As you enjoy your summer, thank an Environmental Health and Safety Professional
Ahhh, summer…as I sit by the pool, with a strawberry margarita and a hamburger, I reflect on all the great things those hazardous materials bring and how convenient they make my life. At Henderson Solutions, we are passionate about mitigating risk associated to hazardous materials management and we understand that our modern-day conveniences come with some tricky navigation of risk. Let’s itemize these luxuries and their associated risk.
Swimming pool
What keeps the algae out of a swimming pool on days when the warm sun and lots of people migrate to a refreshing dip? Chlorine. A little chlorine in the pool is such a blessing, keeping the algae and bacterial out and the fun in the sun in. But a lot of chlorine must be transported in higher concentrations across the globe create products for the swimming pool or to facilitate clean drinking water.
Plastic lawn chair
Purchased at a low cost from the nearest big box store, the plastic lawn chair is light, mobile and durable. Plastics, or polymers, are produced from chemicals that primarily come from the petroleum manufacturing process. Some chemicals are isolated from the process to make monomers that eventually form into the chair. This amazing manufacturing process has health and safety hazards associated to toxic chemicals, noise exposure and airborne particles.
Strawberries
Grown year around now, strawberries are a staple for healthy eating and a sweet treat! In the northern hemisphere, your strawberries come from somewhere closer to the equator. In the U.S. lots of strawberries come from California. When grown, large quantities of water and pesticides are necessary to facilitate production. Pesticides and rodenticides containing aluminum phosphide are used on the crops of strawberries. These chemicals are safe when used as directed, but problems arise when those that are not professionals use it incorrectly. When mixed with water, aluminum phosphide creates phosphine, a toxic and deadly gas.
Alcohol
Margaritas require tequila and it is made through harvesting a crop of agave which requires shredding, fermenting and distilling the agave, all of which require energy. Hazardous materials managers help companies with their air permits and management of greenhouse gas emissions that come from energy production.
Beef
You’re good here because you are eating grass fed beef, right? Nope. Most grass-fed beef is flown in from Australia. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), air traffic constitutes 3% of the U.S. annual greenhouse gas emissions so any food flown to your table is having an impact. Cattle themselves produce a portion of the greenhouse gas emissions as they digest fibrous foods and belch out methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas and it is also flammable. Managing pressurized gases of any kind is right in the wheelhouse of a hazardous materials manager.
Flame
To cook the hamburger, your grill needs fuel. Most grills are powered with propane. That little white cylinder with the twist valve on top brings propane to the grill and with a spark, you have a controlled heat source for your burger. Voila! But where does the propane come from? Propane is an affordable, reliable form of heat that goes through a complex process of extracting and refining before being transported as a hazardous material and delivered as a consumer product. At all points in this process there are hazards abound that are identified and mitigated by Environmental Health and Safety professionals, especially those that manage hazardous materials.
Summary
The processes listed above require robust manufacturing. Fortunately, manufacturers are responsible for protecting their workers that are confronted with these hazards day in and day out. Compliance with the regulations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) protect these workers (and consumers) from these hazards. These regulations are complex and some have dedicated their lives to hazardous materials management, not only so that we can continue to have our modern day luxuries, but also so that those working with these hazards can go home safe every day.
Proper hazardous materials management begins with knowing your inventory and continues through the life cycle of chemical management. At Henderson Solutions, we use technology offered through a comprehensive suite of software applications offered by our partner Chemical Safety to make workplace safety and compliance integrated into standard operating procedures and business practices. If you are one of those dedicated professionals and you are looking for tools and technology to support your efforts, connect with us!
