Hazard/Incident Report - Essay Example

Hazard/Incident Report Part One. HAZARD/INCIDENT REPORT FORM Who reported the hazard/incident? Boniface Brown Time: 9.00 am Date: Wed 25th January 2011 2. What is the Hazard/Incident? An acid spray that emanated from a test that was being carried out in the school laboratory on the properties of acids and bases and 10 students were injured. 3. What has been done to rectify the hazard/ incident? The reagent bottles that accidentally contained the mixture have been replaced with well labeled bottles.

The laboratory technician has been suspended for failing to label reagent bottles properly thus causing the accident. Time: 8:00 am. Date: Sunday 30th January 2011 4. What further Action needs to be taken? I. The laboratory needs to secured to avoid incidents where students with malicious intentions from changing the contents in the reagent bottles. II. Strict guidelines need to be put in place to ensure a sample testing of reagent bottle contents to avoid mixing potentially explosive chemicals. III. Students need to ensure they carry protective equipment such as their lab coats to the laboratory to reduce contact with chemicals. IV. The laboratory should be provided with extra staff to help in monitoring students in practical sessions. 5. Referred to the school administration for information/action Date: 2nd February 2011 Signed: David Williams Date: 3rd February 2011 6.

Action taken by Administration I. To conduct regular checks, of the school laboratories so as to ensure compliance with set standards and procedures II. Providing adequate staff to help in the monitoring of laboratory activities Part two Hazard controls Hazard controls are procedures that are laid to protect people from exposure to a substance or system and the procedures required to monitor individuals’ exposure and their health to hazards such as chemicals, materials, noise, vibrations etc.

there are three main types of hazard controls and these include elimination or substitution, administrative controls and engineering controls. An example of elimination control is when a hazard is something that can be removed such as noise can be removed through silencers. Examples of administrative controls include work policies and practices such as wearing of protective equipment for example helmets, timing of work and machinery among others. Examples of engineering controls include modification of machinery, providing ventilation systems and design production systems (Goetsch 120-250).

Tetrahedron Fuel, heat, oxygen, and a chemical chain reaction are the four sides of the IH tetrahedron without any of them it will not work. Modes of contaminants entry There are four modes of contaminants entry into the body: ingestion where an individual eats or drinks a chemical by accident. Inhalation where airborne contaminants such as fumes, vapors can be inhaled into lungs, absorption where a contaminant such as a soluble chemical such as a salt, finds its way into the body through the skin openings and lastly injection where a person may accidentally prick, cut or step directly onto contaminated objects thus injecting themselves with a contaminant, for example a cut with a knife (Goetsch, 120-250).

Definitions and descriptions of TLV-TWA, TLV-STEL, TLV-C, PEL Threshold Limit value-Time-Weighted Average (TLV-TWA) is the average concentration of a chemical to which it is allowed to expose a worker over a certain period usually 8 hours. Threshold Limit Value-Short Term Exposure Limit (TLV-STEL) refers to the maximum concentration that is permitted for a continuous 15-minute exposure period. Threshold Limit Value-Ceiling exposure value (TLV-C) refers to an exposure limit that must not be exceeded under any circumstances.

Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) is a value prescribed by law that spells the maximum allowed exposure to a hazardous chemical (Oxford University). Categories of industrial stressors The four categories of environmental stressors include physical hazards caused by loud noise and machine vibrations, chemical hazards caused by chemical burns, fumes and explosions, biological hazards caused by viruses, bacteria, vermin etc. and ergonomic hazards caused by tools and work stations and conditions, lighting, ventilation etc.

(Reese, 150-175). HAZCOM requirements Employers are supposed to train and inform employees of classes of chemicals that they may be exposed to at work. It is mandatory for importers, distributers and manufacturers are to label containers of hazardous chemicals under transit. Thirdly, Pharmaceutical manufacturers and importers are supposed to assess chemical hazards and their potential effects on individuals and lastly Hazard information must be transmitted on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and must be provided to the customer at the first instance of the shipment of the product (OSHA).

Definitions and descriptions of aerosols, vapor, dust, mists, fumes, gases Aerosols are liquid droplets or solid particles that are spread in the air e.g. aerosol from sprays. Dusts are airborne solid particles in the range 0.1- 25 micron generated from crushing, or blasting solids. Fumes are airborne solid particles that are less than 1 micron and produced when volatilized materials from welding cool and condense in the air. Examples include fumes from lead soldering materials. Mists refer to liquid droplets that are suspended in the air generated by agitating liquid for example mist from pesticide spray.

Gases are formless fluids that occupy space or places that they can be contained, for example carbon monoxide in pipes. Vapors refer to the unstable forms of liquids or solids that exist in air as a result of evaporation for example water vapor (Reese, 150-175). Works Cited Goetsch, David L. Occupational safety and health for technologists, engineers and managers. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2008, pp 120-250 OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health administration: Hazard Communication. 2010.

7 October 2011 . Oxford University. The Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University, England: chemical Safety Information. April 2008. 8 October 2011 . Reese, Charles D. Occupational safety and health management- A practical approach. New york: CRC press, 2009, pp 150-175