Weather Report and Forecast For: Kakinada Dated :Jun 28, 2015

Local Weather Report and Forecast For: Kakinada    Dated :Jun 28, 2015

	Past 24 Hours Weather Data Maximum Temp(oC) 36.0 Departure from Normal(oC) 2 Minimum Temp (oC) 27.6 Departure from Normal(oC) 1 24 Hours Rainfall (mm) NIL Todays Sunset (IST) 18:38 Tommorows Sunrise (IST) 05:31 Moonset (IST) 02:11 Moonrise (IST) 15:11
Today's Forecast:Sky condition would be Generally Cloudy. Rain/Thundershowers may occur in parts of city. Maximum & Minimum temperatures would be around 36 and 27 degrees celsius respectively.
Date Temperature ( o C ) Weather Forecast Minimum Maximum 29-Jun 27.0 36.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 30-Jun 27.0 36.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 01-Jul 27.0 36.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 02-Jul 26.0 35.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 03-Jul 26.0 35.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 04-Jul 26.0 35.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm

Today's Forecast:Sky condition would be Generally Cloudy. Rain/Thundershowers may occur in parts of city. Maximum & Minimum temperatures would be around 36 and 27 degrees celsius respectively.

	Actual	Average	Record
Temperature
Mean Temperature	32 °C	-
Max Temperature	36 °C	-	- ()
Min Temperature	27 °C	-	- ()
Cooling Degree Days	24
Growing Degree Days	38 (Base 50)
Moisture
Dew Point	25 °C
Average Humidity	66
Maximum Humidity	78
Minimum Humidity	51
Precipitation
Precipitation	0.0 mm	-	- ()
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure	1004.62 hPa
Wind
Wind Speed	5 km/h ()
Max Wind Speed	9 km/h
Max Gust Speed	-
Visibility	7.0 kilometers
Events

T = Trace of Precipitation, MM = Missing Value

Source: Averaged Metar Reports

Daily Weather History Graph

	Max	Avg	Min	Sum
Temperature
Max Temperature	39 °C	32 °C	25 °C
Mean Temperature	34 °C	29 °C	24 °C
Min Temperature	29 °C	26 °C	23 °C
Degree Days
Heating Degree Days (base 65)	0	0	0	0
Cooling Degree Days (base 65)	28	20	12	560
Growing Degree Days (base 50)	43	35	27	979
Dew Point
Dew Point	28 °C	25 °C	18 °C
Precipitation
Precipitation	168.0 mm	7.9 mm	0.0 mm	228.40 mm
Snowdepth	-	-	-	-
Wind
Wind	144 km/h	5 km/h	0 km/h
Gust Wind	-	-	-
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure	1012 hPa	1003 hPa	996 hPa

Monthly Weather History Graph

What is a Health & Safety Policy and how do I write one?

What is a Health & Safety Policy and how do I write one?

If your business employs 5 or more people, this includes Directors and part time staff, it is a legal requirement to have a Health & Safety Policy in writing.
You need to do this to inform people about how you intend to deal with health and safety issues that affect what you do and how you carry out your works. It is there to show your commitment to health and safety and to identify who has what responsibilities within your business.

What do I have to do?

First of all it must not be complicated; a long document doesn’t make it a good document!
You need to identify who has what responsibility, in a small business that might be just one person, but if, for example, someone in your business writes the risk assessments and method statements, and someone else checks the equipment that you use, you should identify those individuals and write down what they are responsible for. Don’t forget to tell them!

What should my Policy contain?

Firstly it should have a Policy Statement, this is sometimes called your general statement of intent. This sets out how you intend to manage the health and safety aspects of your business. It will say how you will tell people about the Policy, your Safety aims and goals, and commit you to ensuring the health safety and welfare of your employees, contractors and those affected by your work. By law it must be signed by the Director in charge of Health and Safety, which in a smaller company is almost always the Managing Director. Your policy should carry a signature from the last 12 months, this means that you policy should be reviewed annually at the very maximum.
The next stage is to identify the roles and responsibilities within the business. Again this could be just one person or it could be several people who are identified to carry out specific tasks. It should also identify that every individual has a responsibility under health and safety legislation. The most popular way to do this is with an organisational chart, showing the hierarchy of seniority within your organisation and identifying named persons and their job titles, as well as their role to play in health and safety. In a smaller organisation this may not be necessary, a simple list would suffice if there are very few levels of management or control.
The final stage of writing your Policy is to identify the arrangements that you have in place for managing different aspects that affect those who either carry out work or who may be affected by the work being done. This will be the largest section of your Health and Safety policy. The arrangements give information to your people about how you manage that particular aspect. Each element should have its own heading such as PAT Testing, under that heading you will state what you do to manage the risks associated with the use of electrical equipment, who, or the position within the company, is responsible for making sure that it takes place. The arrangements will vary dependent on the type of work that you generally undertake. Some examples of arrangements might be;

• Welfare when on site
• Risk Assessment procedures
• First Aid procedures
• Driving company vehicles
• Drug and alcohol policy
• COSHH procedures

Depending on the size of your organisation this list can be very long, and you may find that you add to it over time.

So I’ve written it – what should I do now?

Firstly it should be signed and dated by the MD or most senior person in the business, don’t forget the buck stops with you!
The Policy must be brought to the attention of those who might be affected by it. Your employees, sub contractors and sometimes people who you are working for. If you have delegated responsibility for certain things within your Policy don’t forget to make sure that those people are aware of what they are responsible for. It can be a good idea to give a copy to all new starters and to put a copy on the notice board.
You must review the Policy at least annually or more often if something changes that could affect people.
Don’t forget – this is a legal document, only include things that you will actually do. For example don’t say you will carry out monthly inspections if you only do them every 3 months; if something goes wrong and an HSE inspector looks at your policy and asks to see the monthly inspection reports you will raise their suspicions about other things that you ‘haven’t done’.
Remember - writing a Health & Safety Policy shouldn’t be difficult; it should simply reflect what you do and how you manage it.

What is a Risk Assessment and How do I Complete One?

A risk assessment is a systematic examination of a task, job or process that you carry out at work for the purpose of;

• Identifying the significant hazards that are present (a hazard is something that has the potential to cause someone harm or ill health).
• Deciding if what you have already done reduces the risk of someone being harmed to an acceptable level, and if not;
• Deciding what further control measures you must take to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.

Risk Assessments should also be carried out to satisfy the requirements of legislation but above all to ensure the Health & Safety of employees

Who should do risk assessments?

Risk assessments should always be carried out by a person who is experienced and competent to do so, competence can be expressed as a combination of Knowledge, Awareness, training, and experience. If necessary consult a more experienced member of staff or external professional help to assist with the risk assessment.

Remember competence does not mean you have to know everything about everything, competence also means knowing when you know enough or when you should call in further expert help.

Free Method Statements & Risk Assessments From HS Direct HS Direct Ltd are now offering free example method statements. Please click Free Guides and Docs at the top of the page to download your free information.

When should risk assessments be done?

A separate risk assessment should be carried out for all tasks or processes undertaken by your organisation, they should be carried out before the task starts, or in the case of existing or long running tasks, as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Risk Assessments should also be reviewed on a regular basis; monthly, annually, bi-annually, depending on risk, or if something changes i.e. a new worker, a change of process or substance etc.

Non Compliance

The penalties for failing to carry out risk assessments can be strict, The Health & Safety Executive can issue improvement or prohibition notices, this is likely to happen where an inspector find a situation with the potential to cause harm, for example an unguarded machine. If you are prosecuted and found guilty for more serious breeches i.e. one of your staff has been seriously injured, then in the magistrate court you can be fined up to £20,000 and imprisoned for up to 6 months, in Crown court fines are unlimited and prison sentences can be up to 2 years. The lack of suitable risk assessments will weigh heavily against you.

What About Method Statements?

A Safety Method Statement, sometimes called a "safe system of work" must be produced for all jobs or tasks that contain some measure of risk, contractors are more and more noticing that Method Statements are being requested by their clients, the request for a Method Statement can come at any time, Pre-Tender, Tender, Pre start of contract and sometimes after the contract has started, so it is best to be prepared. Click here to find out how we can help with method statements.

Risk Assessment Methodology

There are 8 steps to carrying out a risk assessment;

1. Identify the hazards
2. Identify those at risk
3. Identify existing control measures
4. Evaluate the risk
5. Decide/Implement control measures
6. Record assessment
7. Monitor and review
8. Inform

Identify the hazards

A hazard is a situation or a condition with the potential for harm!

Find out what the significant hazards associated with the task or processes are. There are several ways of identifying hazards; by observation, experience and talking to those who carry out the job you can also consult the following;

• Workforce
• Accident, ill health and near miss data
• Instruction Manuals
• Data sheets – COSHH
• Hazard Crib sheets
• Workplace inspections

Look for the hazards that you could reasonably expect to result in significant harm, for example;
Slipping and tripping hazards from poorly maintained floors, Fire hazards from flammable materials etc.

Identify those at risk

Think about individuals or groups of people who may be affected e.g.

• Office staff
• Maintenance personnel
• Members of the public
• Machine operators

Particular attention must be paid to disabled staff, lone workers, temporary staff and young inexperienced workers.

Identify Existing Control Procedures

Examine how you already control the risks; it is unlikely that your workers are getting injured on a daily basis, so you must have some controls in place already. To decide if those existing control procedures are adequate, and to evaluate the risk, complete a risk ranking which will determine the residual risk.

Need a Completed Document? Have a look at the industry specific documents menu to the left. We have written a number of documents already that you are able to purchase from just £0.99 +VAT.

Evaluate the risk

A risk is defined as the likelihood that a hazard will cause harm

I.e. Risk = Likelihood x Severity - below is an example of a simple 1-5 risk ranking system.

How likely is it that the hazard may result in harm? Is it; Highly Unlikely Unlikely Possible Probable Certain

If the hazard does result in harm, how severe would the injury be? Scratch (trivial) Cut (Minor injury) Fracture (Major injury - Over 3 day injury) Amputation (Major injury) Death (Death)

To carry out a risk ranking simply multiply the likelihood by the severity,

After the multiplication you will be left with a number from 1 to 25 which you can match against the following table to get the Residula Risk i.e. the risk that remains after the controls are in place.

The risk ranking will now give you your residual risk either Low, Medium, or High. If the risks are acceptable (Low Risk) then you may wish to skip the next part, if the risk are still Moderate/High (Medium/High Risk) then you must do something to bring the risk to a "tolerable" level, you can also prioritise your actions from 1 - 5.

Decide and Implement new control measures

If the risk is not adequately controlled decide which new control procedures are required and ensure these procedures are implemented. The control measures are the actions performed to reduce either the probability of the accident happening or the severity of the outcome, and where possible both. When considering what measures to put in place it is important to consider both severity and likelihood, in order to minimise the overall risk.

When deciding what new control measures will be required, it is helpful to work through the ‘hierarchy’ of controls. The hierarchy is as follows:

1. Elimination – get rid of the risk altogether
2. Substitution – exchange one risk for something less likely or severe
3. Physical Controls - separation/Isolation, eliminate contact with the hazard
4. Administrative controls - safe systems of work, rules in place to ensure safe use/contact with hazard
5. Information, instruction, training & supervision – warn people of hazard and tell/show/help them how to deal with it
6. Personal Protective Equipment – dress them appropriately to reduce severity of accident

Control measures should be practical and easy to understand (what to do and why they are doing it), applicable to the hazard, able to reduce the risk to acceptable levels, acceptable to the workforce and easy to operate.

After you have implemented the new control procedures, then re–rank the risks as above to determine the new residual risk, you should aim to get the risk to as low as is reasonably practicable until it is at a tolerable level.

Record the assessment

Keep copies of the assessments for your records and for inspection by the HSE should they ever be requested

Monitor and review

You must ensure that the control measures are achieving the desired level of control. You must review the assessment on a regular basis or if anything changes e.g. new staff, change in machinery or process.

Inform

You have a legal duty to relay the findings of the assessment to everyone who is affected by it. You must also provide information to the workforce on any new control measure implemented, any emergency procedures that have been developed and their duties as employees

General

Get a few people to check your risk assessment; other people may spot something that you have missed, also start a register of risk assessment so that you can find them quickly if needed.

7  Ways to Use Lemons for Beauty

Lemon adds a delicious taste to cooking, bit it is also known for its properties in health and, of course, in beauty. This fruit has properties that are astringent, disinfectant, and act as a natural lightener for hair and skin.
We presented the best 7 ways that you can use lemons for beauty:
1. Lemon hydrates your lips

Many product and factors affect the lip health, making them look dry. Apply a bit of lemon juice to your lips before going to bed. This ingredients promotes hydration.
2. Use lemon for armpit skin
Lemon act as a natural deodorant and at the same time is clearing up the dark stains form the body.  Lemon’s citric acid is responsible for destroying bacteria that cause bad odors. Mix lemon juice with oatmeal and a little bit of honey; the resulting paste applied to your armpits, and allowed to work for 1 hour.
3. Eliminate blackheads with a lemon

Lemons are great allies for fighting annoying blackheads, because they promote the elimination of toxins and deeply clean the skin.  Rub a bit of lemon on your skin and lleave it there 10 minutes.  Don‘t use this treatment if you are going to be exposed to the sun. This could cause stains. Lemons have astringent and antibacterial properties that promote the elimination of waste and excess oil on skin.

4. Lemon provides skin care

Lemons are good for skin, especially for people who suffer from oily skin. Squeeze the lemon and apply it directly to your face, using a spray or a cotton ball. Apply lemons before going to bed, and don’t expose yourself to sunlight. The lemon, and its astringent properties, promote excess oil elimination and significantly improves skin’s appearance.
5. Use lemon as nail strengthener and whitener
Lemon is a wonderful product for nail care, as it promotes the elimination of marks on nails, strengthening at the same time.  Combine a bit of lemon juice with two tablespoons of olive oil.  Then apply to your nails.
6. Use lemon to Improves and reduce the marks
Very effective way of improving and reducing the appearance of marks is to apply a bit of lemon juice to the affected area, allow working for 15 minutes, and washing off. Sun exposure could cause adverse reactions, so do this treatment at night.
7. Use lemon for lighten your hair

This is one of lemon’s most popular beauty uses. It has been proven that can produce good results. If you want go light your hair and to make it shiny, apply lemon juice to your hair and expose it to the sun. Do this at least once a week for good results.

Precautions to be taken during and after the Chemical (Industrial) Accidents

Precautions to be taken during and after the Chemical (Industrial) Accidents

1. Do not panic, evacuate calmly and quickly perpendicular to wind direction through the designated escape route
2. Keep a wet handkerchief or piece of cloth/ sari on face during evacuation
3. Keep the sick, elderly, weak, handicapped and other people who are unable to evacuate inside house and close all the doors and windows tightly.
4. Do not consume the uncovered food/ water etc open to the air, drink only from bottle
5. Change into fresh clothing after reaching safe place/ shelter, and wish hands properly
6. Inform Fire & Emergency Services, Police and medical services from safe location by calling 101, 100 and 108 respectively.
7. Listen to PA (Public Addressal) System of the plant/ factory, local radio/ TV channels for advice from district administration/fire/health/police and other concerned authorities
8. Provide correct and accurate information to government official.
9. Inform others on occurrence of event at public gathering places (like school, shopping centre, theatre etc.).
10. Don’t pay attention to the rumours and don’t spread rumours.

General Precautions During Normal Time

1. Do not smoke, lit fire or spark in the identified hazardous area
2. Sensitize the community living near the industrial units and they should be more vigilant about the nature of industrial units and associated risks.
3. Keep the contact numbers of nearest hazardous industry, fire station, police station, control room, health services and district control room, for emergency use.
4. Avoid housing near the industries producing or processing the hazardous chemicals, if possible.
5. Participate in all the capacity building programmes organized by the government/ voluntary organizations / industrial units.
6. Take part in preparing disaster management plan for the community and identify safe shelter along with safe and easy access routes.
7. Prepare a family disaster management plan and explain it to all the family members.
8. Make the family/ neighbours aware of the basic characteristics of various poisonous/ hazardous chemicals and the first aid required to treat them.
9. Adequate number of personal protective equipments needs to be made available, to deal with emergency situation.
10. Prepare an emergency kit of items and essentials in the house, including medicines, documents and valuables.

L

Status of Chemical Disaster Risk in India

Chemical Disaster
Chemical, being at the core of modern industrial systems, has attained a very serious concern for disaster management within government, private sector and community at large. Chemical disasters may be traumatic in their impacts on human beings and have resulted in the casualties and also damages nature and property. The elements which are at highest risks due to chemical disaster primarily include the industrial plant, its employees & workers, hazardous chemicals vehicles, the residents of nearby settlements, adjacent buildings, occupants and surrounding community. Chemical disasters may arise in number of ways, such as:-

1. Process and safety systems failures -Human errors
   -Technical errors
   -Management errors
   
2. Induced effect of natural calamities
3. Accidents during the transportation
4. Hazardous waste processing/ disposal
5. Terrorist attack/ unrest leading to sabotage

Status of Chemical Disaster Risk in India
India has witnessed the world’s worst chemical (industrial) disaster “Bhopal Gas Tragedy” in the year 1984. The Bhopal Gas tragedy was most devastating chemical accident in history, where over 2500 people died due to accidental release of toxic gas Methyl Iso Cyanate (MIC).
Such accidents are significant in terms of injuries, pain, suffering, loss of lives, damage to property and environment. India continued to witness a series of chemical accidents even after Bhopal had demonstrated the vulnerability of the country. Only in last decade, 130 significant chemical accidents reported in India, which resulted into 259 deaths and 563 number of major injured.
There are about 1861 Major Accident Hazard (MAH) units, spread across 298 districts and 25 states & 3 Union Territories, in all zones of country. Besides, there are thousands of registered and hazardous factories (below MAH criteria) and un-organized sectors dealing with numerous range of hazardous material posing serious and complex levels of disaster risks.
Safety initiatives taken in India to address chemical risk
The comprehensive legal/ institutional framework exists in our country. A number of regulations covering the safety in transportation, liability, insurance and compensations have been enacted.
Following are the relevant provisions on chemical disaster management, prevailing in country:-

1. Explosives Act 1884                                      - Petroleum Act 1934
2. Factories Act 1948                                        - Insecticides Act 1968
3. Environment Protection Act 1986                 - Motor Vehicles Act 1988
4. Public Liability Insurance Act 1991               - Disaster Management Act 2005

Government of India has further reinforced the legal framework on chemical safety and management of chemical accidents by enacting new rules such as MSIHC Rules, EPPR Rules, SMPV Rules, CMV Rules, Gas Cylinder Rules, Hazardous Waste Rules, Dock Workers Rules and by way of amendments to them.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of India had come out with very specific guidelines on Chemical Disaster Management. The guidelines have been prepared to provide the directions to ministries, departments and state authorities for the preparation of their detailed disaster management plans. These guidelines call for a proactive, participatory, multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach at various levels for chemical disaster preparedness and response. Further, NDMA has provided specific inputs to the GOM for avoidance of future chemical disasters in the country, along with suggested amendments on the existing framework. NDMA is also working on revamping of CIFs ( Chief Inspectorate of Factories) to strengthen chemical safety in India. In addition, MoEF and NDMA are in process of finalizing the National Action Plan on Chemical Industrial Disaster Management (NAP-CIDM), which will act as the roadmap for chemical disaster management in India.


Guiding Instructions of 15 most commonly used hazardous chemicals

• Acetone
• Acetylene Gas
• Ammonia Gas
• Argon Gas
• Benzene
• Caustic Soda (Sodium Hydroxide)
• Chlorine Gas
• Hydrochloric Acid
• Hydrogen
• LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas)
• Methanol (Methyl Alcohol)
• Naphtha
• Phosphoric Acid
• Sulphuric Acid
• Tri Nitro Toluene (TNT)

Weather Report and Forecast For: Kakinada Dated :Jun 27, 2015

Local Weather Report and Forecast For: Kakinada    Dated :Jun 27, 2015

	Past 24 Hours Weather Data Maximum Temp(oC) 35.5 Departure from Normal(oC) 1 Minimum Temp (oC) 28.4 Departure from Normal(oC) 1 24 Hours Rainfall (mm) NIL Todays Sunset (IST) 18:38 Tommorows Sunrise (IST) 05:30 Moonset (IST) 01:29 Moonrise (IST) 14:20
Today's Forecast:Sky condition would be Generally Cloudy. Rain/Thundershowers may occur in parts of city. Maximum & Minimum temperatures would be around 35 and 27 deg. cel respectively.
Date Temperature ( o C ) Weather Forecast Minimum Maximum 28-Jun 27.0 35.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 29-Jun 27.0 35.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 30-Jun 27.0 34.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 01-Jul 26.0 34.0 Partly cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 02-Jul 26.0 34.0 Partly cloudy sky with possibility of rain or Thunderstorm 03-Jul 26.0 34.0 Mainly or Generally cloudy sky with Thundery development

Today's Forecast:Sky condition would be Generally Cloudy. Rain/Thundershowers may occur in parts of city. Maximum & Minimum temperatures would be around 35 and 27 deg. cel respectively.

	Actual	Average	Record
Temperature
Mean Temperature	32 °C	-
Max Temperature	35 °C	-	- ()
Min Temperature	28 °C	-	- ()
Cooling Degree Days	24
Growing Degree Days	39 (Base 50)
Moisture
Dew Point	26 °C
Average Humidity	68
Maximum Humidity	88
Minimum Humidity	48
Precipitation
Precipitation	0.0 mm	-	- ()
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure	1002.13 hPa
Wind
Wind Speed	3 km/h ()
Max Wind Speed	7 km/h
Max Gust Speed	-
Visibility	7.0 kilometers
Events

T = Trace of Precipitation, MM = Missing Value

Source: Averaged Metar Reports

Daily Weather History Graph

 
MONTHLY

	Max	Avg	Min	Sum
Temperature
Max Temperature	39 °C	32 °C	25 °C
Mean Temperature	34 °C	29 °C	24 °C
Min Temperature	29 °C	26 °C	23 °C
Degree Days
Heating Degree Days (base 65)	0	0	0	0
Cooling Degree Days (base 65)	28	20	12	555
Growing Degree Days (base 50)	43	35	27	975
Dew Point
Dew Point	28 °C	26 °C	18 °C
Precipitation
Precipitation	168.0 mm	8.2 mm	0.0 mm	228.40 mm
Snowdepth	-	-	-	-
Wind
Wind	144 km/h	5 km/h	0 km/h
Gust Wind	-	-	-
Sea Level Pressure
Sea Level Pressure	1012 hPa	1003 hPa	996 hPa

Monthly Weather History Graph

HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION FOR WORK WITH CHEMICALS OF SPECIFIC HAZARD CLASS

HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION FOR WORK WITH CHEMICALS OF SPECIFIC HAZARD CLASS

FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS

General Information

Flammable liquids are among the most common of the hazardous materials found in laboratories. They are usually highly volatile (have high vapor pressures at room temperature) and their vapors, mixed with air at the appropriate ratio, can ignite and burn. By definition, the lowest temperature at which they can form an ignitable vapor/air mixture (the flash point) is less then 37.8 oC (100oF) and for several common laboratory solvents (ether, acetone, toluene, acetaldehyde) the flash point is well below that. As with all solvents, their vapor pressure increases with temperature and, therefore, as temperatures increase they become more hazardous.

For a fire to occur, three distinct conditions must exist simultaneously:

1. the concentration of the vapor must be between the upper and lower flammable limits of the substance (the right fuel/air mix);

2. an oxidizing atmosphere, usually air, must be available; and

3. a source of ignition must be present.

Removal of any of these three conditions will prevent the start of a fire. Flammable liquids may form flammable mixtures in either open or closed containers or spaces (such as refrigerators), when leaks or spills occur in the laboratory, and when heated.

Control strategies for preventing ignition of flammable vapors include removing all sources of ignition or maintaining the concentration of flammable vapors below the lower flammability limit by using local exhaust ventilation such as a hood. The former strategy is more difficult because of the numerous ignition sources in laboratories. Ignition sources include: open flames, hot surfaces, operation of electrical equipment, and static electricity.

The concentrated vapors of flammable liquids are heavier than air and can travel away from a source a considerable distance (across laboratories, into hallways, down elevator shafts or stairways). If the vapors reach a source of ignition, a flame can result that may flash back to the source of the vapor.

The danger of fire and explosion presented by flammable liquids can usually be eliminated or minimized by strict observance of safe handling, dispensing, and storing procedures.

Special Handling Procedures

While working with flammable liquids you should wear gloves, protective glasses, and long sleeved lab coats. Wear goggles if dispensing solvents or performing an operation which could result in a splash to the face.

Large quantities of flammable liquids should be handled in a chemical fume hood or under some other type of local exhaust ventilation. Five gallon containers must be dispensed to smaller containers in a hood or under local exhaust ventilation. When dispensing flammable solvents into small storage containers, use metal or plastic containers or safety cans (avoid glass containers).

Make sure that metal surfaces or containers through which flammable substances are flowing are properly grounded, discharging static electricity. Free flowing liquids generate static electricity which can produce a spark and ignite the solvent.

Large quantities of flammable liquids must be handled in areas free of ignition sources (including spark emitting motors and equipment) using non-sparking tools. Remember that vapors are heavier than air and can travel to a distant source of ignition.

Never heat flammable substances by using an open flame. Instead, use any of the following heat sources: steam baths, water baths, oil baths, heating mantles or hot air baths.

Do not distill flammable substances under reduced pressure.

Store flammable substances away from ignition sources. The preferred storage location is in flammable storage cabinets. If no flammable storage cabinet is available, store these substances in a cabinet under the hood or bench. Five gallon containers should only be stored in a flammable storage cabinet or under a hood. You can also keep the flammable liquids inside the hood for a short period of time. Storage in chemical fume hood is not preferred because it reduces hood performance by obstructing air flow.

The volume of flammable liquids dispensed in small containers (not including safety cans) in the open areas of laboratories should not exceed 10 gallons in most laboratories. Never store glass containers of flammable liquids on the floor.

Oxidizing and corrosive materials should not be stored in close proximity to flammable liquids.

Flammable liquids should not be stored or chilled in domestic refrigerators and freezers but in units specifically designed for this purpose. It is acceptable to store or chill flammable in ultra-low temperature units.

If flammable liquids will be placed in ovens, make sure they are appropriately designed for flammable liquids (no internal ignition sources and/or vented mechanically).

HIGHLY REACTIVE CHEMICALS & HIGH ENERGY OXIDIZERS

General Information

Highly reactive chemicals include those which are inherently unstable and susceptible to rapid decomposition as well as chemicals which, under specific conditions, can react alone, or with other substances in a violent uncontrolled manner, liberating heat, toxic gases, or leading to an explosion. Reaction rates almost always increase dramatically as the temperature increases. Therefore, if heat evolved from a reaction is not dissipated, the reaction can accelerate out of control and possibly result in injuries or costly accidents.

Air, light, heat, mechanical shock (when struck, vibrated or otherwise agitated), water, and certain catalysts can cause decomposition of some highly reactive chemicals, and initiate an explosive reaction. Hydrogen and chlorine react explosively in the presence of light. Alkali metals, such as sodium, potassium and lithium, react violently with water liberating hydrogen gas. Examples of shock sensitive materials include acetylides, azides, organic nitrates, nitro compounds, and many peroxides.

Organic peroxides are a special class of compounds that have unusual stability problems, making them among the most hazardous substances normally handled in the laboratories. As a class, organic peroxides are low powered explosives. Organic peroxides are extremely sensitive to light, heat, shock, sparks, and other forms of accidental ignition; as well as to strong oxidizing and reducing materials. All organic peroxides are highly flammable.

Peroxide formers can form peroxides during storage and especially after exposure to the air (once opened). Peroxide forming substances include: aldehydes, ethers (especially cyclic ether), compounds containing benzylic hydrogen atoms, compounds containing the allylic structure (including most alkenes), vinyl and vinylidine compounds.

Examples of shock sensitive chemicals, high energy oxidizers and substances which can form explosive peroxides are listed at the end of this section.

Special Handling Procedures

Before working with a highly reactive material or high energy oxidizer, review available reference literature to obtain specific safety information. The proposed reactions should be discussed with your supervisor. Always minimize the amount of material involved in the experiment; the smallest amount sufficient to achieve the desired result should be used. Scale-ups should be handled with great care, giving consideration to the reaction vessel size and cooling, heating, stirring and equilibration rates.

Excessive amounts of highly reactive compounds should not be purchased, synthesized, or stored in the laboratories. The key to safely handling reactive chemicals is to keep them isolated from the substances that initiate their violent reactions. Unused peroxides should not be returned to the original container.

Do not work alone. All operations where highly reactive and explosive chemicals are used should be performed during the normal work day or when other employees are available either in the same laboratory or in the immediate area.

Perform all manipulations of highly reactive or high energy oxidizers in a chemical fume hood. (Some factors to be considered in judging the adequacy of the hood include its size in relation to the reaction and required equipment, the ability to fully close the sash, and the composition of the sash.)

Make sure that the reaction equipment is properly secured. Reaction vessels should be supported from beneath with tripods or lab jacks. Use shields or guards which are clamped or secured.

If possible, use remote controls for controlling the reaction (including cooling, heating and stirring controls). These should be located either outside the hood or at least outside the shield.

Handle shock sensitive substances gently, avoid friction, grinding, and all forms of impact. Glass containers that have screw-cap lids or glass stoppers should not be used. Polyethylene bottles that have screw-cap lids may be used. Handle water-sensitive compounds away from water sources. Light-sensitive chemicals should be used in light-tight containers. Handle highly reactive chemicals away from the direct light, open flames, and other sources of heat. Oxidizing agents should only be heated with fiberglass heating mantles or sand baths.

High energy oxidizers, such as perchloric acid, should only be handled in a wash down hood if the oxidizer will volatilize and potentially condense in the ventilation system. Inorganic oxidizers such as perchloric acid can react violently with most organic materials.

When working with highly reactive compounds and high energy oxidizers, always wear the following personal protection equipment: lab coats, gloves, and protective glasses/goggles. During the reaction, a face shield long enough to give throat protection should be worn.

Labels on peroxide forming substances should contain the date the container was received, first opened and the initials of the person who first opened the container. They should be checked for the presence of peroxides before using, and quarterly while in storage (peroxide test strips are available). If peroxides are found, the materials should be decontaminated, if possible, or disposed of. The results of any testing should be placed on the container label. Never distill substances contaminated with peroxides. Peroxide forming substances that have been opened for more than one year should be discarded. Never use a metal spatula with peroxides. Contamination by metals can lead to explosive decompositions.

Store highly reactive chemicals and high energy oxidizers in closed cabinets segregated from the materials with which they react and, if possible, in secondary containers. You can also store them in the cabinet under a hood. Do not store these substances above eye level or on open shelves.

Store peroxides and peroxide forming compounds at the lowest possible temperature. If you use a refrigerator, make sure it is appropriately designed for the storage of flammable substances. Store light-sensitive compounds in the light-tight containers. Store water-sensitive compounds away from water sources.

Shock sensitive materials should be discarded after one year if in a sealed container and within six months of opening unless an inhibitor was added by the manufacturer.

List of Shock Sensitive Chemicals

Shock sensitive refers to the susceptibility of the chemical to rapidly decompose or explode when struck, vibrated or otherwise agitated. The following are examples of materials which can be shock sensitive:

Acetylides of heavy metals                   Heavy metal azides                 Picramic acid

Aluminum ophrite explosive                 Hexanite                                 Picramide

Amatol                                               Hexanitrodiphenylamine           Picratol

Ammonal                                           Hexanitrostilbene                     Picric acid

Ammonium nitrate                              Hexogen                                 Picryl chloride

Ammonium perchlorate                       Hydrazinium nitrate                 Picryl fluoride

Ammonium picrate                             Hyrazoic acid                           Polynitro aliphatic compounds

Ammonium salt lattice                        Lead azide                               Potassium nitroaminotetrazole

Butyl tetryl                                        Lead mannite                           Silver acetylide

Calcium nitrate                                  Lead mononitroresorcinate        Silver azide

Copper acetylide                                Lead picrate                             Silver styphnate

Cyanuric triazide                                Lead salts                                Silver tetrazene

Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine             Lead styphnate                         Sodatol

Cyclotetramethylenetranitramine        Trimethylolethand                     Sodium amatol

Dinitroethyleneurea                           Magnesium ophorite                  Sodium dinitro-orthocresolate

Dinitroglycerine                                 Mannitol hexanitrate                 Sodium nitrate-potassium

Dinitrophenol                                    Mercury oxalate                        Sodium picramate

Dinitrophenolates                              Mercury tartrate                       Styphnic acid

Dinitrophenyl hydrazine                     Mononitrotoluene                      Tetrazene

Dinitrotoluene                                   Nitrated carbohydrate               Tetranitrocarbazole

Dipicryl sulfone                                 Nitrated glucoside                     Tetrytol

Dipicrylamine                                   Nitrated polyhydric alcohol         Trimonite

Erythritol tetranitrate                        Nitrogen trichloride                    Trinitroanisole

Fulminate of mercury                        Nitrogen tri-iodide                     Trinitrobenzene

Fulminate of silver                            Nitroglycerin                             Trinitrobenzoic acid

Fulminating gold                               Nitroglycide                              Trinitrocresol

Fulminating mercury                         Nitroglycol                                Trinitro-meta-cresol

Fulminating platinum                        Nitroguanidine                           Trinitronaphtalene

Fulminating silver                             Nitroparaffins                            Trinitrophenetol

Gelatinized nitrocellulose                   Nitronium perchlorate                Trinitrophloroglucinol

Germane                                         Nitrourea                                  Trinitroresorcinol

Guanyl nitrosamino                          Organic amine nitrates               Tritonal

guanyl-tetrazene                             Organic nitramines                     Urea nitrate

Guanyl nitrosaminoguanylidene-hydrazine                                         Organic peroxides

List of High Energy Oxidizers

The following are examples of materials which are powerful oxidizing reagents:

Ammonium permaganate                 Fluorine                                    Potassium perchlorate

Barium peroxide                             Hydrogen peroxide                     Potassium peroxide

Bromine                                         Magnesium perchlorate              Propyl nitrate

Calcium chlorate                             Nitric acid                                 Sodium chlorate

Calcium hypochlorite                       Nitrogen peroxide                      Sodium chlorite

Chlorine trifluoride                          Perchloric acid                           Sodium perchlorate

Chromium anhydride or chromic acid Potassium bromate                   Sodium Peroxide

List of Peroxide Formers

The following are examples of the materials commonly used in laboratories which may form explosive peroxides:

Acetal                                           Dimethyl ether                           Sodium amide

Cyclohexene                                  Dioxane                                    Tetrahydrofuran

Decahydronaphthalene                   Divinyl acetylene                       Tetrahydronaphthalene

Diacetylene                                   Ether (glyme)                            Vinyl ethers

Dicyclopentadiene                          Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether    Vinylidene chloride

Diethyl ether                                 Isopropyl ether

Diethylene glycol                           Methyl acetylene

COMPRESSED GASES

General Information

Compressed gases are unique in that they represent both a physical and a potential chemical hazard (depending on the particular gas). Gases contained in cylinders may be from any of the hazard classes described in this section (flammable,