BOS 3640 Unit V Research Paper

Unit V Research Paper

BOS 3640 / Interactions of Hazardous Materials

Unit V Research Paper

The definition of an oxidizing agent is an agent that can cause or contribute to the combustion of other materials. This is possible when the agent is either reducing or gaining electrons. Oxidizers can be a solid, a liquid or a gas as classed by the Global Harmonized System (GHS). The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has put these oxidizing agents into four categories; Class 1 through Class 4, dependent upon their ability to spontaneously combust and the significant increase in the burning rate. The classes are categorized from lowest probability to highest probability. Nitric Acid falls within classes one, two or three, dependent upon their percent of concentration. Forty percent or less is class one, greater than forty percent but not more than eighty-six percent is class two, and greater than eighty-six percent is class three (NFPA, 2018).

They have the ability to react readily with most of the organic material or reducing agents without any energy input. Oxidizers are not necessarily combustible, but they can cause combustion and therefore increase the flammable range for chemicals, thus causing ignition more readily. This of course makes oxidizers a severe fire hazard. Some oxidizers, such as nitric acid, hydroperoxides and perchloric acid are not only strong oxidizers, but are also corrosive. Additionally, some oxidizers, such as potassium dichromate and chromic acid, are highly toxic and can cause chronic health effects.

Nitric acid is primarily used for the production of ammonium nitrate to produce fertilizers, making plastics, and manufacturing dyes. Another application is in the use of explosives, such as nitroglycerin and TNT. Hydroperoxides are used as an initiator for certain types of polymerization, such as epoxy resins. Perchloric acid is used in preparing perchlorate salts which is an important component of rocket fuel. Given the uses for these chemicals it is understandable why they would be considered explosive.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set up permissible exposure limits (PELs) to protect workers against health effects when possibly exposed to hazardous substances. These limits also include any airborne concentrations in the air. Most PELs are based on 8-hour time-weighted averages (TWA). Some chemicals will also have a ceiling or peak limit. However, most of OSHAs information is outdate. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has established Recommended Exposure Limits (RELs) and recommends these limits to OSHA. They have also created the NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards that provide specific RELs on many hazardous substances (OSHA, n.d.).

OSHAs Process Safety Management of hazardous chemicals was established to help businesses comply with the Standards, and to help keep their employees and the environment safe in the event of an unplanned release. The Process Safety Management guidelines contain the requirements for managing the hazards of highly hazardous chemicals within the workplace to ensure a safe working environment (OSHA, 2000).

The Process Safety Management guidelines contain the requirements when managing the hazards associated with highly hazardous chemicals (Crowl et al., 2001). There are many requirements that must be followed, including the checklist associated with these chemicals. When loading highly hazardous chemicals into any Department of Transportation (DOT) approved container, an inspection must be performed to ensure the container is capable of holding the material and will not fail during loading or transport. Therefore, if personnel are filling out the checklist within the office and not at the railcar itself, this could lead to a significant breach while filling the railcar or while in transport. Everyone has a specific function to complete, to ensure the safety of others and the environment. If personnel skip their function it could lead to an event down the road. At my place of employment we ship Hydrofluoric Acid in tanker trucks and railcars. As a shipper I have to inspect both to ensure the containers are acceptable to hold the product. If not acceptable, I must deny the loading into that particular container. There are also multiple personnel involved in the loading of these containers that have their own procedures to follow. Each person is involved with certain steps and when communicating with each other, the first person is to state their step, the second person is to repeat the step, and the first person is to either confirm or correct the second person. This type of communication is essential in this process to ensure each party is on the same page and no misunderstanding or interpretation is made. We all have a job to do and we want to ensure we do it safely and compliantly so that we can all go home the same way we arrived to work.

References

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (2000). Process Safety Management. Retrieved from https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3132.html#psi

Oxidizer, Background and Overview of Hazards (2018). Retrieved from https://www.drs.illinois.edu/SafetyLibrary/Oxidizers

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) (2012). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/nitric-acid/default.html

National Fire Protection Association Hazard Identification System (2018). Retrieved from https://www.asc.org/content/acs/en/chemical-safety/

Crowl, D. A., & Louvar, J. F. (2001). Chemical process safety: fundamentals with applications. Pearson Education

Myer, E. (2014). Chemistry of Hazardous Materials. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA: Pearson Education.