Small Spill Kits Prevent Large Disasters
Too few business and organisations provide the right equipment to dispose of substances properly or how to handle spills. As a result, even small spills plague businesses, schools, hospitals and other institutions.
By Isaac Rudik
An Ontario laboratory, known for poor storage and handling of caustic and acidic substances, was fined numerous times by Ministry of Labour for not cleaning up its act. Even after several such actions, a worker was using “aqua regia” – a toxic mix of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acid which forms a powerful oxidizing medium for cleaning tubes – and failed to follow standard safety procedures for cleaning up. When he finished, he simply poured about 60ml of residue in a waste bottle. The worker capped it securely and placed the bottle in a flammable storage cabinet.
Not surprisingly, what could go wrong did go wrong.
The bottle burst roughly an hour after it was placed in the cabinet, breaking an adjacent bottle of pyridine, which leaked onto the floor. Fortunately, nothing caught fire or exploded but the spill dissolved tiles while creating a lingering foul odour that lasted for days.
When questioned by his supervisors and ministry investigators the morning after the incident, the man shrugged his shoulders and said he’d never been given the proper equipment needed to store the chemical after he finished using it, or what to do if it spilled. He thought he’d done the right thing: He poured it into a safety bottle, tightened the cap and put it in a cabinet he thought was safe.
The fact is that while nearly every worker is carefully shown how to use toxic and hazardous materials, not nearly enough effort is put into providing the right equipment to dispose of substances properly or how to handle a spill. As a result, toxic spills – occasionally large but most often small – plague businesses, universities, schools, hospitals and other institutions.
Pre-Plan Possibilities
To reduce dramatically the risk of an accidental spill, pre-planning is essential. The fact is that most spills are preventable, and workers can access the right equipment quickly and safely. Besides keeping spill kits in needed areas, here are six tips to prevent or minimise the magnitude of a spill:
• When using chemical containers, place them under a fume hood or on a lab bench to reduce the possibility of accidentally knocking over a container.
• Keep all unused reagents in their appropriate secure flammable/combustible, acid/corrosive storage cabinets.
• Workers must learn to plan their movements utilizing safety mirrors before just swinging around corners or reaching blindly for something to avoid causing a careless spill.
• Avoid moving chemicals from a store room or warehouse during periods of high traffic in hallways or passages without the use of a mobile spill control platform truck.
• Always move chemical containers in deep ledge carts or chemical transport carts.
• Where spills are likely to happen, place absorbent, plastic-backed liners on bench tops or in fume hoods. Use spill-proof trays when liquid volumes are larger than what can be absorbed by liners.
The Big Whoops
Employees must know how to handle spills and cleanups; employers must ensure that adequate spill control kits are readily available wherever hazardous or toxic materials are being used. And everyone in an organisation must know certain basics:
• Acids should be stored in their own cabinet marked accordingly “CAUTION CORROSIVES” and have FM certification.
• Small or dilute concentrations can be cleaned up using a spill kit, which can be labelled and placed in an accumulation area for pickup and proper disposal.
• Never pour acid into a sink or sewer drain, instead use containers appropriately marked for storing dangerous corrosive material waste.
A safety-savvy organisation keeps general chemical spill kits handy that labs and places where such materials are stored can use quickly.
One of the most-common and easily used spill kits will safely absorb and neutralize small amounts of acids. Pads absorb roughly 1.5-litre of concentrated acid or neutralized liquid. Hazkleen ACD powder safely neutralizes numerous acids including sulphuric, phosphoric, nitric, hydrochloric, and battery acids. The kit also has safety gloves, goggles, a scoop and brush, and disposable bags.
Inadequate preparation is no excuse for an “Oh-oh!” when a spill occurs. Institutions of all sizes, whether a school or university, a company, a government lab or a hospital, must be ready for the unplanned, the unexpected and the unwanted.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
What Cheating Fisherman And Improper Hazardous Waste Storage Have In Common
What Cheating Fisherman And Improper Hazardous Waste Storage Have In Common
Manufacturers storing raw material from paint to corrosives will face much heftier fines and stiffer “we got you” sanctions – all the way up to temporary plant closures – if storage cabinets don’t meet regulations.
– By Isaac Rudik
As anyone who fishes can attest, getting caught over the limit – whether it’s one too many trout on a line in an isolated, northern lake or a huge trawler netting too many tons of albacore in the middle of the open ocean – can result in a hefty fine and other stiff sanctions.
The idea is to levy a penalty large enough so that fishers loose the value of their catch plus fork over a painful, don’t ever do that again, fine.
Now, improperly storing hazardous materials will trigger even higher fines, and for the same reason
The Ministry of Environment is adopting the same approach as fish and game wardens to penalise companies improperly handling and storing hazardous material. When fully implemented, manufacturers who store raw material from paint to corrosives and other contaminants will face much heftier fines and stiffer, “we caught you red handed,” sanctions – all the way up to temporary plant closures – if storage cabinets do not comply with regulations.
The reason behind the tough, new and potentially very costly tactic is because a leading cause of industrial fires is improperly stored and handled flammable liquids. To minimize the hazard, the government wants businesses to identify and inventory any chemicals in the workplace, storing them in code-compliant safety cabinets. If an inspector finds non-compliance, the days of a slap on the wrist are gone.
Poor Housekeeping Award
There are countless examples of poor housekeeping resulting in spontaneous fires and explosions.
In schools, for example, it is common to find chemicals stored alphabetically – easy for students to find what they’re looking for when doing experiments but also for disaster to strike. In one recent case at a university, diluted solutions of Hydrochloric and Nitric acids were discarded in a waste container. Sometime during the night, the acids reacted with each other, creating pressure from the gases generated.
The pressure was strong enough to destroy the 1-litre waste container kept in a storage cabinet under a fume hood. It also blew the doors off the cabinet, upseting equipment on a counter. Fortunately, nobody was standing nearby when the explosion occurred.
Many businesses commit the same error, failing to properly isolate hazardous materials that can interact and ignite a fire or worse.
Easy Prevention
Storing hazardous material must be done according to Canadian laws and regulations, all of which are Underwriter Laboratory of Canada (ULC) approved, Factory Mutual Canada (FMC) Approved, and National Fire Code of Canada (NFCC) approved.
Proper safety cabinets meet nine other, key criteria.
• Insulated, 18-gauge steel construction, double-walled, with 1½" air space.
• Chemical-resistant finish, inside and out.
• Dual vents with built-in flash arresters.
• Liquid-tight containment sump at least 2" deep, to hold leaks.
• Highly visible warning label "Flammable — Keep Fire Away."
• Easy close or self-latching doors with three-point latches for added fire protection.
• Doors with fusible link mechanism that holds doors open but melts at 165°F for automatic closure.
• Built-in grounding connector.
• Adjustable leveling feet for balancing on uneven surfaces.
There are numerous, UL Canada Aapproved safety cabinets available, each designed to store specific types of hazardous or flammable material. They offer protection against not only potential explosions or fires but also the wrath of a ministry inspector armed with a citation book.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Manufacturers storing raw material from paint to corrosives will face much heftier fines and stiffer “we got you” sanctions – all the way up to temporary plant closures – if storage cabinets don’t meet regulations.
– By Isaac Rudik
As anyone who fishes can attest, getting caught over the limit – whether it’s one too many trout on a line in an isolated, northern lake or a huge trawler netting too many tons of albacore in the middle of the open ocean – can result in a hefty fine and other stiff sanctions.
The idea is to levy a penalty large enough so that fishers loose the value of their catch plus fork over a painful, don’t ever do that again, fine.
Now, improperly storing hazardous materials will trigger even higher fines, and for the same reason
The Ministry of Environment is adopting the same approach as fish and game wardens to penalise companies improperly handling and storing hazardous material. When fully implemented, manufacturers who store raw material from paint to corrosives and other contaminants will face much heftier fines and stiffer, “we caught you red handed,” sanctions – all the way up to temporary plant closures – if storage cabinets do not comply with regulations.
The reason behind the tough, new and potentially very costly tactic is because a leading cause of industrial fires is improperly stored and handled flammable liquids. To minimize the hazard, the government wants businesses to identify and inventory any chemicals in the workplace, storing them in code-compliant safety cabinets. If an inspector finds non-compliance, the days of a slap on the wrist are gone.
Poor Housekeeping Award
There are countless examples of poor housekeeping resulting in spontaneous fires and explosions.
In schools, for example, it is common to find chemicals stored alphabetically – easy for students to find what they’re looking for when doing experiments but also for disaster to strike. In one recent case at a university, diluted solutions of Hydrochloric and Nitric acids were discarded in a waste container. Sometime during the night, the acids reacted with each other, creating pressure from the gases generated.
The pressure was strong enough to destroy the 1-litre waste container kept in a storage cabinet under a fume hood. It also blew the doors off the cabinet, upseting equipment on a counter. Fortunately, nobody was standing nearby when the explosion occurred.
Many businesses commit the same error, failing to properly isolate hazardous materials that can interact and ignite a fire or worse.
Easy Prevention
Storing hazardous material must be done according to Canadian laws and regulations, all of which are Underwriter Laboratory of Canada (ULC) approved, Factory Mutual Canada (FMC) Approved, and National Fire Code of Canada (NFCC) approved.
Proper safety cabinets meet nine other, key criteria.
• Insulated, 18-gauge steel construction, double-walled, with 1½" air space.
• Chemical-resistant finish, inside and out.
• Dual vents with built-in flash arresters.
• Liquid-tight containment sump at least 2" deep, to hold leaks.
• Highly visible warning label "Flammable — Keep Fire Away."
• Easy close or self-latching doors with three-point latches for added fire protection.
• Doors with fusible link mechanism that holds doors open but melts at 165°F for automatic closure.
• Built-in grounding connector.
• Adjustable leveling feet for balancing on uneven surfaces.
There are numerous, UL Canada Aapproved safety cabinets available, each designed to store specific types of hazardous or flammable material. They offer protection against not only potential explosions or fires but also the wrath of a ministry inspector armed with a citation book.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Swine Flu, Workplace Air Pollution And Employee Health: An Inseparable Trio.
Swine Flu, Workplace Air Pollution And Employee Health: An Inseparable Trio.
Swine flu headlines are gone but many businesses are flooded with calls from “pandemic preparedness” consultants, offering high-priced advice for low-value solutions that, in many cases, aren’t even necessary.
– by Isaac Rudik
The news media was all agog the last few months over the possibility of a swine flu pandemic sweeping the globe. While much of the coverage was blown way out of proportion – another example of much sound and fury signifying little – it inadvertently highlighted a connection between the H1N1 flu strain, workplace air pollution and employee health. In many respects, they are an inseparable combination.
Even with screaming headlines and yammering jackals on cable news fading into memory, many businesses are still being flooded with calls and visits from so-called “pandemic preparedness” consultants, offering high-priced advice for low-value solutions that, in many cases, aren’t even necessary.
Why?
Businesses with adequate air pollution prevention solutions in place are well on their way to having a plan to prepare for a pandemic, no matter how unlikely. The common thread is preventing “bad” air particles from circulating in the workplace and avoiding emitting these same particles into the outside air. There’s just one difference between what companies do to control air pollution and containing the spread of a deadly flu virus: Pollution sources are machines and processes while preventing germs from spreading also involve what employees do.
Easy Steps
The first step is to have an infection control plan in place – just in case. After all, a plant may never have a fire but it has an evacuation plan, and common sense dictates the same for situations such as a wide-spread, possibly deadly, flu.
The first step should be using HEPA filters.
A HEPA filter is easily installed in a workplace. There are available in countless models, sizes and price ranges. For example, Air Exchangers offers models ranging from the very basic to the gold standard deluxe, depending on a company’s specific situation and need. Like all HEPA filters, Air Exchangers offers specific benefits to a company:
• It reduces waste from disposing of used masks and gloves.
• It reduces the cost of buying cases of N95 approved medical mask; each pack contains 20 masks and sells for $199 but there is a six-to-eight week delay because of the swine flu scare.
• Meanwhile, employees work in comfort because they don’t have to wear masks or gloves.
• They’re designed for indoor installation.
• They save operating costs by decreasing electrical energy consumption and reducing the use of heating equipment considerably.
• Most major parts can be replaced within seven minutes, meaning little downtime.
At the same time, reminding workers to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently during flu season is the first line of defence against a workplace being felled by flu.
Beyond The Obvious
Telling workers to wash their hands may seem obvious but few companies bother doing it, figuring adults know how to wash. They may, but they may not wash regularly.
But there are also easy-to-implement ideas that go beyond the obvious.
• Provide hand sanitizers, boxes of tissues and encourage their use.
• Remind staff to not share cups, glasses, dishes and cutlery, and ensure they are washed in soap and hot water after each use.
• Remove magazines and papers from waiting areas or common areas.
• Clean an employee’s workstation if they have an identified influenza
• Ensure ventilation systems work properly.
Whether or not Ontario suffers a swine – or other – flu pandemic during the next flu season, it makes sense to do some simple, low-cost things now to ensure that there isn’t a major problem down the road.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Swine flu headlines are gone but many businesses are flooded with calls from “pandemic preparedness” consultants, offering high-priced advice for low-value solutions that, in many cases, aren’t even necessary.
– by Isaac Rudik
The news media was all agog the last few months over the possibility of a swine flu pandemic sweeping the globe. While much of the coverage was blown way out of proportion – another example of much sound and fury signifying little – it inadvertently highlighted a connection between the H1N1 flu strain, workplace air pollution and employee health. In many respects, they are an inseparable combination.
Even with screaming headlines and yammering jackals on cable news fading into memory, many businesses are still being flooded with calls and visits from so-called “pandemic preparedness” consultants, offering high-priced advice for low-value solutions that, in many cases, aren’t even necessary.
Why?
Businesses with adequate air pollution prevention solutions in place are well on their way to having a plan to prepare for a pandemic, no matter how unlikely. The common thread is preventing “bad” air particles from circulating in the workplace and avoiding emitting these same particles into the outside air. There’s just one difference between what companies do to control air pollution and containing the spread of a deadly flu virus: Pollution sources are machines and processes while preventing germs from spreading also involve what employees do.
Easy Steps
The first step is to have an infection control plan in place – just in case. After all, a plant may never have a fire but it has an evacuation plan, and common sense dictates the same for situations such as a wide-spread, possibly deadly, flu.
The first step should be using HEPA filters.
A HEPA filter is easily installed in a workplace. There are available in countless models, sizes and price ranges. For example, Air Exchangers offers models ranging from the very basic to the gold standard deluxe, depending on a company’s specific situation and need. Like all HEPA filters, Air Exchangers offers specific benefits to a company:
• It reduces waste from disposing of used masks and gloves.
• It reduces the cost of buying cases of N95 approved medical mask; each pack contains 20 masks and sells for $199 but there is a six-to-eight week delay because of the swine flu scare.
• Meanwhile, employees work in comfort because they don’t have to wear masks or gloves.
• They’re designed for indoor installation.
• They save operating costs by decreasing electrical energy consumption and reducing the use of heating equipment considerably.
• Most major parts can be replaced within seven minutes, meaning little downtime.
At the same time, reminding workers to wash their hands thoroughly and frequently during flu season is the first line of defence against a workplace being felled by flu.
Beyond The Obvious
Telling workers to wash their hands may seem obvious but few companies bother doing it, figuring adults know how to wash. They may, but they may not wash regularly.
But there are also easy-to-implement ideas that go beyond the obvious.
• Provide hand sanitizers, boxes of tissues and encourage their use.
• Remind staff to not share cups, glasses, dishes and cutlery, and ensure they are washed in soap and hot water after each use.
• Remove magazines and papers from waiting areas or common areas.
• Clean an employee’s workstation if they have an identified influenza
• Ensure ventilation systems work properly.
Whether or not Ontario suffers a swine – or other – flu pandemic during the next flu season, it makes sense to do some simple, low-cost things now to ensure that there isn’t a major problem down the road.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. (www.compliancesolutionscanada.com), Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Splish Splash, It’s A Chemical Bath
Splish Splash, It’s A Chemical Bath
Nothing can be as traumatic as a debilitating chemical accident at work. Safety regulators and courts are tough on employers and sympathetic to workers who suffer eye injuries as a result of an accident at work. But preventing serious accidents is relatively easy and often inexpensive.
– By Isaac Rudik
Too often, too little attention is paid to risks posed by potential workplace eye injuries. Yet nothing can be as traumatic as losing even partial eyesight – and both provincial safety regulators and the courts are tough on employers and very sympathetic to workers who suffer eye injuries as a result of an accident at work.
Even when a company thinks it’s doing the right thing for workers, it may not be doing enough.
For example, not long ago a lab technician who was wearing safety glasses suffered permanent eye injury when a chemical splash got under the goggles. His eyes were not completely protected because goggles provided by the lab were not designed to be worn on top of glasses. Yet no warning signs or labels were posted. A co-worker rushing to the employee’s aid took him to the eyewash station but the natural reflex to shut the eyes prevented the worker from flushing both eyes for 15 minutes.
Numerous Risks
While perhaps the most debilitating, it’s not just eyes that are at risk to injury from chemical splashes. Skin burns and damage to internal organs from inhaling chemical fumes are serious risks that must be addressed seriously. Moreover, hazardous substances are found in countless workplaces. Indeed, they are in most work areas including shops, factories, farms and even offices.
Countless substances such as sulfuric, nitric and hydrofluoric acids are common in many industrial processes, and along with alkali’s including ammonia, magnesium, and potassium, are all hazardous. If not handled with caution, any one of them will cause serious burns and injuries.
In fact, there is a wide range of gas, solid and liquid hazardous materials that workers need to be protected from so exposure cannot cause a life-altering accident.
Identifying and controlling risks faced by workers is not difficult, nor is it necessarily expensive – if a business knows where to look and how to adjust the way the shop floor works. There are steps any company can take immediately:
1. Isolate dangerous processes with barriers or separate the work area.
2. Provide adequate training and supervision.
3. Familiarize workers with hazards, educating them on workplace safety and emergency procedures.
4. Establish safe work practices such as restricting area access, reducing clutter, replacing container lids, providing for safe storage and being prepared for an emergency.
5. Use local exhaust ventilation or automate the workplace process.
Beyond these, it is vitally important to install back splash guards to protect workers from splattering water, flying debris and other mishaps. And a lab safety shield can protect against UV radiation, splattering liquids, flying glass and other hazards while allowing a clear, undistorted view of work area.
While companies often point to lockers full of personal protective equipment such as gloves, lab coats, safety glasses and dust masks, generally these are only supplements to more direct and effective controls.
Prevent, Don’t Prevaricate
The worker who suffered the serious eye injury never returned to work. The company paid a hefty fine for not alerting workers to the proper use and limitations of safety goggles, and a court awarded the man substantial damages because it ruled the employer was careless. But his life will never be the same again.
For example, had the worker been provided with either goggles that fit securely over glasses or a face shield, the injury might have been prevented altogether. Indeed, proper protective clothing should be a “must have” in any workplace where there is exposure to acid or alkaline solutions. These include protective clothing, masks and barriers.
The proper fume hood for a given exposure will help ensure that fume “seepage” doesn’t endanger employees – either those working directly with the hazardous material and those in the rest of the plant.
Like so many workplace accidents, if a company is willing to take positive, often inexpensive, steps to minimise the risks facing employees and the potential exposure facing the business, problems can be avoided easily.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Nothing can be as traumatic as a debilitating chemical accident at work. Safety regulators and courts are tough on employers and sympathetic to workers who suffer eye injuries as a result of an accident at work. But preventing serious accidents is relatively easy and often inexpensive.
– By Isaac Rudik
Too often, too little attention is paid to risks posed by potential workplace eye injuries. Yet nothing can be as traumatic as losing even partial eyesight – and both provincial safety regulators and the courts are tough on employers and very sympathetic to workers who suffer eye injuries as a result of an accident at work.
Even when a company thinks it’s doing the right thing for workers, it may not be doing enough.
For example, not long ago a lab technician who was wearing safety glasses suffered permanent eye injury when a chemical splash got under the goggles. His eyes were not completely protected because goggles provided by the lab were not designed to be worn on top of glasses. Yet no warning signs or labels were posted. A co-worker rushing to the employee’s aid took him to the eyewash station but the natural reflex to shut the eyes prevented the worker from flushing both eyes for 15 minutes.
Numerous Risks
While perhaps the most debilitating, it’s not just eyes that are at risk to injury from chemical splashes. Skin burns and damage to internal organs from inhaling chemical fumes are serious risks that must be addressed seriously. Moreover, hazardous substances are found in countless workplaces. Indeed, they are in most work areas including shops, factories, farms and even offices.
Countless substances such as sulfuric, nitric and hydrofluoric acids are common in many industrial processes, and along with alkali’s including ammonia, magnesium, and potassium, are all hazardous. If not handled with caution, any one of them will cause serious burns and injuries.
In fact, there is a wide range of gas, solid and liquid hazardous materials that workers need to be protected from so exposure cannot cause a life-altering accident.
Identifying and controlling risks faced by workers is not difficult, nor is it necessarily expensive – if a business knows where to look and how to adjust the way the shop floor works. There are steps any company can take immediately:
1. Isolate dangerous processes with barriers or separate the work area.
2. Provide adequate training and supervision.
3. Familiarize workers with hazards, educating them on workplace safety and emergency procedures.
4. Establish safe work practices such as restricting area access, reducing clutter, replacing container lids, providing for safe storage and being prepared for an emergency.
5. Use local exhaust ventilation or automate the workplace process.
Beyond these, it is vitally important to install back splash guards to protect workers from splattering water, flying debris and other mishaps. And a lab safety shield can protect against UV radiation, splattering liquids, flying glass and other hazards while allowing a clear, undistorted view of work area.
While companies often point to lockers full of personal protective equipment such as gloves, lab coats, safety glasses and dust masks, generally these are only supplements to more direct and effective controls.
Prevent, Don’t Prevaricate
The worker who suffered the serious eye injury never returned to work. The company paid a hefty fine for not alerting workers to the proper use and limitations of safety goggles, and a court awarded the man substantial damages because it ruled the employer was careless. But his life will never be the same again.
For example, had the worker been provided with either goggles that fit securely over glasses or a face shield, the injury might have been prevented altogether. Indeed, proper protective clothing should be a “must have” in any workplace where there is exposure to acid or alkaline solutions. These include protective clothing, masks and barriers.
The proper fume hood for a given exposure will help ensure that fume “seepage” doesn’t endanger employees – either those working directly with the hazardous material and those in the rest of the plant.
Like so many workplace accidents, if a company is willing to take positive, often inexpensive, steps to minimise the risks facing employees and the potential exposure facing the business, problems can be avoided easily.
Isaac Rudik is a compliance consultant with Compliance Solutions Canada Inc. , Canada’s largest provider of health, safety and environmental compliance solutions to industrial, institutional and government facilities.
E-mail Isaac at irudik@csc-inc.ca or phone him at 905-761-5354.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)