Chemicals
Flammable liquids, gases, combustible powders and dusts. Do your employees know the risks?
The global chemical industry produces an extremely wide range of products for an even greater number of uses. Flammable liquids, gases, and combustible powders and dusts are present throughout the manufacturing process – from raw material refinement to consumer product manufacture.
The larger companies in this sector – particularly those involved in the supply chain for bulk, commodity chemicals – are likely to have well developed processes to protect the safety of employees and control the risks of fire and explosion. They are also likely to be familiar with CompEx and to have actively engaged in ensuring that their employees benefit from CompEx qualifications.
The larger companies in this sector – particularly those involved in the supply chain for bulk, commodity chemicals – are likely to have well developed processes to protect the safety of employees and control the risks of fire and explosion. They are also likely to be familiar with CompEx and to have actively engaged in ensuring that their employees benefit from CompEx qualifications.
Small-scale operations also have chemical risks
For smaller-scale chemical companies, the risks may not be so apparent and the processes for effective health and safety management may not be implemented. Explosive atmosphere hazards can exist in the manufacturing processes of products that may themselves appear benign in character. For example, many types of paint manufacture will require the use of a hydrocarbon-based solvent as a dispersive agent, fine powder-based pigment for colouring, polymeric binding agents, and chemical additive packs (including fungicides and bactericides) to improve performance. Many of these may pose explosive hazards within the manufacturing or storage environment, depending upon their formulations and chemical composition.
The appropriate handling and management of flammable liquids and combustible powders (and of the environments in which they are stored and used) is crucial for workplace safety in any operation. CompEx modules focus both on the fundamentals of explosive atmosphere safety and on best practice for manufacturing operations in such environments and are therefore appropriate to chemical companies of all sizes.
Regardless of the regulatory frameworks, good safety makes good business sense, as accidents can be costly to the health of employees, the assets of the business, reputational damage, and the opportunities lost through disruption. In nations where health and safety regulation is well developed and robust, ignorance of the law is rarely an acceptable excuse for failing to maintain workplace safety. Therefore, for chemical industries worldwide, CompEx qualifications can be a very wise investment.
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