mfety in the chemicol loborotory
edited b y MALCOLMM. RENFREW University of ldaho MOSCOW, ldaho 83843
Safety: What Do We Really Mean? Howard H. Fawcett, P.E., Senior ChemicalEngineer Geomet Technologies. Inc., 1801 R e s e a r c h Blvd.,
the respansibiiities of chemists and engi-
ni& a'nd a m dyes with dupont. as consu I ng engrncor for salely. health. fore and rsam!,on at the General Eiecirc Research L a n ~ r a t o r ,m a as staff oft cer 'or lne A&sory Committee on Hazardous Materials at the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council. and his consulting work tor several industrial organizations and government agencies have given him a board prospective of the safety-healthperson mtcrlace Currently he 89 Cuuncoior lor m e D v e on 01 Chemca henllh and s l e w,. and Chawman of h e Sub Comrnlnee on Containerization. Transponation, and Stwage of me American Society f a Testing and Materials D 34 Committee on Waste Disposal. The book "Safety and Accident Prevention in Chemical Operations", which he co-edited and co-authored with W. S. Wood. will ba in second edition by the end of 1980. The Safely wlumn provides a forum for the sharing of m c e r n s aboutthe operation of academtc iaooralornes and recunmlenomnns tor mpror ng salely pracl CPF Malcolm M Renlrcw arahs on "arled industrial and academic experiences in his approach to good safety practices. After graduate study at the University of Mlnnesota. he was a supervisor of research and develo~mamwith DuPont and General Mills: then & administrator and teacher at the University of Idaho, his Alma Mater. He is active in the American Chemical Society. including service with the Camminee on Safety and the new division of Chemical ~
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20850 cerned w i t h people; we cannot ignore the human element. A decade or two ago, perhaps, indifference to safety and health might be excused or condoned, since data were n o t readily available in a really retrievable form; however, today such data are available, often in-house, or b y a phone call. T h e American Chemical Society Division of Chemical H e a l t h and Safety and the Council Committee on Chemical Safety constitute valuable resources available t o ACS members, as does the ACS Safety and Health Reference Service (3). Other professional organizations, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Division of Occupational Safety and Health. the American Institute of ('hmn~*tsSafety Commitlve, the Huyal I n -;!itutr dChemists, and the I l w d Australian c ' h c m d l n i t i t u l e n v w hnve rn. t ~ v ehealth and safety programs. Professionals should know how to obtain credible information and how t o apply it w i d y in their activities to protect b o t h themselves personally, their comoanies..~and also societv. If the "in-house" sources. ..urh as the medical d+:pnrrment, the nurir, the safety encl. ~ r r u p n t t o n a health l n e w , t h r lure d e p a r t m w t , ctr the envin,nmental services engineer cannot help, the services of a n outside consultant should be considered.
Professional chemists and engineers are beginning t o appreciate that society is now critically evaluating the products of their labors-in research, production, engineering, marketing, and disposal-and that society no longer automatically assumes that chemistry and engineering produce unmixed blessings. In spite of the major contributions which chemistry and the other physical sciences have made and continue t o make t o a u r civilization, much attention has recently been directed t o the less desirable byproducts. T o our dismay, TV and the news media continue t o b r i n g i n t o our living room almost nightly new or recycled stories o f persons and places which have allegedly suffered from misuse and improper disposal o f chemicals. T h e coverage is often emotional, and without balance. In another paper, we have reviewed acute chemical emergencies from a historical perspective, noting that society is becoming aware o f the new potential hazards as related t o the interface o f manlecologyleconomics (~-1 1,T h i s paper suggests thought processes which professionals, especially academic faculty members m i g h t consider in order t o catalyze the improvement of our collective image, and our professional relations, so society w i l l again appreciate and have faith in the contributions of chemistry and engineering asapvsitive constructive force in the national interests.
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Selected References on Hazardous Substancess
1) Recognize and Admit That A l l Chemicals are Potentially Hazardous if Mishandled 01 Improperly Disposed of
Poisrmdex ?y.eem (microfiche) Rocky Mountain Poison Center Micromadex, Inc. 2750 South Shoshone Street Englewood. Colorado 80110 Editor Barry Rumack. M.D.
Our A ~ r r v a t m nowr the y r a r i has con. m r r d us that professimnl.; often deny that rhe mntwials w i t h which they wcmk, synthesize, handle, or discard are in any way hazardous, either t o themselves, to their colleagues, or tosociety. T h e suggestion is often made that "the other fellow" in the adjoining laboratory or plant creates hazards, b u t the speaker i s totally safe; therefore personnel concerned w i t h his safety should look elsewhere. T h e facts are that chemical molecules play n o favor, neither d o they respect security fences n o r the degree status o f individuals who m a y be exposed. In commenting o n the two worlds o f orofessionals. J. Y. Oldshue recently nured'that the w c h l o f nature is u l l r r r wr harness laus t'or p n r r i i c r i and !ha1 nature 1; raster t o handle thdu the \I( rid o i \
Clinical Toxicology ol Commercial Ptoducts Tne Wllllams and WI hlns Company Baltimore, Maryland Editors: Robert E. Gosselin. Harold C. Hodge. Roger P. Smith. Marion N. Gleason Explosive and Toxic Hazardous Malerlals Glencoe Press Division of Bsnzlger, Brude and Glencae. Inc. Beverly Hills. California Author: James H. Meidl Editw: Hawey N. Gruber
Paper presented as part of the Symposium on Educationfor a PrufessionalLife held a t the Secund Chemical Congress of North America, Las Vegas, Nevada, August 1980.
tion. Inc. (Continued on page A46)
Volume
58
Number 2
February 1981
A45
lndusirial Hygiene and Toxicology Interscience Publishers Div. of John Wiiey 8 Sons. inc. New York Edilor Frank A. Patty; Third Edition Edited by Clayton and Clayton Emergency Handling of Hazardous Materials In Surlace Transportalion Bureau of Explosives Assn. of American Railroads 1920 L. Street Washington, D.C. 20036 Chemical Hazards of the Workplace J. 6. Lippincolt Company Philadelphia, PA Authors: Nick H.-Procl~r.Ph.D.. James P. Hughes, M.D. Fire Protection Guide on Hazatdous Maledalr Niitoonti I ore Protectm As~oc~al.on 470 Atlantic Avenue Boston, MA 02210 NFPA No. SPP-51, Library ol Congress No. 78-54003 Toxic Substance-Annual Llsi U.S. Dept. of Health. Education and Welfare Health Services and Mental Health Administration l and National Institute far O c c u p a t i o ~Safety Health Rockville, MD 20852 Editor: Herbert E. Christensen, ScD. Handbook ol Reaetlve Chemlcal Hazards Eunerworth Publishers. inc. 19 Cummingr Park Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 Aulhor L. Eretherick. BSc. CCHEM, FRlC
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2) Learn at Least the Basic Aspects about Chemical Regulations No Matter How Far Removed You Consider Yourself from the Legal Staff Regulations now constitute a body of knowledge and law which affect the pmfessional chemist and engineer, both personally as well as prnfessianally. At the federal level OSHA, EPA, NIOSH, FEMA, DOT, DOE, DOD, and CPSC, among others, have already had significant influence on our understanding and mntrnl of ehemieals and related materials. Whether we agree or not with the regulatiuns, they constltutt. ihc law uf the land m d until repealed or uwrturned by courts, they must be obeyed. Ignorance of the law has never been accepted as adequate defense. The collective message is clear-
Acronym Key MCL
PM
Maximum Contaminant Level National Ambient Air Quality Standard Nat onal E n sr on Slandards for hazarmrs A r POI..:an15 Occ.pat anal S a l w ana Health Administration Particulate Matter
A46
Journal of Chemical Education
NAAQS hEShAPS OSHA
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Chronology of major Federal laws concerning chemicals.
society expects and legally charges the professional to assume responsibility fnr his or
. Reparea b y : ~ m D w l e . ~hninisvata.st. ~ t h e ~ s p i 8 t . 85 N Grand Avenue, Ft. Thomas. K Y 41075
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ument on chemical carcinogens, effective April 21, 1980, which will still apply in spite of the recent decision by the Supreme Court in the benzene standard case, and (2) the EPA manifest system and control pathway to track hazardous wastes from "cradle to grave", effective August 26, 1980 ( 4 . 5 ) . Tu illustrate the on-going nature of the regulatory prncess, the table lists the major regulatory issues id interests to professionals, prepared by the ACS Department of Public Affairs
3) Apply the Same Professional Standards to CosVBenefit or Risk/ Benefit Analyses Before Accepting or Rejacting Them Riskbenefit analysis is a popular buzz term for any attempt to rompare the benefits from an activitv with the costs. Mnst chemists and engineers have heen trained to think in -~~~~~ terms benefit to the project on which they are engaged. These benefits may be entirely different in both kind and magnitude from the costs. Costs, usually expressed in hard financial terms, are then compared to the henefits in terms which are familiar to the ill, I #I w i t or p h i r a l r( wnu-I 6 , E,en t d x , , I he value oi humen liik I* not absolute. tlw w u m a n d society haw cmplrx fwmulse
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States and Canada from the increased carbon dioxide and "acid" rain (8).
4) Insure that Your Own Personal "Data Base" Records are Up-toDate and Available for Future Analysis
less than a decade old.
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for calculating which is often foreign to the physical scientist. Frequently, the effects may be lung removed in time and space from the immediate producer or user. The hmg induction period of chemical carcinogens is one example. Another is the waste chemical disposal; an area which may have been secure for decades (7) suddenly is indicted for breach of containment, polluting the air, the soil, or the
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Most of the discussion and uncertainty over the effects of chemical exposures could
be reduced to scientifically-defensible recommendations and scientific facts ifwe each had complete medical files and exposure data immediately at hand. From such records, the epidemiologist can then construct retrospective analyses, which permit factual causeleffect conclusions. Unfnrtunately, the data hase on humans is often very limited, andanimals are not a truesubstitute fnr humans. We suggest that each persnn maintain his or her own personal medical and exposure record, perhaps in a diary form, just as he or she records time charges or research efforts. Couies of medical records and examinations -l..t~~id be considere
