Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
regarding. the. increase. in. toxicity,. long-term. health. problems,. or. present. hazards..
Because.most.chemicals.used.in.industry.are.mixtures.formulated.by.manufacturers,.
it.makes.it.even.more.critical.to.have.access.to.the.MSDSs.and.take.a.conservative.
approach.to.the.potential.for.exposure..This.means.that.any.signs.or.symptoms.of.
exposure.should.be.addressed.immediately;.worker.complaints.should.be.addressed.
with..sincerity.and.true.concern;.and.employers.should.take.precautions.beyond.those.
called.for.by.MSDSs.if.questions.prevail.
Actually,. the. amount. of. information. that. exists. on. dose/response. for. chemicals.
and.chemical.mixtures.is.limited..This.is.especially.true.for.long-range.or.latency.
effects.. If. a. chemical. kills. or. makes. a. person. sick. within. minutes. or. hours,. the.
dose/response.is.easily.understood..However,.if.chemical.exposure.over.a.long.period.
of.time.results.in.an.individual's.death.or.illness,.then.the.dose.needed.to.do.this.is,.at.
best,.a.guess..It.most.certainly.does.not.take.into.account.other.chemicals.the.worker.
was.exposed.to.during.his.or.her.work.life.and.whether.they.exacerbated.the.effects.
or. played. no. role. in. the. individual's. death. or. illness.. This. is. why. it. is. critical. for.
individual.workers.to.keep.their.exposure.to.chemicals.as.low.as.possible..Even.then,.
there.are.no.guarantees.that.they.may.not.come.down.with.an.occupational.disease.
related.to.chemical.exposure.
Many. employers. and. workers. as. well. as. physicians. are. not. quick. or. trained. to.
identify.the.symptoms.of.occupational.exposure.to.chemicals..In.one.case,.two.men.
painted.for.8.hours.with.a.paint.containing.2-nitropropane.in.an.enclosed.environ-
ment..At.the.end.of.their.shift,.one.of.the.workers.felt.ill.and.stopped.at.the.emer-
gency. center. at. the. hospital.. After. examination,. he. was. told. to. go. home. and. rest.
and.would.probably.be.better.in.the.morning..Later.that.evening,.he.returned.to.the.
hospital. and. died. of. liver. failure. from. 2-nitropropane. exposure.. The. other. worker.
suffered.irreparable.liver.damage.but.survived..No.one.had.asked.the.right.questions.
regarding.workers'.occupational.exposure..The.symptoms.were.probably.similar.to.
a.common.cold.or.lu,.which.is.often.the.case.unless.some.detective.work.is.done..
Often,.those.with.chemical.poisoning.go.home.and.off-gas.or.excrete.the.contami-
nant. during. the. 16. hours. when. they. have. no. exposure.. They. feel. better. the. next.
day.and.return.to.work.and.are.re-exposed..Thus,.the.worker.does.not.truly.recog-
nize.this.as.a.poisoning.process..Being.aware.of.the.chemicals.used,.reviewing.the.
MSDSs,.and.following.the.precautions.recommended.that.are.critical.to.the.safe.use.
of.hazardous.chemicals.are.important.
With. this. point. made,. it. becomes. critical. that. employers. know. the. dangers. of.
the.chemicals.being.used.present.to.their.workforce..Employers.need.to.obtain.and.
review. the. MSDSs. for. all. chemicals. in. use. on. their. worksite. and. take. the. proper.
precautions.recommended.by.those.MSDSs..Also,.it.behooves.workers.to.get.copies.
of.and.review.the.MSDSs.for.chemicals.that.they.use.
hAzArdous WAste
The.term.“hazardous.waste”.indicates,.by.its.deinition,.that.it.is.no.longer.a.useful.
product..It.also.places.it.in.the.class.of.hazardous.chemicals..In.the.past,.these.types.
of.chemicals.were.dumped.down.drains,.scattered.on.the.soil,.or.buried..Because.of.
