-contained breathing apparatus.
SPILL OR LEAK PROCEDURES: Eliminate all ignition sources. Approach release from upwind. Stop
or control the leak, if this can be done without undue risk. Use water spray to cool and disperse vapors,
protect personnel, and dilute spills to form nonflammable mixtures. Control runoff and isolate
discharged material for proper disposal.
FIRE FIGHTING PROCEDURES: Stop flow of gas before extinguishing fire. Use water spray, dry
chemical, or carbon dioxide. Use water spray to keep fire-exposed containers cool.
HEALTH HAZARDS: Severe health hazard. May be fatal if inhaled. Irritating to eye and respiratory
system. The sense of smell is immediately lost at concentrations of greater than 200 ppm.
FIRE AND EXPLOSION HAZARDS: Flammable gas. Forms explosive mixtures with air over wide
range. Combustion produces irritants and toxic gases, including sulfur dioxide.
AUTOIGNITION TEMPERATURE: 500°F (260°C)
FLAMMABLE LIMITS: LOWER 4.3% UPPER 46.0%
INSTABILITY AND REACTIVITY HAZARDS: Reacts with strong oxidizing materials.
STORAGE RECOMMENDATIONS: Store in cool, dry, well-ventilated location. Separate from
oxidizing materials.
USUAL SHIPPING CONTAINERS: Special steel pressure cylinders. Shipped as a liquid under its own
vapor pressure.
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES: Colorless gas with characteristic odor of rotten eggs.
MELTING POINT: –122°F (–86°C)
BOILING POINT: –76°F (–60°C)
SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 1.54 liquefied
SOLUBILITY IN WATER: soluble
VAPOR DENSITY: 1.18
VAPOR PRESSURE: 14,060 mm Hg @ 20°C
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT: Class I, Group C

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 MSDS

• Comp any p ro vide s

MS DS’s to p ro te ct u s !

• We must understand the

concepts that MSDS’s tell us
about.

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 Definition of Hazard Codes (Hazard
Hazard Health Hazard Fire Hazard Reactivity Scales)
Code
Extreme Health Hazard
Materials which on brief
exposure or repeated low level
4 exposure could cause death or
major injury
High Health Hazard
Materials which on brief
exposure or repeated low level
3 exposure could cause serious
temporary or permanent injury,
includes potent sensitizers
Moderate Health Hazard
Materials which on brief
exposure or repeated low level
exposure could cause serious
2 temporary incapacitation or
injury. Includes allergens
Slightly Health Hazard
Materials which on exposure
cause irritation, but only minor,
1 reversible injury
No Significant Health Haz.
0 All chemicals have some degree of Materials that will not burn
toxicity
Hazard
Extremely Flammable
Gases and materials which
rapidly vaporize at ambient
temperature and pressure, and
which burn rapidly. Includes
liquids with flash points below
73F(23C)
Highly Flammable
Materials which can be ignited
under almost all ambient
temperature conditions.
Includes liquids with flash points
between 73 -100F (23 -38C)
Moderately Flammable
Materials which must be
moderately heated or exposed to
relatively high ambient
temperatures before ignition can
occur. Includes liquids with flash
points between 100-200F (38-93C)
Slightly Flammable
Materials which must be pre-
heated before ignition can occur.
Includes liquids with flashpoints
above 200F(93C)
Non-flammable
Extremely Reactive
Materials which are basically
unstable: I.e. will violently
polymerize or decompose
explosively at normal pressures
and temperatures
Highly Reactive
Materials which will explode if
heated, detonated, or react
explosively if mixed with
hydrocarbons or oxidizers.
Includes materials which react
explosively with water.
Moderately Reactive
Materials such as strong oxidizers
which are incompatible with many
other materials and will undergo
violent but not explosive chemical
reaction when mixed with
incompatible chemicals
Slightly Reactive
Materials which are normally
stable but may become
incompatible with other
chemicals at elevated
temperatures and pressures.
Non-Reactive
Materials which are stable even
under exposure conditions
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NFPA 704 Standard System for the Identification of the
Hazards of Materials for Emergency Response

Fire
Hazard
Scale

Health
Hazard Reactivity
Scale Hazard
Scale

Special “OX” for oxidizers

Precautions “W” for water reactive materials
“COR” for corrosive.

NFPA Diamond is for use within the facilities, not

on transport vehicles

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Department of Transportation (DOT)
Placards
DOT identification numbers are four-
digit numbers assigned to a specific
hazardous material or group of
hazardous materials. They are used to
cross-reference the name of a material
in order to access hazard and
response information for that material.

On shipping papers, DOT identification

numbers are preceded by the prefix
“UN” (United Nations hazard class
number) for domestic and international
shipments or “NA” (North American)
for shipments only within North
America.

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 Health
Hazards
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 Physical States determine the routes of
entry

Vapor
Gas

Liquid
Aerosol: Solid or liquid particles suspended in air

Smoke Fog Mist Fume Dust

incomplete Dispersed Solid particle
combustion High liquid droplets condensate Solid
of carbon concentration condensing from gaseous
from vapor
Particulates
containing s of very fine phase, or
state
substances droplets atomized liquid (welding)
state

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 Health Hazards

Routes of Entr

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 Health Hazards
Gases, vapors and aerosols
enter our bodies by means
of our respiratory system

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 Health Hazards

We also breathe through

our skin.

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 Health Hazards

Therefore gases and vapors

can also enter our bodies
through our skin

Liquids also enter our bodies

through our skin through
pores.

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 Health Hazards
Air we breath should
have
Enough oxygen [insufficient
concentration of oxygen
causes asphyxiation
No toxic gases or vapors
[present of toxic gases or
vapor causes poisoning

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 Health Hazards
Toxic substances can also enter
our bodies by eating and
drinking

Therefore, eating and drinking in

areas containing hazardous
substances should not be
allowed.
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 Health Hazards

Watch out
these
symptoms!
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 Health Hazards
• Not enough oxygen: shortness of
breath, disorientation
• Carbon monoxide: nausea,
dizziness, increased respiration,
headache, sleepiness
• Hydrogen sulfide: eye irritation,
dizziness, insomnia, loss of sense
of smell
• Chlorine: burning eyes, nose,
mouth, cough, nausea, headache

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 Health Hazards

And
protect
yourself !
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 Health Hazards

use your
Personal
Protective
Equipment
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 Health Hazards

PPE
for breathing

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 Health Hazards

Self Contained Breathing Apparatus

(SCBA)
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 Health Hazards

Air Line Respirator

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 Health Hazards

Full Face Cartridge Respirator (Air

Purifying Respirator)
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 Health Hazards
PPE for Eyes
• Standard safety glasses
• Safety glasses with semi-side shields
• with eye-cup side shields
• Goggles with regular ventilation or
hooded ventilation
• Face shields
• Welding helmets

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 Health Hazards

PPE for the Skin

• Gloves
• Boots
• Headgear (goggles, welding
helmets)
• Coveralls

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Threshold Limit Value
(TLV)
is the Time Weighted Average (TWA) exposure
concentration that cannot be exceeded for a
40-hour work-week.
Example: H2S Concentration Duration of Exposure
10 ppm 1hr
5 ppm 2 hrs
10 ppm 1hr
0 ppm 4hrs
TWA Exposure
=(10x1+5x2+10x1+0x4)ppm*hr/8 hrs
=3.75 ppm

TLV for H2S is 10 ppm. So the example exposure is safe

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 Units of Concentration

For Gas and Vapor Contaminants

PPM=parts per million (volume of chemical gas
or vapor per volume of air)
10,000 ppm corresponds to 1% air contaminant.

For Solid and Liquid contaminants

mg/m3= ( weight of liquid or solid chemical per
m3 volume of air)

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Threshold Limit Value
(TLV)
For certain highly toxic chemicals
Special Threshold Limit Values
are also listed.
TLV-STEL is Short Term Exposure Limit (15
minutes duration, maximum 4 times a day, 1hr
apart.
TLV-C is the ceiling level (instantaneous
maximum level) of exposure – an exposure limit
which should not be exceeded under any
circumstances

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Threshold Limit Value
(TLV)

TLV is the registered trademark of

American Conference of Governmental
Industrial Hygienist (ACGIH)

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Permissible Exposure Limit
(PEL)
Sometimes we see Permissible
Exposure Limit (PEL) in chemical data
sheets instead of TLV

It is a time-weighted average (TWA) or

absolute value setting out the
maximum permitted exposure to a
hazardous chemical.

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 Toxicity
The degree to which a substance can harm
humans or animals.
Toxicity can be Acute,
Acute sub-chronic,
sub-chronic or Chronic
Acute toxicity involves harmful effects in an organism
through a single or short-term exposure.
Sub-chronic toxicity is the ability of a toxic substance to
cause effects for more than one year but less than the
lifetime of the exposed organism
Chronic toxicity is the ability of a substance or mixture of
substances to cause harmful effects over an extended period,
usually upon repeated or continuous exposure, sometimes
lasting for the entire life of the exposed organism

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 Toxicity

•LD50-The dose which will kill

50% of the test animals

•LC50-The concentration in air

that will kill 50% of the animals
exposed for a specific length of
time

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 Toxicity
Toxicity Classes for LC50/LD50
Studies
Toxicity Rating Description LD50 LC50
Single oral dose per kg 4 hr inhalation
Rat Rat
1 Extremely Toxic 1mg or less less than 10 ppm
2 Highly Toxic 1-50 mg 10-100 ppm
3 Moderately Toxic 50-500 mg 100-1000 ppm
4 Slightly Toxic 0.5-5g 1000-10000 ppm
5 Practically non-toxic 5-15g 10000-100000
6 Relatively harmless 15 g or more more than 100000

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Fire and
Reactivity

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 Fire Triangle

Fu
ta
He

el
Oxidizer
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 Fire Tetrahedron
Fue
l

at
He

n
Oxyge
Chemical Chain
Reaction

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 Flash Point

The flash point is the lowest

temperature at which a liquid or
solid gives off enough vapor to form a
flammable air-vapor mixture near its
surface

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 Flash Point
Ignition source
Flammable Vapor+Air
mixture at LEL

Flammable liquid at
Example: temperature below flash
Gasoline -45C point
Ignition source Kerosene 55C
Flammable Vapor+Air
mixture at LEL

Flammable liquid at
flash point
temperature 47
 Flash Point

Flash point is a property of

liquid fuels.

Gaseous fuels do not have

flash points.

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 Ignition Temperature
Is the lowest temperature at which a material will
ignite without an external source of ignition.

Example:
Gasoline 440 C
Kerosene 255 C

Flammable liquid heated to its

ignition temperature will self
ignite without a pilot flame

*Autoignition Temperature, Autogenous Ignition

Temperature

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 Upper and Lower Flammability
Limits
Ignitor Spark
Too much fuel
vapor in
vapor+air Fuel + air mixture in
mixture vapor space is within
Ignitor Spark
flammable range
(LEL and UEL)

UEL
H2S 45%
CO 74%
Hydrogen 74% Ignitor Spark
Acetylene 81%
Kerosene 5.4% LEL
Gasoline 7% H2S 4.3% Too little fuel
CO 12.5% vapor in
Hydrogen 4% vapor+air
Acetylene 2.5% mixture
Kerosene 1%
Gasoline 1.3%
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 Vapor Density

Hydrocarbon vapor or gas

leak

Hydrocarbon vapor or gas is generally heavier than air and

accumulates at ground level

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Reactivity

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 Reactivity information in the
MSDS
Explains what could
happen if this chemical
is combined with other
chemicals or with
water or air?
Especially useful if there is
a spill.
It also tells you if a substance
is stable, exactly what it
should be kept away from
and what situations to avoid
It helps you to decide where
and how to store substances
that could have dangerous
reactions, such as fire or
explosion if accidentally
combined.
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Handling and
Storage

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Which one of the following
handling procedure is safer ?

Acid Water

Water Acid

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 Correct Answer
Always add acid to water
first to prevent splashes
Acid

Water

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If the liquid being
transferred from
one barrel to the
other is
flammable, what
is wrong with this
picture ?

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grounding and bonding
between containers during
a transfer of flammables is
essential to stop static
electricity as an ignition
source.

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First Aid

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 First Aid

The MSDS explains

what you should or
should not do in the
event of exposure.

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 First Aid

You should know the

instructions before an
accident occurs.

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 First Aid

Despite every
precaution, you may
be exposed to
hazardous
chemicals.

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 First Aid

If you have been exposed

• Act quickly and leave the area

immediately
• Flush eyes with water for at least 15
minutes, holding them open.
• Wash hands for at least 15 minutes .
• Shower to flush exposed skin for at least
15 minutes
• Get medical attention

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 First Aid

Contact
Loss Control Section
for more information
about chemical hazards

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Thank
You,

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