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The Challenge of Toxics in the Chemical Processing Industry
Isn’t it time to take a closer look at the chemicals that society both praises and vilifies in order to discover the real truth and consequences?
‘It was claimed that as little as one part per billion in soil would pose a health
risk.’
By Michael D. Shaw
While acknowledging its failings and striving for improvements, the chemical processing
industry should be proud of its record — virtually from the beginning —
of sound stewardship in the management of toxics. It should aggressively publicize
the positive while being mindful of overzealous media and activists, some of whom
use the environment as a battering ram to destroy productive and responsible enterprises.
To prove this point, let’s take a brief look at four examples of how the response
to a toxic chemical had sweeping consequences.
#1: Early Pollution Control
Contrary to popular opinion, the chemical
processing industry has been concerned about toxic materials long before
the advent of regulatory agencies. |
Since the dawn of the Industrial Age, commercial enterprises have faced daunting
challenges from economic and labor issues to ferocious competition and even government
harassment. But, the processing industries, especially the chemical processing
industry, have also been forced to deal with toxic and hazardous substances. Contrary
to popular opinion, the chemical processing industry has been concerned about
these materials long before the advent of regulatory agencies. Indeed, it’s surprising
how far back this concern can be traced. The Leblanc process for converting sodium
chloride into sodium carbonate came about because of a need publicized by the
French Academy of Sciences in 1775. A plant was set up to run the Leblanc process
in 1791, but it did not go full-scale until it was introduced in England in 1823.
During the process, salt is reacted with sulfuric acid, yielding sodium sulfate
and hydrogen chloride. The sulfate is then reacted with limestone and coal, producing
a black ash that contains the desired carbonate and certain other products that
are easily removed. In fact, the name “soda ash” for sodium carbonate is derived
from this process. One of the first things noted when this process was scaled
up was that the escaping hydrogen chloride could do damage to the factory and
local environment. Methods were quickly developed to capture the hydrogen chloride,
convert it to chlorine and absorb it in lime for bleaching powder, which had its
own market. Because calcium sulfide, which is contained in the ash, has an offensive
odor, methods were developed to remove it and recover sulfur, which in turn was
used to synthesize the sulfuric acid for the original process.
#2: Chlorine’s Story
Chlorine’s story serves as a model for today’s chemical processing industry. One
of the greatest contributions of science has been the chlorination of water. While
the processes of sedimentation and filtration were used in many industrialized
countries by the mid-1800s to purify water, it was the introduction of wide-scale
chlorination in the early 20th century that virtually guaranteed safe drinking
water. Thus, it’s all the more tragic that the UN’s World Health Organization
estimates that 25,000 people per day die of diseases associated with contaminated
drinking water. But if non-use of chlorine can have disastrous effects, so can
its misuse. The world was introduced to the toxic properties of chlorine when
it was deployed in World War I as a chemical weapon. No doubt due to chlorine’s
fierce reputation, industry was quick to initiate protective measures. As a result,
the Chlorine Institute was founded in 1924 and has been instrumental in creating
safety best practices and fostering the manufacture of emergency kits and recovery
vessels. Another consequence of chlorine’s use as a chemical weapon was the development
of gas masks, which eventually morphed into the respirators used by industry today.
#3: Ubiquitous Benzene
Benzene, whose molecular structure
is depicted in this model, is considered the first highly publicized chemical
carcinogen in the age of OSHA. |
It had been known for some time, at least since the late 1920s, that rubber workers
had worse cancer morbidity and mortality than the general population. It was not
until the 1970s, however, that a link was established with the ubiquitous solvent
benzene. As a result, allowable occupational levels of the compounds were drastically
reduced, and sampling methods and field-appropriate analytical instruments were
promulgated. Lawsuits also were filed. Considering everything, this first highly
publicized chemical carcinogen in the age of OSHA was reasonably well managed
by government and industry. Although it may be cold comfort for those whose lives
were damaged by overexposure, the result was more aggressive policies toward possible
carcinogens.
#4: Dioxin Today
Although dioxin can refer to any member of the group of compounds that are byproducts
of certain syntheses, most people think of dioxin as being 2-, 3-, 7- and 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.
Because this chemical occurs in the synthesis of Agent Orange, its reputation
is not a good one. In addition, the discovery of improperly disposed chemical
waste in the early 1980s near Times Beach, Missouri, created a panic concerning
its potential toxic effects. Poorly designed studies in which extremely high doses
of the substance were given to guinea pigs and other animals far more sensitive
than humans caused researchers to conclude that dioxin was one of the most toxic
of all synthetic substances. It was claimed that as little as one part per billion
in soil would pose a health risk. However, the only proven effect of dioxin is
the skin rash chloracne. This point came to light during the highly publicized
case of Viktor Yushchenko, the president of the Ukraine who was disfigured but
not killed after he was given massive doses of the chemical in an assassination
attempt.
Michael D. Shaw is executive vice president for Interscan Corp., a Los Angeles-based
manufacturer of toxic gas detection instrumentation and related software. His
academic credentials include undergraduate biochemical research at UCLA under
Roberts A. Smith and Nobel Laureate Willard Libby, pioneering endocrinology studies
under Dr. Jessie Marmoston (County USC Medical Center) and a graduate stint at
MIT under Gene Brown. Question and comments can be addressed to Shaw at mds1@gasdetection.com.
Additional information is available at www.gasdetection.com.
Advantage Business Media
Rockaway, NJ, 07866
© 2008 Advantage Business Media
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