The Versatile
Absorbents (Neutralizing Polymers and Solidifiers)
Reduce Unnecessary Exposure To A Multitude Of Hazards
In any occupation today, you run a risk of exposure to a variety of
potentially hazardous chemicals or blood and body fluids. Whether it
is a chemical spill or a bloodborne pathogen spill, it can be hazardous
not only to personnel coming into immediate contact with the spill,
but to the environment, as well. This makes the cleanup and inactivation
of spills critical not only for the safety of the employee, but to the
potential liability if hazardous materials invade the environment surrounding
a facility.
The truth is that every day in industrial facilities, medical facilities,
nursing homes, dentists' offices, laboratories, medical device manufacturers,
schools, buses, even your own home--we are exposed to chemical spills
and potentially infectious bloodborne pathogens. Being prepared for
any emergency becomes the key to reducing unnecessary exposure to a
multitude of hazards. Let's explore the many hazardous spill possibilities
and how your facility ranks when providing for safety.
HazCom and HAZWOPER
Knowing which potentially hazardous chemicals are stored, produced,
or used on site is the first line of defense in preparation for the
possibility of employee or environmental exposure to an accidental chemical
spill, according to OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard, 1910.1020.
There should be Material Safety Data Sheets on hand and immediately
available to personnel for every chemical stored, used, and produced
at your plant. Not only should the MSDS be readily available, but each
chemical storage container and vessel should be labeled with its contents
and OSHA hazard classification. If during the manufacturing process
another hazardous material is created, the pipes or hoses carrying this
chemical byproduct to its destination or storage vessel for disposal
should be marked as well, in case of a pipe bursting or leaking. This
will alert employees to the hazards of the chemical they could be exposed
to and subsequently be cleaning up.
Material Safety Data Sheets must be immediately available
to personnel for every chemical stored, used, and produced at your plant.
Does your facility have a specially trained containment crew? Can you
evacuate all unnecessary personnel immediately in the event of a potentially
hazardous spill? If the answer is "no" to either one of these
questions, steps should be taken to address these concerns. Use the
OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.120, also known as the Hazardous Waste Operations
and Emergency Response Code (HAZWOPER), as a guideline. This standard
outlines the type of training that should be provided and what type
of equipment that should be available in the event of a spill. Finally,
the standard recommends provisions for first aid must be on site for
the treatment of personnel if chemical exposure should occur. If there
is no such containment crew on site, your EMS/local fire department
has personnel trained in the cleanup of hazardous materials; however,
time is of the essence when addressing a spill and each moment that
goes by could create a larger area of exposure.
Protecting the environment surrounding
your facility may be as simple as having a product on hand to
effectively seal off gravity flows of heavier or lighter than
water liquids into surface-mounted drains, manholes, and sewer
grates.
One sewer
stopper, which is lightweight and can be rolled up and stored
easily even when space is limited to seal off a floor drain, is
a cost-effective and easily customized option. Having a product
like this to stop the escape of hazardous fluids from your facility
by containing a spill inside the facility should be used in conjunction
with absorbents whenever necessary, easing the cleanup and reducing
or eliminating the environmental exposure.
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If you have been successful containing the spill within the premises,
an immediate assessment of the chemical is necessary to clean up the spill
safely. There are solidifiers available to encapsulate the spill, preventing
aerosolization while neutralizing a potentially hazardous chemical liquid
spill. By containing the spill within the superabsorbent polymer gel,
the risk of employee and environmental exposure has been reduced significantly,
allowing the containment crew to handle, store, and dispose of the material
more safely and cost effectively.
Other Spill Types
What if the hazardous material the containment crew is dealing with one
that emits hazardous vapors and cannot be solidified with an absorbent
polymer, such as mercury? The first order of business should be making
sure all non-essential personnel evacuate the area of the spill immediately
and the spill is contained within the confines of the facility. All trained
personnel on the containment and clean up crew should be utilizing respirators.
Mercury is liquid metal, heavier than water, and by no means should
it be allowed to enter a drain. It cannot be cleaned up solely
with an absorbent. Treat
this type of spill by pouring a solidifier around the spill
and activate the solidifier with water. This will contain the
mercury within an area from which it cannot roll. Carefully begin
moving the gel surrounding the mercury into a bag or other container
that can be sealed tightly, prohibiting the vapors from escaping.
All mercury must be disposed of as hazardous waste following your
state or local disposal regulations no matter how small the spill.
If you have been successful containing the spill
within the premises, an immediate assessment of the chemical is
necessary to clean up the spill safely.
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If the chemical spill you are cleaning up is the vaporous glutaraldehyde,
a respirator should be worn and the spill should be pre-treated with a
neutralizer, transforming glutaraldehyde solutions to nearly neutral PH
levels. When glutaraldehyde has been neutralized, it turns brown in color.
The act of applying the neutralizer reduces the biocidal activity and
odor, rendering the solution more acceptable for sewer disposal, and prepares
the glutaraldehyde for biodegradation. The solution also can be solidified
after being treated, which further contains the toxic vapors within the
superabsorbent polymer, making it easy to scoop up and dispose of with
the regular trash.
| A formaldehyde spill is another hazardous
material creating a vaporous gas. A respirator should always be
worn when treating and cleaning up the spill. By solidifying
a formaldehyde spill, the formalin is immobilized into a semi
solid matrix. The gelled mass then cools rapidly to minimize formaldehyde
off gassing. Once again, the absorption and solidification of the
toxic material has rapidly eradicated the dangerous vapors associated
with formaldehyde, making it safer and easier to handle and dispose
of by trained personnel according to state or local regulations. |
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An acid spill must be neutralized before it can be reintroduced into the
environment as waste. Add a solidifier that contains a neutralizer as
well as absorbent polymer. Acids have a low PH, so the neutralizer actually
must raise the PH to a neutral level. When the solidifier containing the
neutralizer is introduced to the acid spill, the neutralizer begins to
bubble while the solidifier is converting the neutralized liquid into
an easy-to-handle-and-dispose-of semi solid gel matrix. Disposal in a
landfill is acceptable if the acid has been neutralized to a PH of 7,
which is equal to water.
Caustic or Alkaline Spills
Caustic or alkaline spills are strong base and
have a high PH level. To neutralize
alkaline or caustic spills, just add the solidifier containing
the appropriate neutralizer. An alkaline spill (strong base) may
require multiple applications.
Add solidifier/neutralizer
to the alkaline spill, then scoop up the gelled mass and place
in a bag/container for disposal. For the second application, add
water to the surface and reapply the solidifier/neutralizer, repeating
the cleanup process. Dispose of the neutralized semi solid gel
as you would all regular waste at your facility.
Innovative absorbent products are the safest, fastest,
most cost-effective method of spill cleanup.
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Petroleum-based spills or waste (crude oil, fuel oil, solvents, paint
sludge, PCBs, jet fuel) can be damaging and expensive to clean up, especially
if they are not contained immediately and seep into the environment. A
hydrophobic (water-repellent) solidifier minimizes environmental contamination
when poured onto an organic spill or when added to organic waste prior
to disposal. This raises the flashpoint by 100 degrees F, reducing ignitability
hazards. Using an absorbent rather than an adsorbent makes for lighter
disposal and less product is used, making solidification the most economical
method for cleanup. Dispose of solidified petroleum in accordance with
local, state, and federal regulations.
Blood Products
With the emergence of HIV/AIDS in 1981 came an urgent need for a safe,
easy, and cost-effective method for the cleanup and disposal of blood
and body fluid waste. In 1985, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC) developed guidelines for the prevention of the transmission of
HIV and Hepatitis B (HBV) and called it the Universal Blood and Body
Fluid Precautions. The Universal Precautions guideline was followed
in 1991 by OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. This standard was designed
to protect the nation's health care professionals, who were in a high-risk
group for exposure and contamination to a growing number of contagious
pathogens.
Solidifiers containing superabsorbent
polymers initially developed for industrial purposes were reformulated,
making them state-of-the-art for the cleanup and containment of potentially
infectious waste during handling and disposal. Now, blood and body fluid
encapsulators are found not only in the health care environment, but
also anywhere there is a potential for blood and body fluid spills.
Packaging Options
Popular in laboratories, mortuaries, hospitals,
schools, and industry, superabsorbent
polymers have been added to tissue-based papers, enabling
them to absorb the maximum amount of any water
based fluid. Used in small spill situations these "zorbs"
are so absorbent, the polymers in the sheets encapsulate any odor
as well. There are even sheets that have the added feature of
a polycoated backing for maximum protection against fluid penetration.
Innovative
absorbent products are the safest, fastest, most cost-effective
method of spill cleanup, and providing a variety of packaging
options makes solidifiers versatile in all markets. Kits containing
encapsulators in conjunction with other personal protection items
are designed to handle body fluid or chemical spills.
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Bottles
of assorted sizes containing absorbent powder for controlled distribution,
or pre-measured unit dose drop-ins for use in suction canisters, eliminate
aerosolization. Fifty-gallon drums of solidifier can be kept on hand
and used in the event of a major spill rather than a boom type absorbent
or adsorbent.
article by K. Ticco
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