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Industrial Hygiene
Industrial hygiene is a science devoted to the identification,
evaluation, and control of occupational conditions that cause
sickness and injury.
Phases of Industrial Hygience
Identification: determination of the presence or possibility of workplace
exposures.
Evaluation: determination of the magnitude of the exposure.
Control: application of appropriate technology to reduce workplace
exposures to acceptable levels.
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PSM
Employee participation requires active employee participation in all the
major elements of PSM. Employers must develop and document a plan of
action to specify this participation.
PHA & OP
Process hazard analysis (PHA) must be performed by a team of experts,
including engineers, chemists, operators, industrial hygienists, and other
appropriate and experienced specialists.
The PHA needs to include a method that fits the complexity of the process, a
hazards and operability (HAZOP) study for a complex process, and for less
complex processes a less rigorous process, such as what-if scenarios,
checklists, failure mode and effects analysis, or fault trees.
Operating procedures that facilitate the safe operation of the plant must be
documented. These instructions need to be clearly written and consistent with
the process safety information. They need to cover, at a minimum, initial
startup, normal operations, temporary operations, emergency shutdown,
emergency operations, normal shutdown etc.,
PSM
An effective training program helps employees understand the hazards
associated with the tasks they perform. Maintenance and operations
personnel receive initial training and re-fresher training.
PSM
A pre-startup safety review is a special safety review that is conducted after a
modification to the process or operating conditions has been made and before the
startup. The mechanical integrity section of the PSM standard ensures that the
equipment, piping, relief systems, controls, and alarms are mechanically sound and
operational.
Under the management of change section of the PSM standard employees are
required to develop and implement documented procedures to manage changes in
the process chemistry, process equipment, and operating procedures.
The PSM standard mandates incident investigation. Employers must
investigate all incidents that have or could have resulted in a major release or
accident within 48 hours of the event.
After the investigation, the employers are required to appropriately use the
investigation recommendations.
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PSM
The intent of the PSM element for emergency planning and response is
to require employers to respond effectively to the release of highly
hazardous chemicals.
Under the audits section of the PSM standard employers are required to
certify that they have evaluated their compliance with the standard at least
every three years. The recommendations from the audit must be followed.
The audit reports need to be retained as long as the process exists.
The trade secrets section of the PSM standard ensures that all contractors
are given all the information relevant to operating in the plant safely. Some
personnel may need to sign secrecy agreements before they receive this
information.
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RMP
The RMP has the following elements:
hazard assessment,
prevention program,
emergency response program,
documentation that is maintained on the site and
submitted to federal, state, and local authorities. This
information is also shared with the local community.
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Example 1
Air contains 5 ppm of diethylamine (TLV-TWA of 10 ppm), 20 ppm of cyclohexanol
(TLV-TWA of 50 ppm), and 10 ppm of propylene oxide (TLV-TWA of 20 ppm). What
is the mixture TLV-TWA and has this level been exceeded?
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Example 2
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Particles larger than 0.5 pm are usually unable to penetrate the lungs,
whereas those smaller than 0.2 pm settle out too slowly and are mostly
exhaled with the air.
Dust evaluation calculations are performed in a manner identical to that
used for volatile vapors. Instead of using ppm as a concentration unit,
mg/m3 or mppcf (millions of particles per cubic foot) is more convenient.
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Example 3
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Noise problems are common in chemical plants; this type of problem is also
evaluated by industrial hygienists. If a noise problem is suspected, the industrial
hygienist should immediately make the appropriate noise measurements and
develop recommendations
. If one sound is at intensity I and another sound is at intensity I,, then the difference
in intensity levels in decibels is given by
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Example 4
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The two major control techniques are environmental controls and personal
protection. Environmental control reduces exposure by reducing the
concentration of toxicants in the work-place environment.
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Respirators
Respirators are routinely found in chemical laboratories and plants.
Respirators should be used only on a temporary basis, until regular control
methods can be implemented;
as emergency equipment, to ensure worker safety in the event of an
accident;
as a last resort, in the event that environmental control techniques are
unable to provide satisfactory protection.
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Ventilation
For environmental control of airborne toxic material the most common method
of choice is ventilation, for the following reasons:
Ventilation can quickly remove dangerous concentrations of flammable and
toxic materials.
Ventilation can be highly localized, reducing the quantity of air moved and
the equipment size.
Ventilation equipment is readily available and can be easily installed.
Ventilation equipment can be added to an existing facility.
The major disadvantage of ventilation is the operating cost. Substantial
electrical energy may be needed to drive the potentially large fans, and the
cost to heat or cool the large quantities of fresh air can be large.
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Ventilation is based on two principles: (1) dilute the contaminant below the
target concentration, and (2) remove the contaminant before workers are
exposed.
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Local Ventilation
The most common example of local ventilation is the hood.
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Fresh air is drawn through the window area of the hood and is
removed out the top through a duct. The airflow profiles
within the hood are highly dependent on the location of the
window sash.
It is important to keep the sash open a few inches, minimally,
to ensure adequate fresh air. Likewise, the sash should never
be fully opened be- cause contaminants might escape.
The baffle at the rear of the hood ensures that contaminants are
removed from the working surface and the rear lower corner.
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Another type of laboratory hood is the bypass hood, shown in Figure 3-7. For this
design bypass air is supplied through a grill at the top of the hood.
This ensures the availability of fresh air to sweep out contaminants in the hood.
The bypass air supply is reduced as the hood sash is opened.
The advantages of enclosed hoods are that they
completely eliminate exposure to workers,
require minimal airflow,
provide a containment device in the event of fire or explosion, and
provide a shield to the worker by means of a sliding door on the hood.
The disadvantages of hoods are that they
limit workspace and
can be used only for small, bench-scale or pilot plant equipment.
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Figure 3-7 Standard bypass laboratory hood. The bypass air is controlled
by the height of the sash.
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Dilution Ventilation
If the contaminant cannot be placed in a hood and must be
used in an open area or room, dilution ventilation is necessary.
Unlike hood ventilation, where the airflow prevents worker
exposure, dilution ventilation always exposes the worker but
in amounts diluted by fresh air.
Dilution ventilation always requires more airflow than local
ventilation; operating expenses can be substantial.
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