Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
DID YOU KNOW?
Hazards, including toxic hazards that are not addressed by specific OSHA
standards, still need to be controlled. Under Section 5(a)(1) of the OSHA Act,
the “General Duty Clause,” employers are required to provide workers with a
place of employment that is free from recognized hazards that are causing or
are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.
• 29 CFR 1910.119, Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
• 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard Communication
• 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
Toxicity Hazards
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Biofuels and the chemicals used in their manufacture present toxic exposure haz-
ards that need to be carefully controlled to protect workers. Material Safety Data
Sheets (MSDSs) should be consulted to determine the potential for toxic exposures
to feedstocks, products, and other chemicals used in biofuel processes, includ-
ing, but not limited to, methanol, caustic, sulfuric acid, ethanol, and biodiesel, as
well as hydrocarbons used for blending and alcohol denaturing. Engineering and
administrative controls should be used to control hazards, including, but not lim-
ited to, good engineering, design, fabrication, and maintenance practices to prevent
releases, ventilation and drainage to reduce exposures, and appropriate use of per-
sonal protective equipment, when needed. A number of OSHA standards address
these potential hazards:
• 29 CFR 1910.119, Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals
• 29 CFR 1910.1200, Hazard Communication
• 29 CFR 1910, Subpart I, Personal Protective Equipment
• 29 CFR 1910.134, Respiratory Protection
• 29 CFR 1910.146, Permit-Required Confined Spaces
• 29 CFR 1910.147, The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout)
FATALITIES AND INCIDENTS
e
thanol
•
Two employees were burned when ethanol vapors escaped from an adsorp-
tion column. No procedure was used to ensure that the column was safe to
start up.
•
Two workers were burned when grain alcohol leaking from the process was
ignited by sparks from a hotwork operation in the area.
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Adapted from OSHA's
Green Job Hazards: Biofuels—Toxicity Hazards in Biofuel Manufacturing
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