10.2 MSDS and ToxNet

 
The are several serious health risks associated with mid-grade unleaded gasoline, fuel used by Chevron Refinery and Texaco. The first of which, is that it is extremely flammable. It may be fatal if swallowed or enters airways, may cause cancer, and may even cause genetic defects in pregnant women. It can also causes damage to different organs through prolong and repeated exposure. Lastly, the mild health hazards include dizziness, skin and eye irritation.

Unleaded gasoline contains benzene and napthlalene and is a Group 2B carcinogen. The personal protective equipment includes eye/face protection like safety glasses or chemical googles and a face shield. For skin protection, boots, apron, and gloves are recommended.  The special precautions that should be taken when working with fuel is to determine if airborne concentrations are below the recommended occupational exposure limits for use. If they are higher then its imperative to wear an air purifying respirator due to the low viscosity this material can enter the lungs directly. This chemical is not found at my workplace but it is found at the workplace of a close family friend. Additionally, many of our cars are fueled by unleaded gasoline.

When I looked up unleaded gasoline on the ToxNet database, there were not any discrepancies regarding the potential adverse health risks noted in the MSDS. The adverse of benzene and naphthalene are detailed in the MSDS. The safety data sheet was very clear in including all health hazards associated with this chemical. The MSDS was an not an adequate tool for a worker to use and gain an understanding about the potential health risks and how to protect himself for the following reasons. There is a lot of text, the MSDS is 18 pages long and may not be easy to understand for someone with a reading level below the 6th grade level. On a positive note, the MSDS was found in 2 other languages one of which was Spanish.

Link to the data sheet below: https://cglapps.chevron.com/msdspds/SDSDetailPage.aspx?docDataId=278911&docFormat=PDF

Comments

  1. Krissy PamatmatNovember 8, 2017 at 1:30 PM

    Hi Myra,

    It's disturbing to know that mid-grade unleaded gasoline is not only found in a workplace but it can also be found in most of our cars. The numerous serious health risks associated with mid-grade unleaded gasoline should be enough reasons for the government to ban fuel companies from selling this. The government need to regulate this. I wonder if there is an alternative. I'm glad that the MSDS were able to provide all the important information that can be helpful to workers.

    - Krissy

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownNovember 8, 2017 at 10:04 PM

    Hi Mayra,
    i'm glad to hear that MSDS for unleaded gasoline is available. Although, 18 pages long might not be the most efficient way to deliver the information the public and the consumers. I think maybe there's another version of this MSDS where it's more concise and easier to read and understand. I also think having MSDS in different languages is a good idea especially for regions and workplaces with diverse group of people. This will eliminate the language barrier of accessing the information when there's an emergency.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

9.3 Green Chemistry

Image
Our world, especially, the Pacific Ocean area known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" would  look a lot differently if the 12 principles of green chemistry were applied when plastic was invented. For example, instead of plastic disintegrating into smaller and smaller components and remaining a polymer, it could have been made biodegradable ( P rinciple 10- Design chemicals and products to degrade after use )  so that it does not end up accumulating in the environment. Also, if green chemistry was considered and applied before the bottle was designed and produced, aquatic wildlife would not ingest toxic derivatives of plastic such as PCB and BPA ( Principle 8 Avoid chemical derivatives, Principle 4-Design safer chemicals and products, Principle 3-Design less hazardous chemical syntheses, Principle 2-Maximize atom econom y). The polymer, the smallest unit of plastic is so toxic and harmful to the food chain, that even people that consume fish intoxicated by plastic residues
Read more

10.5 Occupational Safety and Health Org

Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) recently released update guidelines that can be applied to small or medium sized work settings. My work place is the type where OSHA guidelines could be applicable. The goal of the guidelines is to reduce work related injuries and or death, reduce workers' compensation issues, and overall improve the workplace environment for employee and employers. The core elements are management leadership, worker participation, hazard identification and assessment, hazard prevention and control, education and training, program evaluation and improvement, and lastly, communication and coordination for host employers, contractors, and staffing agencies. For example, for hazard prevention and control, the benefit for workers is that workers identify what they would consider a type of hazard. Worker's input is highly regarded and seen as essential. This is important, although at my work, we have occupational therapist check our work space to
Read more