Chemical health and safety challenges in a new era of enlightenment

Based on the experience of the past 30 years, some trends in chemical health and safety can be expected to continue during the new century. More health and safety information will be collected on specific chemicals; exposure hazard (threshold limit values and permissible exposure limits) and environmental impact databases will be expanded as new research is carried out in these areas. The mission of safety professionals will be to make the job safe for employees, including the elimination of excessive employee exposure to hazardous chemicals. Some ways to accomplish this include increased use of personal protective equipment and more thorough health and safety information on Material Safety Data Sheets. The objective is not to ban use of specific chemicals but to develop procedures to work safely with materials of interest. There will be increasing demands for products and processes involving chemicals and chemical reactions. Where will researchers obtain the necessary health and safety knowledge? Chemical health and safety information must become an integral part of the undergraduate and graduate chemistry curriculum.     

Beyond chemical safety— an integrated approach to laboratory safety management

Health and safety programs for laboratories are typically oriented around specific regulatory requirements, even though hazards in laboratories seldom respect these boundaries. Not only does this place an unnecessary burden on researchers because they have to keep track of several related health and safety activities, it also increases the chance that laboratory hazards might not be addressed because they are part of some other “program”. The new UCSD Lab Safety Guide organizes all health and safety activities required for basic lab operation into a single document, the Lab Safety Plan. Completion of a Lab Safety Plan will identify health and safety needs for that lab, provide appropriate documentation, and outline required activities and training. The modular nature of the Plan allows it to be tailored to lab activities and, after training and implementation, labs can then be audited against their plan. This unified approach stems from the creation of a “Research Safety Team” out of the previous biological, chemical, and radiation safety groups, and will be coupled with sophisticated data management in a centralized database to track and benchmark safety activities.     

Partnership in research: Exposure assessment methods

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), under the leadership of Dr. Linda Rosenstock, in conjunction with several partners and stakeholders, created and is implementing the National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA), a framework to guide occupational safety and health research into the next decade. NORA is actually a multitiered partnering agenda. This paper will address NORA in general and then, within the context of NORA, delve more deeply into the workings of one of the partnership teams, Exposure Assessment Methods.     

Federal regulations applicable to the fatty acid industry

Recent legislation including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and, especially, the Toxic Substances Control Act, is having a great impact on chemical manufacturers. The burgeoning maze of rules, regulations, policy statements, implementing these acts imposes serious obligations on all those engaged in fatty acid manufacture, processing, distribution, and research and development. The Manufacturing and Processing Notices, Sec. 5, and Reporting and Retention of Information, Sec. 8, requirements of TSCA, require extensive recordkeeping and reporting, and will affect industry’s development of new products and significant new uses of products. The status of fatty chemicals on the inventory of existing chemicals and the SDA efforts in the listing of premanufacture notification are extremely important to all segments of the fatty acid and derivative industries.     

Chemical safety levels (CSLs): A proposal for chemical safety practices in microbiological and biomedical laboratories

Microbiological and biomedical laboratories handle chemicals of various hazards in many diverse ways and quantities. Although there are biosafety levels that classify laboratories by the hazard of the biological agent and its use, there are no similar guidelines for classifying chemical safety practices. We propose a system for using chemical safety levels (CSLs) in these laboratories. These CSLs, CSL1 (low risk), CSL2 (moderate risk), CSL3 (substantial risk), and CSL4 (high risk), are classified by the chemical hazards and the nature of the work in which these chemicals are used in the laboratory. Risk at each CSL is governed by limiting or restricting chemical usage or type of work. Standard and CSL specific safe practices, equipment, and facilities requirements are proposed. This work is presented as a starting basis for developing a CSL system, and additional details and modifications will be finalized through a pilot project.     

Chemical injury to the eye

Accidental splashing or squirting of a chemical substance into the eyes is probably the most common cause of toxic eye injuries in the laboratory.1., 2., 3. Eyes are intensely sensitive and delicate organs that can be injured by many types of chemical agents. Chemical eye injuries that appear minor can rapidly become serious if not treated instantly. Chemical exposure can cause severe ocular damage quickly and must always be treated as a medical emergency.2., 4. This addresses accidental exposure to the eye by the types of chemicals commonly found in laboratories. The mechanism by which damage is incurred and the rationale for first aid treatment are addressed. Injuries from physical factors, radiation or infectious agents, are beyond the scope of this presentation. First aid or emergency response, but not clinical or medical procedures are included. References that provide in-depth information on the toxicology and treatment of specific chemical agents are provided.1., 2., 3., 5.     

Standard ANSI Z9.14: Testing and performance verification methodologies for ventilation systems for Biological Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) and animal Biological Safety Level 3 (ABSL-3) facilities

The American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) are developing a national standard titled “Testing and performance verification methodologies for ventilation systems for Biological Safety Level 3(BSL-3) and animal Biological Safety Level 3 (ABSL-3) laboratories” known as ANSI/AIHA Z9.14. The ANSI Z9.14 standard will focus on performance verification of engineering controls related specifically to ventilation system features of BSL-3/ABSL-3 facilities. Currently the design of these facilities is largely guided by the criteria defined in successive versions of the Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL),¹ while facilities funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) follow BMBL as well as the NIH Design Requirements Manual (DRM).² Among professionals such as architects, engineers, contractors, commissioning agents and owners who are asked to specify or perform tests for performance of ventilation systems in high containment facilities, there is a consensus that there is no comprehensive methodology based on a risk assessment of each individual facility. An extensive literature review was conducted to determine if there are any regulations, standards or guidance available that provide a “methodology” to verify that the ventilation systems in such facilities are performing appropriately for the current or potential future use. This ‘Gap and Needs Analysis’ provides evidence that there is no single resource for a comprehensive testing methodology that can be used uniformly from one facility to another to verify that the ventilation systems in such facilities are performing appropriately. ANSI Z9.14 can provide one component of a more extensive graduated, risk-based approach to reaching containment goals appropriate to the risk of the agent and the laboratory activity.     

高校危险化学品实验室安全储存与管理初探

高校化学实验室中有大量危险化学品,化学实验用品具有易燃易爆特点,非常容易引发安全事故。在日常工作当中,危险化学品的储存、管理、使用都存在一定安全隐患,化学实验室是重点安全管制区域,加强化学实验室安全储存是实验室管理的关键。     

如何做好实验室危险化学品以及劳动防护管理措施

实验室危险化学品管理是实验室安全管理的重要内容,通过工作关键点的分析,加强重点建设和知识储备,完善管理体制,强化管理队伍建设,实施提高管理效率和管理水平的措施,强化危险化学品的管理,实验室是高校实验教学、科学研究的重要场所。针对近期连续发生的危险化学品事故,分析了实验室（或分析室、化验室）所存在的安全隐患,提出了加强实验室安全以及劳动防护的管理措施。     

In-vitro cell exposure studies for the assessment of nanoparticle toxicity in the lung—A dialog between aerosol science and biology

The introduction of engineered nanostructured materials into a rapidly increasing number of industrial and consumer products will result in enhanced exposure to engineered nanoparticles. Workplace exposure has been identified as the most likely source of uncontrolled inhalation of engineered aerosolized nanoparticles, but release of engineered nanoparticles may occur at any stage of the lifecycle of (consumer) products. The dynamic development of nanomaterials with possibly unknown toxicological effects poses a challenge for the assessment of nanoparticle induced toxicity and safety.In this consensus document from a workshop on in-vitro cell systems for nanoparticle toxicity testing¹ an overview is given of the main issues concerning exposure to airborne nanoparticles, lung physiology, biological mechanisms of (adverse) action, in-vitro cell exposure systems, realistic tissue doses, risk assessment and social aspects of nanotechnology. The workshop participants recognized the large potential of in-vitro cell exposure systems for reliable, high-throughput screening of nanoparticle toxicity. For the investigation of lung toxicity, a strong preference was expressed for air–liquid interface (ALI) cell exposure systems (rather than submerged cell exposure systems) as they more closely resemble in-vivo conditions in the lungs and they allow for unaltered and dosimetrically accurate delivery of aerosolized nanoparticles to the cells. An important aspect, which is frequently overlooked, is the comparison of typically used in-vitro dose levels with realistic in-vivo nanoparticle doses in the lung. If we consider average ambient urban exposure and occupational exposure at 5 mg/m³ (maximum level allowed by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)) as the boundaries of human exposure, the corresponding upper-limit range of nanoparticle flux delivered to the lung tissue is 3×10^?5–5×10^-3 μg/h/cm² of lung tissue and 2–300 particles/h/(epithelial) cell. This range can be easily matched and even exceeded by almost all currently available cell exposure systems.The consensus statement includes a set of recommendations for conducting in-vitro cell exposure studies with pulmonary cell systems and identifies urgent needs for future development. As these issues are crucial for the introduction of safe nanomaterials into the marketplace and the living environment, they deserve more attention and more interaction between biologists and aerosol scientists. The members of the workshop believe that further advances in in-vitro cell exposure studies would be greatly facilitated by a more active role of the aerosol scientists. The technical know-how for developing and running ALI in-vitro exposure systems is available in the aerosol community and at the same time biologists/toxicologists are required for proper assessment of the biological impact of nanoparticles.     

化学实验室空气中颗粒态汞检测与污染特征研究

在高校区(常州工程职业技术学院)选定3个典型的化学实验室,采集室内空气中的可吸入颗粒物,用湿式消解法提取后采用原子荧光光谱法测定颗粒态汞浓度。检测结果表明:化学实验室空气中颗粒态汞浓度未超过《工作场所有害因素职业接触限值》和《车间空气中汞卫生标准》规定值,但却超过《工业企业设计卫生标准》(tj36-79,居住区)规定的浓度标准,说明化学实验室空气存在一定的汞污染。不通风情况下实验室空气中颗粒态汞浓度接近于通风情况下的10倍,说明化学实验室汞污染主要来源于含汞化学试剂,良好的通风条件有利于降低颗粒态汞污染。初步判断气粒转化二次生成的颗粒态汞是颗粒物中汞的主要来源。     

实验室易制毒化学品的安全管理

我国乃至当今世界最突出的社会问题就是毒品问题,国家必须要加大化学品的管控力度,如果这些易制毒化学品流入生活中,对社会造成不可估量的损害。对实验室制毒化学品安全管理进行概述,分析实验室制毒化学品安全管理的必要性。提出实验室易制毒化学品安全管理的具体措施,解决当前易制毒化学品安全管理隐患问题。     

A procedure for assessing the change in flame spread characteristics of paints when subjected to washing

A Collaborative Programme of work was carried out by two laboratories to asscess a procedure for identifying paint systems which possess poor ‘in service’ lives by virtue of being repeatedly washed. The small scale surface spread of flame apparatus as described in BS 476 part 7 was used to measure any change in the surface spread of flame characteristic of eight coating system, applied to two substrates, as a result of washing the coated surfaces. The results indicate that both laboratories ranked the paints in the same order and the reproducibility of the proposed washing procedure was good. The most consistent results were obtained when the coating systems were applied to standard hardboard. It is suggested that flame retardant coating system having poor resistance to washing would be identified if a limit of changes of average spread of flame were set at 75 mm. This investigation was carried out in support of the activities of BSI committee PVC/12, Fire Retardant Paints.     

英国危险化学品管理相关机构与法规体系

针对危险化学品,英国卫生与安全执行委员会(HSE)颁布了一系列的法规,例如重大事故危害控制法,化学品的注册、评估、授权和限制法规(REACH)等。我国在未来危险化学品法律、法规、规范体系的建设中,还需要学习各国经验的长处与不足,完善我国的法律规范体系。     

ISO质量标准模式下提高实验室管理水平的探讨

高校实验室作为实验教学、科研和社会技术服务的前沿阵地,其管理水平的高低将会间接或直接影响到相关受益者的权益。国外许多高校已基于ISO9000标准建立高校教育服务质量管理体系并对服务质量能力进行评价。本文结合化学实验室的特点,将ISO9000标准的管理理念和方法应用于实验室管理,从而提高实验室管理水平和持续改进实验教学质量及服务水平。     

Safety in solvent extraction plants—USA

The history of the National Fire Protection Association, Solvent Extraction Committee, is discussed with particular emphasis on the impact of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971. A review of the important features standardized in NFPA No. 36, “Solvent Extraction Plants,” is discussed, with particular emphasis on their relevance to construction of new plants and expansion of existing plants.     

Laboratory Safety Program at Francis Marion University

The chemistry program at Francis Marion University (FMU) received the 1999 University Safety Award from the Division of Chemical Health and Safety. Although there is no formal course in safety at FMU, the Laboratory Safety Training Program is extensive and well organized. The safety training program begins in General Chemistry and continues throughout the entire program. Proper safety equipment, regular review of all laboratory procedures, safety inspections, and continuous safety training provide the students and faculty with a safe laboratory experience.     

Reduction of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons from Thermal Clay Recycled Oils Using Technical Adsorbents

In Italy recycled oils are obtained by treating exhaust oils by deasphaltation, redistillation and subsequent thermal clay processing. PAH concentrations of intermediate and finished products were found to be 1200, 285, 420, and 275, 126 and 60 A. U. (FDA method, sun test), respectively for light, medium and heavy distillation fractions of intermediate and finished products. The polynuclear fractions of all intermediate products and of the light fraction of finished products from exhaust oils exceeded HSE (Health, Safety, Environment) standards. Because the light distillate intermediate product gave the highest FDA value (1200 A. U.), laboratory purification tests were carried out on it using four technical adsorbing substances (two active carbons, alumina, silica gel) with an adsorbent/oil ratio of 5/100. No reduction of the PAH fraction was found after oil percolation at room temperature (26°C). Oil treatment as indicated above for 30 minutes at 100°C gave a reduction of FDA values for the light distillate of about 50% using several vegetal active carbons, PAH content were found to be less reduced with silica gel and alumina (32% and 12% reduction, respectively). In any case, the FDA values of active carbon treated oils remained >200 A.U˙˙ The light product which had already undergone thermal clay processing was treated using between 0.5% and 3% of adsorbent in the mix, at 120–265 C, with oil/adsorbent contact times of up to 2 hours. After treatment, the FDA values of most oils fell to below 200 A.U, and the best PAH reduction (about 70%) was obtained with 3% active carbon at temperatures between 120 and 200°C. On the basis of these results, the light oil fraction obtained from thermal clay processing and its 6 samples after treatment with active carbon were tested for compliance with Health Safety Environment standards (viz, FDA <200 A. U., PAF<2%, Total PAH<100 ppm and M.I.<1.0). The best conditions for reducing residual PAH in light fraction of recycled oils are the treatment with active carbon at concentrations between 1% and 3% with 120 °C temperature contact time of about 1 hour.