Chemical Safety Overview

Study Notes

Chemical Safety is the practice of handling chemicals safely to minimize risks to people, facilities, and the environment.
This involves understanding the physical, chemical, and toxicological hazards of chemicals.
Chemicals have inherent hazards.
Understanding the potential hazards and taking precautions is essential to prevent chemical exposure and mishaps.

A chemical is an element, chemical compound, or a mixture of elements and/or compounds.

Hazardous Chemicals: Substances that can cause adverse health effects, such as poisoning, breathing problems, skin rashes, allergic reactions, sensitization, cancer, and other health problems from exposure.
- Many hazardous chemicals are classified as dangerous goods, which can cause fire, explosions, corrosion, and hazardous reactions if not handled properly.
Non-Hazardous Chemicals: All other substances not categorized as hazardous chemicals.

Paints, drugs, cosmetics, cleaning chemicals, degreasers, detergents, gas cylinders, and refrigerant gases.

A hazardous substance is a material or substance that poses a physical or health hazard.
- Health Hazards: Occur when a chemical produces acute or chronic health effects on exposed individuals.
- Physical Hazards: Determined by the physical properties of a substance.

Xylene: An organic solvent used widely in various industries (e.g., printing, rubber, leather).
Pyrophoric Substances: Ignite spontaneously in air at or below 54 °C or within 5 minutes after contact with air. Examples include iron sulfide and some reactive metals (e.g., plutonium, uranium).
Peroxide Formers: Highly unstable chemicals that can cause unexpected explosions when subjected to shock, heat, or friction. Examples include ethers, tetrahydrofuran, aldehydes, and acetals.
- Never open a container suspected of containing peroxides.

Nephrotoxin: Damages the kidneys (e.g., cisplatin, aminoglycoside antibiotics, indomethacin).
Hepatotoxin: Damages the liver (e.g., ethanol, halothane, carbon tetrachloride).
Teratogen: Causes malformation of an embryo (e.g., alcohol).

Acute Hazards: Cause immediate harm (e.g., carbon monoxide poisoning, cyanide inhalation).
Chronic Hazards: Do not cause immediate harm but can lead to health problems over time (e.g., mesothelioma from asbestos exposure, lung cancer from smoking).

The four routes of exposure are ingestion, inhalation, injection, and skin contact.

Considered non-hazardous waste, including paper, metals, chemicals, and other materials from industrial, commercial, agricultural, and residential sources.

Water: The most common cleaning agent, a powerful polar solvent.
Soap or detergent: Used for cleaning and removing dirt, grease, and other substances.
Ammonia: Used for cleaning surfaces, especially glass and windows.
Bleach: Used as a disinfectant and for whitening.
Acetone: Solvent used for cleaning up spills and removing adhesives.