Chemical Plant Safety: Ways to Protect the Workforce

Manufacturers of cobalt should observe chemical plant safety to protect their workers and also the environment.  Cobalt is a hard metal which resembles iron and nickel. Production of cobalt is important because this type of metal has many uses when combined with other metals or other substances. The use of cobalt can produce high temperature high speed cutting tools. The metal is also useful in electroplating and producing steel and stainless steels magnets.  Cobalt is also useful for coloring glass, porcelain, pots and tiles and producing an ink. In the medical world cobalt is used as cancer treatment. In agriculture, cobalt is used as an additive to feeds for cattle.

As people enjoy the many benefits provided by cobalt, workers who are instruments in the production of stuffs from cobalt face the perils that can be brought by the substance if manufacturers will not impose chemical plant safety in the work areas.  Safety in chemical plants should always be observed to avoid chemical plant accidents. Workers’ exposure to cobalt metal, dust and fume can be in the form of inhalation, physical contact of eye or skin to the substance or intake. Plant owners should implement the following methods to control the excessive exposure of their workers to cobalt metal, cobalt dust and cobalt created fumes:

• The processing area should be enclosed but properly installed with local exhaust ventilation
• The workers should be required to wear protective clothing and use protective equipments

Per recommendation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), workers should be allowed to work for eight hours but the limit of exposure to cobalt metal, dust and fume should not be more than 0.1mg for every cubic meter of air. Per recommendation of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), for workers working up to ten hours a day or 40 hours a week, the limit of their exposure to cobalt metal, dust and fume should not exceed 0.05 mg for every cubic meter of air. The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) however, lowers down limit of exposure to the substance to 0.02 mg for every cubic meter of air if workers will work ten hours a day or 40 hours a week.

Without chemical plant safety, plant manufacturers will not be able to observe the given exposure limits above.  As a result, workers can suffer dermatitis and lung diseases. Workers who have skin allergies can be severely affected by cobalt when physical contact is present. Workers who inhale cobalt dust or fume are likely to suffer pulmonary tract infections. When ingested, cobalt can cause poisoning that can affect a worker’s bone marrow, damage his thyroid gland and damage his pancreas’ alpha cells.

Plant owners who manufacture cobalt must never forget that their workers are one of the most valuable assets in their companies. There can be no other people to do the work that they are capable of. Aside from a reasonable pay, they deserve to have a safe workplace.

Fire Extinguisher Training Video

Using fire extinguisher training video to train employees on how to use fire extinguisher properly is more effective and low cost option. It also makes you easier when new employee needs to be trained about that. You can save much time for that.

The following fire extinguisher training video is a good example. This video will show you how to select the right fire extinguisher types for different fires and how to use fire extinguisher properly to put out fire effectively.

You can download the fire extinguisher training video from youtube.com by using free online youtube video downloader. I recommend you to use catchvideo.net service to download the video. It is free and no special software needs to be installed. Read the rest of this entry »

Construction Safety Program Examples

This is a short post about construction safety program. In this post, you can find two examples of construction safety programs which can be used as case studies.

Construction works come with various hazards. Falls, slips, hit by object, fire and explosion are some common hazards associated with construction works. Due to its high potential hazards, reliable hazard controls are required to prevent worker from injuries, ill health and death, as well as facility damage. Read the rest of this entry »

How Do You Manage Your Workplace Safety Checklist?

You may manage various workplace safety checklist that are regularly used in your company. It can be safety audit checklist, forklift safety checklist, truck safety checklist, fire extinguisher inspection checklist, safety training checklist, plant safety inspection checklist and many more.

All these workplace safety checklists are created to make your jobs easy and ensure there is no something left. Due to its critical role in safety system, better management of workplace safety checklist is necessary. Read the rest of this entry »

Xylene MSDS Download

Xylene is an organic substance that is toxic to blood, nervous system, kidney and liver. Xylene is flammable liquid with flash point 25oC (closed cup). It can be explosive in the form of vapor when is exposed to open flame, spark or heat.

Xylene is generally used as solvent, paint thinner and cleaning agent. Rubber and leather industries are examples of industry that use xylene in their production processes.

Special safety precautions shall be given in case of its handling and storage. All ignition and heat sources have to be kept away from xylene storage. And all equipments containing xylene have to be grounded. Meanwhile, in laboratory, xylene has to be stored in flammable safety storage cabinet. Read the rest of this entry »

Chemical Safety Labels – Overview

Chemical safety labels are parts of hazard controls against hazardous chemicals. Correct chemical safety labeling is fundamental factor to workplace safety. Besides, it is also required by legal.

Chemical safety labels inform potential hazards posed by hazardous chemicals, as well as other important information such as first aid procedure and emergency procedure. Their applications on hazardous chemical containers are very practical on how to use the products safely.

Potential hazards contained in a specific hazardous chemical may in form of physical and health hazards. Physical hazards could be combustible liquid, explosive, compressed gases, flammable, oxidizer, organic peroxide, water reactive and unstable or reactive. Health hazards of hazardous chemical could be carcinogenic (cancer-causing), irritant, corrosive, sensitizer, acutely toxic, chronically toxic, reproductive toxin, hepatotoxins, nephatoxins, neurotoxins, substances that damage the skin, eyes, mucous membranes or lungs, and substances that work on the circulatory system.

Failure to provide correct chemical safety labels or chemical hazard labels can cause injuries, ill health, death, fire and explosion. As an example, when a worker is mixing two chemicals or more without clear labels, could create toxic gases or even explosion. Read the rest of this entry »

Fire Extinguisher Testing – Hydrostatic Pressure Interval Standard

Despite its essential function as the first defense against fire, fire extinguisher potentially contains some hazards that can be harmful to workers’ safety. It holds high pressure extinguisher media. Any problem in cylinder strength could expose high pressure to the workers.

Failure in fire extinguisher cylinder strength can be caused by corrosion, burnt in fire or any other reasons. In order to evaluate the cylinder strength against unwanted failure, it becomes so important to do fire extinguisher hydrostatic pressure testing periodically according to the standard. Read the rest of this entry »