1 Handling chemical substances A brief overview for students of Faculty of Medicine Jiří Dostál Department of Biochemistry 2 •People who handle chemical substances as part of their employment or studies, must be acquainted with: •hazardous properties of chemical substances, •the rules of protecting health and the environment from their harmful effects, •the principles of pre-medical first aid. • • •Study material available in IS: • •Principles of Fire Protection and Safe Handling of Chemicals •Editors: Jaromír Literák, Barbora Loučková, Jiří Příhoda, MU 2017, •pages 8 - 40 • • 3 Handling chemical substances Legal standards •Regulation (EC) No. 1272/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council focusing on classification, labelling, and packaging of substances (CLP) •Act No. 350/2011 Coll., on chemical substances and mixtures •Act No. 205/2020 Coll., which amends Act No. 258/2000 Coll. on the protection of public health 4 5 Hazard classes - for the classification of physical, health or ecological hazards of a certain chemical substance. Hazard category - specifies the nature and severity of the hazard. Each hazard class and category is assigned: •hazard statements (H-phrases). •precautionary statements (P-phrases). •hazard pictogram (symbol) •signal word - the word "danger" refers to more serious hazards; the word "warning" refers to a less serious hazard category Terminology 6 Hazard classes: physical hazard (16), health hazard (10), environmental hazard (2) 1. explosives 2. flammable gases 3. aerosols 4. oxidising gases 5. gases under pressure 6. flammable liquids 7. flammable solids 8. self-reactive substances 9. pyrophoric liquids 10. pyrophoric solids 11. self-heating substances 12. emitting flammable gases with water 13. oxidising liquids 14. oxidising solids 15. organic peroxides 16. substances corrosive to metals ----------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------- 17. acute toxicity 18. skin corrosion/irritation 19. serious eye damage 20. respiratory / skin sensitizer 21. germ cell mutagenicity 22. carcinogenicity 23. reproductive toxicity 24. specific organ toxicity (single exposure) 25. specific organ toxicity (repeated exposure) 26. aspiration hazard -------------------------------------- 27. aquatic toxicity 28. ozone layer hazard Hazard pictograms 7 Explosive Flammable Oxidizing Compressed gas Corrosive Toxic Harmful Health hazard Environmental hazard 8 In handling chemical substances, it is the responsibility of everyone to observe: •hazard symbols •hazard statements •precautionary statements •protection of human health •protection of the environment 9 • Hazard statements - They are intended to form a set of standardized phrases about the hazards of chemical substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GHS_hazard_statements • Precautionary statements - They are intended to form a set of standardized phrases giving advice about the correct handling of chemical substances https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GHS_precautionary_statements 10 Signal word "Danger" or "Warning" are used to emphasize hazards and indicate the relative level of severity of the hazard, assigned to a hazard class. Some lower-level hazard categories do not use signal words. 11 H-Phrases P-Phrases H200-H299 Physical hazards P100–P199 General statements H300-H399 Health hazards P200–P299 Prevention H400-H499 Environmental hazards P300–P399 Response (if something) P400–P499 Storage P500–P599 Disposal 12 Preparations with hazard pictograms may be used in the household environment Examples: - detergents - cleaning agents - sprays - pool chemicals - DIY supplies - etc. savo_original 8% CH3COOH NaOH NaClO HCl Rules for handling chemical substances •General rules for Masaryk University •approved by Regional Hygiene Administration •available at https://provoz.rect.muni.cz/cs/cebe/chemicke-latky (Czech only) •Principles of Fire Protection and Safe Handling of Chemicals, Editors: Jaromír Literák, Barbora Loučková, Jiří Příhoda • •Specific rules for particular departments •hazardous properties of chemical substances, •the rules of protecting health and the environment from their harmful effects, •the principles of pre-medical first aid. 13 14 Persons handling chemical substances are required to observe •hazard pictograms •signal words •H-Phrases •P-Phrases •specific rules for substances classified as: ocorrosive, otoxic for target organs, category 1, ocarcinogenic, category 1 or 2, omutagenic, category 1 or 2, oreproductive toxicants, category 1A or 1B, oacutely toxic, category 1 or 2. highly hazardous substances The list of highly hazardous substances shall be stored in an electronic database and must be continuously updated. The update period cannot be longer than one year. 15 Packaging and labelling of chemicals The packaging of the chemical or mixture is equipped with a label which contains the following information: •name, address and telephone number of the supplier, •amount of substance or mixture in the package, •product identifiers, •any required hazard warning symbols, •any required signal word, •any standard hazard phrases, •any precautionary phrases, •any additional information necessary. Conditions for handling highly toxic substances Class: acute toxicity Category: 1 or 2 16 Chemical substances and mixtures classified of acute toxicity, category 1 or 2 must be stored in lockable rooms secured against theft and entry of unauthorised persons. Mutual harmful effects or misplacement of stored substances must be eliminated as well as leakage into the environment including danger to individuals. The consumption of substances and mixtures classified as hazardous under acute category 1 or 2 must be recorded. These records must be kept separately for each substance and must include data on the quantity received and released, inventory status including the name of the person to whom the chemical or mixture was given. Records shall be kept for at least 5 years after the stock has been completely exhausted. 17 Who is qualified for handling highly toxic substances? University graduates who: •have completed a university degree in general medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, •have obtained a university degree in the field of chemistry, biology, ecology, •have obtained a university degree in the field of toxicology. Persons who: have successfully passed a professional proficiency test and possess a certificate of professional competence authorising them to handle chemical substances classified as highly toxic 18 Accidents with chemical substances •Inhalation: •move the victim into the fresh air, do not let the victim walk! •rinse out mouth or nose with water •if the situation warrants, call an ambulance •Contact with eyes: •immediately rinse eyes with flowing water, open eyelid (even by force) •from the inner corner of the eye outward •if needed, remove contact lenses •call an ambulance •Contact with skin: •remove the affected clothing, rinse the affected area with a flow of tepid water •cover burned parts of the skin with sterile bandage •if the situation warrants, call an ambulance • • • • • 19 •Ingestion: •highly toxic substances - apply charcoal in water, induce vomiting •toxic substances - apply charcoal in water •corrosives - drink cool water (200 – 500 ml), do not induce vomiting •seek medical attention as soon as possible •in case of uncertainty on how to proceed, contact Toxicology Information Centre, Prague • • • • • Accidents with chemical substances Chemical waste disposal 20 •Only water-miscible chemicals may be poured into the sink and only in quantities which do not pose any risk to rivers or to the water sewage system such as water-soluble solvents up to 0.5 litres (diluted at least 10 times), • •Acids and hydroxides (diluted 30 times, pH should remain within 6.5 - 8.5). Corrosives, acids and hydroxides may only be poured into sink while the water faucet runs. • •Water-immiscible solvents which are toxic, flammable and explosive, concentrated acids and hydroxides and compounds releasing toxic or irritant fumes on contact with water, and heavy metal solutions cannot be poured into the sink. • •Each workplace shall arrange for waste disposal through a company that the deals with the disposal of chemical waste. • 21 Safety data sheet (SDS) •it is intended to provide workers with procedures for handling that substance in a safe manner, •includes information such as physical data (melting point, boiling point, flash point, etc.), toxicity, health effects, first aid, reactivity, storage, disposal, protective equipment, and spill-handling procedures. •SDS formats can vary from source to source within a country depending on national requirements. 22 Example