Chemical
Hygiene / Exposure To Hazardous Chemicals
In Laboratories
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration standard
on occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals in laboratories (29CFR1910.1450)
covers all laboratories engaged in the laboratory use of chemicals. The
University's Chemical Hygiene
Plan is a boiler plate document that will cover the major
activities conducted at University laboratories. In some circumstances
special procedures will need to be developed for a laboratory and attached
in an appendix to the University's Chemical Hygiene program. For an evaluation
of your laboratories compliance with this standard or for assistance in
developing special procedures applicable to your laboratory, contact EHS
at 6-6485.
Each employee engaged in laboratory work must attend
a training on the Chemical Hygiene Plan and other required topics.
Chemical
Labeling
According to Federal
and State regulations, all hazardous chemicals used in the laboratory
(whether in original or stock containers)
must be labeled with:
- the name of the
chemical
- identification of hazardous
components
- appropriate hazard warnings
- flammable, explosive,
corrosive, toxic, poison, oxidizer, caustic, irritant, carcinogen, mutagen,
teratogen
- name, address and telephone
number of the chemical manufacturer, importer, or responsible party
- date of receipt
or generation of the chemical
Any substance that is regulated
by a specific OSHA standard must be labeled accordingly by the manufacturer.
Chemical labeling developed
and approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) includes
a word warning, identification of key hazards, and statements of precautions
to avoid the hazard.
Hazard warnings on labels
may consist of words, pictures, symbols, or any combination thereof.
- Word warnings
are generally intended to capture immediate attention by identifying
severe hazards (such as flammable, poison, fatal if swallowed). Word warnings
may also indicate the degree of hazard. CAUTION indicates the lowest degree of hazard. WARNING indicates
an intermediate degree of hazard. DANGER indicates the highest degree of hazard.
- Picture warnings identify
classes of hazardous compounds (such as a flaming letter "O"
to indicate oxidizers or a skull and crossbones to indicate toxic chemicals).
-
Chemicals may also be labeled with the National
Fire Protection Association symbol system (NFPA 704). Numbers
are used to denote the severity of hazards associated with flammability
(red), reactivity (yellow), health (blue) and other special hazards
(white) on a color-coded diamond. Higher numbers indicate more severe
hazards. Specifically:
0 = no unusual hazard
1 = minor hazard
2 = moderate hazard
3 = severe hazard
4 = extreme hazard
- Special hazards include OX (oxidizer), ACID, ALK
(alkali), CORR (corrosive), and W (water-reactive).
- This system is useful for alerting emergency response
personnel to hazards and also for assessing storage and emergency needs.
However, it does not adequately indicate precautionary measures or occupational
hazards.
- Labels on containers of hazardous chemicals should
not be defaced or removed.
- Unless being used in the same period by the
same person who made the transfer, when chemicals are transferred from
an original container to a secondary (stock) container, the new container
should be labeled with the chemical's name as well as all relevant hazard
information.
Flammable Liquid
Storage
- When are flammable liquid storage
cabinets required?
NFPA 45 Table 2-2(a) In sprinkled laboratories,
a maximum of 10 gallons of Class I flammable liquids per 100 sq.ft.
of laboratory space are allowed outside of an inside flammable liquid
storage room. Combinations of Class I, II, and IIIA may not exceed
20 gallons. An additional 10 gallons maximum of Class I flammable
liquids may be stored in a flammable liquid cabinet. Combinations
of Class I, II, and IIIA may not exceed 40 gallons in a flammable
liquid storage cabinet. For help in the interpretation of this guidance,
contact EHS at 6-6485 for an on-site evaluation of your laboratory.
- Where can a cabinet be located?
NFPA 45 2-1: Anywhere within the laboratory unit.
This means it can not be located in a hallway or any means of egress.
OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(2)(ii)(b): The quantity
of flammable liquid that may be located outside of an inside storage
room or storage cabinet in a building or in any one fire area of a
building shall not exceed:
- 25 gallons of Class IA liquids in containers.
- 120 gallons of Class IB, IC, II, or III liquids
in containers.
- 660 gallons of Class IB, IC, II, or III liquids
in a single portable tank.
- Options
to flammable liquid storage in corridors:
- Move cabinet to another location.
- Do a careful inventory of what's on hand and compare
it to what's really needed.
- Where allowed, swap cabinet for a less hazardous
item now in the laboratory.
- Move cabinet into laboratory.
- Reduce quantity of flammable liquids on-hand so a
cabinet is not required.
- Purchase smaller quantities when ordering flammable
liquids.
- Dispense flammable liquids from central location
in daily use quantities.
- Store permitted quantities of flammable liquids on
shelves in lab.
- Share flammable liquid cabinets among several labs.
- Find alternatives to flammable liquids.
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