Description
Explosive chemicals cause a sudden, almost instantaneous, release of pressure, gas, and heat under the right conditions, such as shock, increased or decreased pressure, or high temperatures. Some chemicals are used routinely, even at home, without respect for their potential to seriously mess up your business and/or life. For example, a cup of pool chemicals, improperly disposed of at a regional waste station in 1998 caused an explosion injuring 4 employees and sufficient property damage to close the facility.
Knowing which chemicals in your facility are or may become explosive under certain conditions allows you to not only assess and control hazards under normal operating conditions it also informs your decisions and written procedures under abnormal operating conditions. For example, if the power goes out the cooling system will fail on Product Line 1 resulting in an unsafe increase in temperature for a mixture containing XPO-me. An engineering control, such as an automatic switch to generator power is required for that cooling system, is identified and required.
This Technical Paper is designed to provide accessible chemical information from a Certified Industrial Hygienist with a strong background in chemistry to Safety Managers without extensive time spent in chemistry Classes.
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