Journal of chemical health & safety最新文献

Combustible gases produced during the coal spontaneous combustion (CSC) process will cause hidden danger for mine safety. For studying the effect of the addition of CSC gas on CH₄ explosion characteristics, a 20 L explosive device was adopted to obtain the explosion characteristics of CH₄ (7%, 9.5%, and 11% in vol.) and CSC gas (0–2% in vol.) premixed fuel, and the effect of CSC gas on CH₄ explosion characteristics was analyzed. Results show that for 7% CH₄, CSC gas promotes the CH₄ explosion. However, for 11% CH₄, CSC gas inhibits the explosion of CH₄. Based on the chemical reaction kinetics analysis, it indicates that adding CSC gas at different stages changes the sensitivity coefficients, which affects the concentration of active radicals. With the increase of CSC gas in CH₄, the concentration of H increased, the concentration of O decreased, and the concentration of OH increased first and then decreased. The variations of O and OH are regarded to be the main reason for promoting the explosion of dilute CH₄ and inhibiting the explosion of concentrated CH₄. The variations of H, O, and OH indicate that the addition of the self-heating oxidation stage of CSC gas has a more evident effect on the CH₄ explosion characteristics.

The focus on the leather market has recently been on the rise due to the global increase in demand for leather products, driven by rising disposable income levels and improving standards of living among the expanding middle-class population. To enhance the performance of the final leather product, we have employed nanoparticles (NPs) across various stages of leather manufacturing. Specifically, in the finishing process─the ultimate stage of leather production─numerous studies have underscored the significance of Ag, TiO₂, and SiO₂ NPs in significantly enhancing various characteristics of leather. On the other hand, the rapid growth in the application of NPs to leather finishing, and more in general in the leather industry, has occurred concomitantly with increased attention toward potential risks associated with their usage in biological systems and ecosystems. Given these considerations, the objective of this critical review is to provide a detailed and thorough analysis of the factors influencing the toxicity and cytotoxicity of nanoparticles commonly adopted in the leather finishing stage, with particular emphasis on Ag, TiO_2, and SiO₂ NPs, along with their effects on the safety and health of workers. Moreover, the following study aims to identify necessary precautions and safety measures that the leather industry should implement when handling nanoparticles during the finishing stage.

A student Laboratory Safety Officer (LSO) program formalizes a position often found within academic institutions. Through clearly defined responsibilities and effective communication between an LSO and their principal investigators, environmental health and safety office, and department administrators, this program can be effectively used to establish a baseline for safety standards. This article outlines pathways for an institution to establish or strengthen a student LSO program. The strength within this program goes beyond defined responsibilities, where the program’s initiatives can deepen a department-wide community while improving access to resources and advancing leadership skills. The common hurdles faced by these programs are discussed at length for new and existing programs to gain insights into how to address those obstacles while also elucidating the pathways to empower the program. Faculty and student buy-in is fundamental for the success of this program, which often is best addressed by giving visibility to the program itself and its outstanding participants. This article gives an overview of laboratory safety teams (LSTs), a separate graduate student-led laboratory safety initiative, and how an LST can be used to support and even serve as an LSO program. The implementation of a student LSO program has the potential to foster a greater sense of community and safety culture within a department, while giving students the opportunity to enhance their leadership and laboratory skills.

Workers may be at risk of exposure to airborne contaminants, including hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and particles of diverse shapes and sizes during the laser cutting of leathers because of the extensive chemicals employed in leather tanning processes. Desktop carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser engraving machines have gained popularity in various industries; however, airborne contaminant exposure in the laser cutting process of leathers remains unclear. This study investigated Cr(VI) and particle emissions during laser cutting/engraving of leather treated with various tanning methods. Six tanning methods (chrome 1-, chrome 2-, vegetable 1-, vegetable 2-, oil-, and alum-tanned) were studied at three laser power settings (15, 45, and 75%). A personal air sampler coupled with a sampling cassette and ISO 17075–2 evaluation were used to sample and analyze airborne Cr(VI) concentrations, respectively. Two real-time aerosol monitors were utilized to assess particulate concentrations and size distributions from 10 nm to 10 μm. High concentrations of Cr(VI) were detected in chrome-tanned leathers when the ventilation system was off, indicating the critical role of ventilation. The particle number concentrations were statistically significantly affected by various leather tanning methods and laser powers. Chrome 1-tanned leather exhibited the highest concentration of nanoparticles (<420 nm) at low (14,733 #/cm³) and medium (20,725 #/cm³) laser powers, while veg 2-tanned leather produced the highest micrometer-sized particle (>0.3 μm) concentration, over 1,600 #/cm³ at all laser powers. The medium laser power exhibited higher nanoparticles than other powers when laser cutting most tanned leathers. The higher power resulted in the generation of smaller-sized particles for chrome-, oil-, and alum-tanned leathers. These findings underscore the importance of adequate ventilation and controlled laser power settings in minimizing health risks during the leather laser cutting processes.

This paper conducted a bibliometric analysis of personality and safety behavior research in the Web of Science database during the period of 2000–2023. A total of 1972 publications were screened from the Web of Science database, which covered 9992 authors, 867 journals, 114 countries/regions, and 3141 organizations. The annual growth trend and distribution of subject categories were analyzed. The most productive and influential countries, institutions, authors, and their cooperation networks were also identified. In addition, keywords occurrence was also provided. It is expected to provide the review for the past decades and significant insight to better understand the development trends associated with personality and safety behavior research.

Heat guns are frequently used in research laboratories, and several cases of fires occurring following their use have been reported. In some publicly documented cases, the exact cause of these post-use fires remained elusive. Herein, we present a new incident of a heat-gun-related fire where flammable solvents were not a contributing factor. Instead, we suggest that the faulty equipment may be implicated. This case study underscores the importance of additional fault analysis and effective communication regarding recalls when purchasing and using consumer-grade equipment for laboratories.

With the rapid expansion of urban gas infrastructure, significant issues such as pipeline aging have arisen, leading to an increase in gas pipeline repair operations. However, this process has also resulted in numerous safety accidents. The traditional manual supervision mode for pipeline repair processes has several limitations, including incomplete identification of risk elements and the inability to estimate risks quantitatively. To address these challenges, a safety monitoring method was put forward in this study for the visible risk elements of the gas repair operation process. This method involves the identification of five types of risk elements and the establishment of a target detection data set for gas repair operations. Moreover, a data annotation method based on mix-supervised learning is proposed, which significantly enhances data annotation efficiency and saves 50% of marking time compared with manual annotation while maintaining an acceptable level of accuracy. Additionally, a visual risk element recognition model for the gas repair process was developed by using the YOLOv5 algorithm. The test results demonstrate that the detection accuracy of the visible risk element achieved in this research is 92.9%. These findings can assist in identifying potential safety hazards for personnel, equipment, and the environment during pipeline repair operations.