Chemical Engineering November 2013 - 38

Source: BLS
Construction
Feature Report
toxic " in three forms of human interaction
as well:
* Highly toxic by ingestion. A chemical
that has an LD50 of 50 mg or less
per kg of body weight when administered
orally to albino rats weighing
between 200 and 300 grams each.
* Highly toxic by contact. A chemical
with an LD50 of 200 mg or less
per kg of body weight when administered
by continuous contact for 24
h (or less if death occurs within 24
h) with the bare skin of albino rabbits
weighing between two and three
kilograms each.
* Highly toxic by inhalation. A
chemical that has an LC50 in air of
200 ppm by volume or less of gas or
vapor, or 2 mg/L or less of mist, fume
or dust, when administered by continuous
inhalation for 1 h (or less if
death occurs within 1 h) to albino
rats weighing between 200 and 300
grams each.
Also found in this discussion is the
term " highly hazardous chemicals. "
OSHA defines this as " ...a substance
possessing toxic, reactive, flammable or
explosive properties... " While this definition
reaches beyond the scope of this
discussion, it nevertheless captures
the essence of and remains within the
realm of potentially lethal chemicals.
Category M fluid2 service
Most CPI facilities must comply with
the ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code,
whether by state regulatory requirements,
by contractual obligation or by
self-stipulation. The code requires all
fluid services used for processing to be
categorized in accordance with B31.3.
One such category to be considered
will be the aforementioned Category
M fluid service.
The definition, as stated previ2.
With regard to any discussion within this article
pertaining to B31.3 Process Piping Code,
allow me to provide something of a disclaimer.
Even though I hold membership on various
ASME committees, subcommittees, and subgroups,
including that of B31.3, any clarification
I make of statements contained within B31.3, or
any design concepts I put forth in the writing of
this article are mine and not those of ASME. The
process and procedures by which ASME publishes
clarifications and responses to inquiries
are based on a thorough, multi-tiered consensus
process established and audited by ANSI (American
Nations Standards Institute). That process
encompasses the thinking of many respected
individuals who are experts in their field and
giving of their time and expertise in both maintaining
the code and responding officially to inquiries
about the code.
Transportation and warehousing
Agriculture, forestry,
fishing and hunting
Government
Professional business services
Manufacturing
Retail trade
Leisure and hospitality
Wholesale trade
Other services (exc. public admin.)
Mining, quarrying, and
oil and gas extraction
Educational and health services
Financial activities
Information
Utilities
800 600 400
775
677
475
438
368
314
262
220
191
183
177
139
2.0
2.6
2.1
1.9
2.1
5.0
2.5
15.6
0.7
81 0.9
38
200
Number of fatal work injuries
1.4
22 2.5
Total fatal work
injuries = 4,383
All-worker fatal
injury rate = 3.2
10
20
Fatal work injury rate
(per 100,00 full-time
equivalent workers)
FIGURE 3. Even though the fatality count for the manufacturing sector at 314 is
moderate, making the per capita rate of 2.2/100,000 a relatively low ratio, it by no
means negates the fact that even one fatality is one too many
ously, suggests that such fluids can be
lethal or at the very least debilitating
to humans upon exposure. While
ASME does not extend its definition
to a list of possible Category M chemical
candidates, other resources do,
although in a different manner. Various
agencies consider these types of
chemicals as hazardous or poisonous
to personnel. OSHA, DOT, EPA and
NFPA each provide their own listing
of what they consider to be hazardous
or poisonous chemicals based on their
own set of criteria.
By adopting the consensus of one or
more of these resources for determining
whether a chemical is hazardous
or poisonous, and therefore under consideration
as a Category M Fluid, an
owner can use such lists as a resource
in determining which chemicals
within their facility may be considered
Category M Fluid service candidates.
OSHA. Under 29 CFR, OSHA provides
a listing of Highly Hazardous
Chemicals, Toxics, and Reactives.
However, their list is broad in its interpretation
and provides a " threshold
quantity " (TQ) for each chemical,
which requires further consideration
on the part of the owner. This is a good
resource, but not without the need for
additional analysis.
EPA. The EPA, under 40 CFR, provides
a listing of hazardous substances
as defined by the EPA under
the TSCA's Chemical Substance Inventory
list (http://www.epa.gov/oppt/
existingchemicals/pubs/tscainventory/
howto.html). This is justifiably a broad
interpretation of hazardous chemicals
38 ChemiCal engineering www.Che.Com november 2013
that does not define or categorize the
various chemicals to the extent that
it would assist the owner in making a
Category M determination.
DOT. The Hazardous Material Table
in 49 CFR has 23 Class and Division
Numbers that categorize chemicals
according to their degree of hazard, or
nonhazard, for the purpose of transportation.
Of those 23 classes and divisions,
three would be classified as
Category M Fluids as follows:
* Forbidden materials (no class
number) - (The definition in 49
CFR is too elaborate and lengthy for
this venue. Refer to 49 CFR 173.21
for clarification)
* Poisonous gas (Division 2.3) - A
gas poisonous by inhalation, means
a material which is a gas at 68°F
in accordance with ASTM standard
E681 (Standard Test Method for
Concentration Limits of Flammability
of Chemicals) or other equivalent
method approved by the associate
administrator for Hazardous Materials
Safety. The flammability of
aerosols is determined by the tests
specified in 49 CFR 173.306(i) of
this part.
* Poisonous materials (Division 6.1)
- A material, other than a gas, which
is known to be so toxic to humans
as to afford a hazard to health during
transportation, or which, in the
absence of adequate data on human
toxicity: (A) Is presumed to be toxic
to humans because it falls within any
one of the following categories when
tested on laboratory animals (whenever
possible, animal test data that
30
9.5
13.3
21.2
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/ http://www.Che.Com
Chemical Engineering November 2013

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