Commonwealth of Australia 2000

10.2Emergency procedures

Three companies supplied separate procedures for certain emergencies involving acrylonitrile, including exposure procedures, first-aid procedures, spill/leak procedures and procedures for incident reporting to site managers and relevant authorities.

The exposure procedures include the following instructions:

• 
  remove the exposed person from the area;
  

• 
  in case of eye or skin contact, wash with plenty of water;
  
• 
  report to company health centre for assessment of symptoms; and
  
• 
  if necessary, transport exposed person to nearest hospital for medical attention.
  

• 
  protect yourself with gloves and respiratory equipment;
  
• 
  remove patient from contaminated area;
  
• 
  quickly take off contaminated clothing and wash contaminated body parts with plenty of water;
  
• 
  if patient is not breathing, give expired air artificial respiration;
  
• 
  if patient has no pulse, begin cardiac compressions;
  
• 
  if patient has swallowed acrylonitrile and is conscious, do NOT induce vomiting but give a glass of water;
  
• 
  if patient is conscious, administer oxygen while arranging for emergency transfer to nearest hospital or medical centre; and
  
• 
  ensure emergency acrylonitrile hospital bag⁰ is taken along.
  

The reporting procedures detail how, when and to whom incidents must be reported, including circumstances in which State occupational health and safety and environmental authorities must be notified.

10.3Hazard communication

10.3.1Labels

Under the NOHSC National Model Regulations for the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances (NOHSC, 1994c) and the corresponding State and Territory legislation, suppliers or employers shall ensure that all containers of hazardous substances used at work are appropriately labelled in accordance with the NOHSC Code of Practice for the Labelling of Workplace Substances (NOHSC, 1994a).

In accordance with the NOHSC List of Designated Hazardous Substances (NOHSC, 1999b), labels for containers of acrylonitrile should contain the following risk and safety phrases:

R11	Highly flammable	S45	In case of accident or if you feel unwell, seek medical advice immediately (show the label whenever possible)
R23/24/25	Also toxic by inhalation, in contact with skin and if swallowed
R38	Irritating to skin	S53	Avoid exposure – obtain special instructions before use
R45(2)	May cause cancer (Category 2)

The EC have agreed to the following additional risk and safety phrases which will be adopted by Australia according to the usual process:

R37	Irritating to respiratory system	S9	Keep container in a well ventilated place
R41	Risk of serious damage to eyes	S16	Keep away from sources of ignition - no smoking
R43	May cause sensitisation by skin contact

Bulk storage vessels and tanks must be labelled according to the appropriate State or Territory dangerous goods regulation, generally with an affixed hazard sign or placard similar to the one required for road tankers under the Australian Dangerous Goods (ADG) Code (see section 10.6). As a minimum, dedicated acrylonitrile lines and pipes must be labelled with the name of the chemical. Labels for reagent grade acrylonitrile for laboratory use were not available for assessment.

The above labelling requirements do not apply to mixtures or preparations containing <0.1% (<1000 ppm) free acrylonitrile, such as polymer beads, resin pellets or powder, moulded plastics or polymer emulsions.

10.3.2Material Safety Data Sheets

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are the primary source of information for workers involved in the handling of chemicals. Under the NOHSC National Model Regulations for the Control of Workplace Hazardous Substances (NOHSC, 1994c) and the corresponding State and Territory legislation, suppliers of a hazardous chemical for use at work are obliged to provide a current MSDS to their customers. Employers must ensure that the MSDS provided by the supplier is readily accessible to employees with potential for exposure to the chemical.

Seven MSDS were available for assessment against the NOHSC National Code of Practice for the Preparation of Material Safety Data Sheets (NOHSC, 1994b). The following deficiencies were identified in several MSDS:

• 
  no ‘statement of hazardous nature’;
  
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  no Australian emergency telephone number; and
  
• 
  no information on Australian regulations such as the national exposure standard, classification according to the ADG Code or the Standard for the Uniform Scheduling of Drugs and Poisons (SUSDP).
  

One MSDS erroneously gave the national exposure standard as 0.3 mg/m³, whereas the actual value is 2 ppm or 4.3 mg/m³.

10.3.3Education and training

All companies that handle or use the bulk chemical provide education and training in acrylonitrile hazards and safety procedures. In general, induction sessions lasting from 5 min to 1 h are held with all new staff, contractors and casual visitors, with annual or biannual refresher sessions for workers and contractors. Workers potentially exposed to acrylonitrile are trained in the proper use of respiratory protective equipment and first-aid officers are drilled in specific acrylonitrile procedures.

Some of the larger chemical companies that use bulk acrylonitrile have a community relations program that includes the distribution of newsletters to, and regular meetings with, the local residents about health, safety and environmental issues relating to the site and its neighbourhood.

Directory: data -> assets -> word doc -> 0019
0019 ->  Commonwealth of Australia 2002
0019 -> Rail safety news issue 6 – October 2011
0019 -> Social and economic benefits of improved adult literacy: Towards a better understanding Robyn Hartley Jackie Horne
0019 -> From: Virginia Holt [mailto: (personal contact details deleted)
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