Chemical Safety Information
Chlorine Gas Safety & Use Considerations
For almost 100 years now, chlorine gas has been the primary disinfectant used in treating municipal water supplies worldwide. Today in the United States, even with alternative methods being widely available, chlorine gas is still chosen as the primary disinfection method for more than 65% of all drinking water. Using chlorine gas for disinfection is a logical choice in that it is very effective and economical, and easy to operate and maintain. Many will also argue that chlorine gas is actually the safest disinfection method due to the fact that is it now almost always fed under vacuum, greatly reducing any chance of leaks. Although chlorine gas is a hazardous substance, most people do not know the facts and safety statistics of its use in water disinfection. Without this information many tend to overestimate the hazards of chlorine gas when comparing it to alternative disinfection methods such as sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite.
Chlorine Safety Documents:
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Chlorine Safety Tips: Texas Department on Insurance |
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Chlorine Safety Facts | |||
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Chlorine Safety Handbook |
Information Regarding Chlorine Accidents:
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Newspaper Articles on Hypochlorite Accidents |
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Powerpoint perception vs. reality of Chlorine gas safety | |||
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British HSE study on Chlorine Vs Hypo accidents |
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Accident database on all chlorine compounds |
Helpful Websites:
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Sodium Hypochlorite Safety & Use Considerations
Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach) is the liquid form of chlorine and is created by scrubbing chlorine gas through a Sodium Hydroxide solution to make concentrations that vary from 6%-15% concentrations by weight. In contrast to chlorine gas which can be stored indefinitely, sodium hypochlorite is an unstable compound which will degrade in strength depending on time, temperature, UV light and pH. Sodium Hypochlorite is widely considered to be “safer” when compared to chlorine gas; however, this is not always the case. Good safety practices must be taken with sodium hypochlorite in order to protect workers and the surrounding community. This especially relates to preventing the unintended mixture with other chemicals which can lead to hazardous chlorine gas releases.
Sodium Hypochlorite Safety Documents:
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Sodium Hypochlorite safety checklist |
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Chlorine Safety Facts | |||
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Sodium Hypochlorite tank labeling information |
Sodium Hypochlorite Safety Handbooks
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Sodium Hypochlorite Handbook – Pioneer |
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Sodium Hypochlorite Handbook- Odyssey |
Miscellaneous Sodium Hypochlorite Information
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AWWA Perchlorate Formation Research |
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Chlorate and Chlorite Fact Sheet | |||
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Sodium Hypochlorite Dilution Information |
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Perchlorate in Sodium Hypochlorite |
Information Regarding Sodium Hypochlorite Accidents:
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Powerpoint perception vs. reality of Chlorine gas safety |
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Accident database on all chlorine compounds | |||
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Article on perception vs. reality of Chlorine gas safety |
Helpful Websites:
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