All our clients deal with dangerous chemicals and hazardous materials daily. Here at Chempli, we decided it useful to spotlight one hazardous chemical or material each week. We will take you through the uses, benefits and safety requirements required for the chosen chemical. This week our focus is on Chlorine.
Chlorine is a disinfectant used for cleaning as it kills bacteria. It is most well-known for its use in swimming pools, but it is also used in water treatment and many consumer products such as paint, insecticides, and cleaning products. 85% of all pharmaceuticals in 1990 relied on chlorine, despite rapid technological progress from then until now, chlorine remains crucial to the pharmaceutical industry.
Despite the numerous benefits and uses of this chemical, there are several health and physical hazards to both human and aquatic life.
If you are using chlorine in your workplace on there is substantial amounts stored on the premises, it is highly recommended to carry out a Risk Assessment to define how exposed you and your colleagues may be. Implement a management plan for all hazardous materials and chemicals and you should begin with reading through the safety data sheet. With Chlorine we can see four classification categories.
These are oxidizing, compressed gas, environmental hazard and toxic.
More importantly the health hazards below:
Chlorine can also be detrimental to health. When chlorine enters the body as a result of breathing, swallowing, or skin contact, it reacts with water to produce corrosive acids. Following exposure to chlorine, the most common symptoms include difficulty breathing, irritated breathing and eye irritation. This is why chlorine needs to be stored correctly.
Please adhere to the following precautions:
We would recommend a Corvault for bulk chlorine storage. This will provide a fully enclosed, certified bunded storage unit ensuring compliance when storing chlorine with high corrosion resistance and adequate natural ventilation. For advice on the specific concentration and quantity of chlorine, you may be storing there are options for forced air extraction systems avoiding the build-up of harmful vapours. For specialist advice for how to safely handle and store chlorine please contact Chemstore today for a free no obligations site assessment or to discuss your specific concerns.
With your Chemstore unit, you will have access to Chempli’s Chemstore Library for free. However, paid users will have access to the entire suite of Chempli modules. Most relevant in the storage of chlorine would be the Inventory Management module. This module would allow you to accurately track the level of chlorine in your Chemstore unit. As well as adjusting the maximum, minimum and actual quantities and have instant access to your safety data sheet.
Chempli’s Risk Management module will also be beneficial to you. This module will allow you to create a risk assessment for chlorine that is tailored to you and your company. This risk assessment will provide you with a risk matrix based on how often the chemical is used and how severe the effects are.
If you would like to discuss the benefits of Chempli please get in contact with the Chempli team here. If you would like to book a demo, please fill out the form below and we will get back to you!
