Hydrogen Chloride and Potential Occupational Exposure Risks
Hydrogen chloride is a compound that the Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR) states is used in many industries. These include cleaning, pickling and electroplating metals, tanning leather, and refining and producing a wide variety of products. Hydrogen chloride can also be formed during the burning of many plastics and can be released during volcanic eruptions.
Upon contact with water, hydrogen chloride forms hydrochloric acid. Both hydrogen chloride and hydrochloric acid are corrosive.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reports that workers may be harmed from exposure to hydrogen chloride. It can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. ATSDR states that exposure to high levels could lead to pulmonary edema and even death in extreme cases. Exposure to liquid hydrogen chloride may cause frostbite.
Some examples of workers at risk of being exposed to hydrogen chloride listed by NIOSH include the following:
• Chemical workers in plants that use it to produce other chemicals
• Factory workers in plants where metals are pickled
• Workers in food processing plants
• Factory workers who manufacture dyes and fertilizers
• Factory workers in the rubber and textile industries
To protect workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has set a ceiling limit of 5 parts of hydrogen chloride per million parts of air (5 ppm) in workplace air and the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) is also 5 ppm.
These are just a few of the many things to know about hydrogen chloride and potential occupational exposure risks. To learn more about this or other industrial hygiene, environmental, health or safety issues, please visit the websites shown below.
Clark Seif Clark https://www.csceng.com
EMSL Analytical, Inc. https://www.emsl.com
LA Testing https://www.latesting.com
Zimmetry Environmental https://www.zimmetry.com
Healthy Indoors Magazine https://www.healthyindoors.com