Module:1

Dr. N. K. Patel
Lecture:3 Safety and waste disposal

Module: 1
Lecture: 3
SAFETY AND WASTE DISPOSAL

INTRODUCTION

MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

Material safety data sheet (MSDS) is also known as safety data sheet
(SDS) or product safety data sheet (PSDS). It is an important document for
occupational safety, health as well as safe handling of the material. It
provides emergency procedures for handling or working with the chemical in
a safe manner, and includes information such as physical and chemical
properties, toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal,
protective equipment and spill-handling procedures. The format of MSDS
may vary from country to country depending on national requirements.

It is used for cataloguing information on chemicals, chemical

compounds, and chemical mixtures. The information may include instructions
for the safe use and potential hazards associated with a particular material or
product. MSDS also gives the label information because it is mandatory for
safe and proper transportation of the chemicals. Labels can include hazard
symbols such as the European Union standard black diagonal cross on an
orange background, used to denote a harmful substance. There is also a
duty to properly label substances on the basis of physico-chemical, health
and/or environmental risk.

The world widely accepted format for MSDS containing 16 sections

according to European Union regulations. European Union safety data sheets
have been made an integral part of the system of Regulation (EC) No
1907/2006 (REACH) and rules for safety data sheets of the Global Harmonised
System (GHS) and the implementation of other elements of the GHS into EU
legislation that were introduced by Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP) via
an update to Annex II of REACH. MSDS must be supplied in an official
language of the Member State(s) where the substance or mixture is placed
on the market, unless the Member State(s) concerned provide(s) otherwise

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(Article 31(5) of REACH). The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) has

published a guidance document on the compilation of MSDS.

The sections of MSDDS are as follows

1. Identification of substance/mixture and of the company/undertaking

2. Hazards identification
3. Composition/information on ingredients
4. First aid measures
5. Fire fighting measures
6. Accidental release measures
7. Handling and storage
8. Exposure controls/personal protection
9. Physical and chemical properties
10. Stability and Reactivity
11. Toxicological information
12. Ecological information
13. Disposal considerations
14. Transport Information
15. Regulatory information
16. Other information

PERSONNEL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is designed for protection of

wearer's body from injury. PPE includes protective clothing, helmets, goggles,
or other garments. The hazards include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals,
biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. PPE may be worn for jobs-
related to occupational safety and health purposes, also for sports and other
recreational activities.

PPE is needed when there are possibilities of hazards. PPE does not
eliminate the hazard but in some cases may result in hazard if the equipment
fails. There so the purpose of personal protective equipment is to reduce
employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative controls
are not feasible or effective to reduce these risks to acceptable levels.

Any item of PPE imposes a barrier between the user and the working
environment. PPE can increases in significant levels of discomfort in addition

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to strain on the wearer which weaken their ability to carry out their work. Any
of these can discourage wearers from using PPE correctly, therefore placing
them at risk of injury, ill-health or, under extreme circumstances, death. Proper
design can help to minimise these barriers and can therefore help to ensure
safe and healthy working conditions through the use of PPE.

The hierarchy of hazard control

Occupational safety and health practices used hazard controls as well

as to mitigate workplace hazards, which create safe and quality working
environments.

Hierarchy of control is ranked in terms of absolute risk reduction. There

so, elimination and substitution are at the top of the hierarchy, which remove
the hazard entirely or replace the hazard with a safer alternative. If
elimination or substitution measures cannot apply, engineering controls and
administrative controls, which look for the safer design mechanisms as well as
educate safer human behaviour, are implemented. PPE ranks last on the
hierarchy of controls, as the workers are regularly exposed to the hazard, with
a barrier of protection. Higher the needs of PPE lower the worker safety in
terms of hazard control mechanism.

Personal protective equipment can be classified by

Area of the body protected
Types of hazard
Type of garment or accessory

One PPE can provide multiple protections. The use of protective shoes,
a steel toe cap and steel insoles protect the feet from crushing or puncture
injuries, impervious rubber and lining protect from water and chemicals, high
reflectivity and heat resistance protect from radiant heat, and high electrical
resistivity of shoes protect the user from electric shock. The protective quality
of each PPE must be compared with the hazards expected in the workplace.

Respirators

Respirator is used for the protection from breathing in contaminants in

the air, there so preserving the respiratory tract.

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There are two main types of respirators.

Filtering out chemicals and gases or flying particles from the air
breathed by the user. E.g. Gas masks and particulate respirators.
User provides clean, respirable air from another source. This type
includes airline respirators and self-contained breathing apparatus
(SCBA).

In work environments, respirators are relied upon when adequate

ventilation is not available or inadequate engineering control systems.

In the United Kingdom, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), NHS
Health Scotland and Healthy Working Lives (HWL) have jointly developed the
RPE (Respiratory protective equipment) selector tool. This interactive tool
provides descriptions of different types of respirators and breathing
apparatuses, as well as "do's and dont's" for each type.

While in the United States, The National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides recommendations on respirator use, in
accordance to NIOSH federal respiratory regulations 42 CFR Part 84. The
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) of NIOSH is
tasked towards actively conducting studies on respirators and providing
recommendations.

Skin protection

The skin contact of hazardous chemicals may leads to skin diseases

such as contact dermatitis, skin cancers, and other skin injuries and infections.

Skin hazards in the work environment are due to

Chemical agents
Physical agents
Mechanical trauma
Biological agents

Chemical agents can affect the skin through direct contact with
contaminated surfaces, deposition of aerosols, immersion or splashes.

Physical agents such as higher temperatures and ultraviolet or solar

radiation can be damaging to the skin over prolonged exposure.

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Mechanical trauma occurs in the form of friction, pressure, abrasions,

lacerations and contusions.

Biological agents such as parasites, microorganisms, plants and animals

may have varied effects when exposed to the skin.

PPE which acts as a barrier between the skin and the hazard agent
can be considered for skin protection. Gloves are essential due to majority of
work is done with the hands. The commonly used gloves are rubber gloves,
cut-resistant gloves, chainsaw gloves and heat-resistant gloves. Lab coats,
face shields are the other examples of skin protection equipment.

Eye protection

Majority of eye injuries take place when solid particles such as metal
slivers, wood chips, sand or cement chips get into the eye. Particulate
matters like finer particles in smokes and larger particles, such as broken glass
also causing eye injuries. Blunt force trauma can occur to the eye when
excessive force comes into contact with the eye. Chemical burns, biological
agents, and thermal agents, from sources such as welding torches and UV
light also contribute to occupational eye injury.

The varieties of PPE are used for eye protection. Safety glasses having
wrap-around design or via side shields provide protection from external
debris. Goggles are effective in preventing eye injury from chemical splashes,
impact, dusty environments and welding. It is recommended that goggles
with high air flow be used, in order to prevent fogging. Face shields are worn
as additional protection over the standard eyewear, and provide protection
from impact, chemical, and blood-borne hazards. Full-face piece respirators
are considered the best form of eye protection when respiratory protection is
needed as well, but may be less effective against potential impact hazards
to the eye.

Hearing protection

Millions of people are affected due to heavy noise in work environment

or society. But it is over looked by majority of occupational health advisors as
well as by workers. Noise may cause permanent hearing impairment or
decreasing hearing ability. About 82% of occupational hearing loss cases
occurred to workers in the manufacturing sector. The Occupational Safety
and Health Administration established occupational noise exposure

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standards. NIOSH recommends that worker exposures to noise may be

reduced to a level equivalent to 85dBA for eight hours to reduce
occupational noise induced hearing loss. The level of exposure of noise may
different from country to county by their law.

Earplugs and earmuffs are the PPE for noise protection. Workers who
are regularly exposed to noise levels above the NIOSH recommendation
should be furnished hearing protection by the employers, as they are the low-
cost intervention

Protective clothing and ensembles

Entire sets of PPE, worn together in a combined suit, would fall into this
category. This form of PPE is all-inclusive and refers to the various suits and
uniforms worn to protect the user from harm. Lab coats worn by scientists or
laboratory personnel on a regular basis, is come into the same category.

Ensembles of PPE worn together for a specific occupation or task

provide maximum protection to the user. Chain saw protection (especially a
helmet with face guard, hearing protection, kevlar chaps, anti-vibration
gloves, and chainsaw safety boots). Bee keepers, under water divers and fire
fighter team members worn the set of PPE based on their protection
requirement.

Fire fighting hazards

Fire

Fire is an igneous element whose potentiality is well recognized in

Indian culture. We worship fire, wind, water and light as God to protect us.
Without them human life is not possible as they are the supreme element.
Controlled fire is a friend of human while uncontrolled fire required fire safety.
Fire is a rapid oxidation reduction reaction as oxygen in air acts as oxidizing
agent while fuel acts as a reducing agent. It is a burning or combustion
phenomena where combustion may be kinetic or diffusive which depends
on homogeneous or heterogeneous air-fuel mixtures.

Fire safety

To protect life and property, fire safety is required. Fire safety designs
are necessary for safety of life and continuity of operations. Workers and

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public around industry can be protected by fire safety planning. Fire hazard
holds the large damage capacity from small burn to the disastrous damage
of plants, properties and persons.

Major fire and explosions accidents in India are as follow

Sr. Plant and place Death Serious injuries Year

No
1 Ship explosion, Bombay 231 476 1944
2 Mine explosion, Chasnala 431 --- 1975
3 Bhopal gas tragedy, Bhopal 2,259 558,125 1984
4 Fire due to short circuit, Sirsa, 368 --- 1995
Hariyana
5 Fire in refinery, Vishakhapatnam 60 --- 1997

Fire triangle

Three elements are necessary to initiate the fire as follow

Oxygen
Fuel
Heat

If one of these elements is not available then fire is not possible.

Pyramid of fire

As per fire pyramid four elements are necessary

Fuel
Oxygen
Heat
Chain reaction

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If one of four elements is removed the fire goes out. Methods of fire
extinguishing are depend on following data

Removing the source of fuel

Decreasing oxygen below 14 18% by adding inert gases
Removing heat from fire faster than its liberation
Removing free radicals to discontinue chain reaction and flame
propagation

Spread of fire

Fire spread based on availability combustible material, as more heat

generated due to burning of material and as atmospheric humidity is less and
wind speed is high.

Spread of fire depends on following factors

The area of which substance is exposed

Ability of substance to conduct the heat away from the zone of
combustion
The wind velocity and atmosphere humidity
The amount of heat generated

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