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The Busy Bee Chemical Safety Plan
Preface forTheeHiveBees: I promised this safety plan quite some time ago. It has turned into quite the arduous, yet rewarding and insightful, task. The following document is best suited for BabyBees, and I will post it there as soon as possible after posting here; however, I hope that it will contain valuable information for most, if not all, bees. I, myself, am by no means an expert bee (although I possess a good deal of chemical knowledge in the ordinary sense, especially in regard to safety, at this point, and have a lot of experience in professional labs, mostly quantitative). As a result, I would like this to be a working document, and as such, I will consider any and all edits that other bees recommend. Please comment or DM any input or questions you may have. I am greatly indebted to all of you who have all ready provided assistance, and apologize if I missed any of your previous recommendations. *I especially need some assistance with waste disposal (last section) information. I only know about professional waste disposal, which we obviously want to avoid when possible. Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations B. PPE C. Lab Setup D. Behavior and Technique IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS B. Chemical Labeling C. Chemical Storage D. Bonding and Grounding E. Peroxide Forming Molecules and Shelf Lives V. Labware Safety A. Glassware B. Support C. Tubing D. Heat E. Electricity VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods B. Additional Tips VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations B. Fire Extinguishers C. Fire Blankets D. Spills E. First Aid VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene B. Facility Hygiene C. Waste Disposal ____________________________________________________________________________ II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules:
Never work alone, and alert others on the premises that you are about to conduct lab work. If you are blinded, set on fire, burnt, frightened, accidentally intoxicated, experience a health emergency, or are otherwise put in danger, you may be unable to remedy the situation alone, which could lead to death, permanent blindness, disfigurement, etc. Be sure that you and/or another has the ability to call 911.
Wear proper PPE at all times and avoid other hazardous dress (see the section on PPE below).
Always prepare for the worst!! Wear the PPE and take the precautions that will protect against the worst case scenario given the chemicals and processes you work with.
Never eat, drink, chew gum, or have any unnecessary items in the lab in case of contamination (of the items, self, or the experiment).
Keep the lab clean, sanitary, and organized.
Never allow walkways or exits to become obstructed.
Thoroughly study the SDS for each chemical you work with.
Have emergency procedures in place, including fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid, spill kits, emergency showers, and eyewash station.
Understand peroxide-forming chemicals, and evaluate shelf-lives of materials.
Bond and ground flammable and combustible fluids.
Use a fume hood.
Store and handle reagents properly.
Add acids and bases to water, never vice-versa.
Never look into the end of any glassware wherein a reaction is taking place.
III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations: Before we apply PPE, there are some basic precautions that must be taken in terms of dress and personal hygiene. Do NOT:
Wear loose fitting clothing that may knock things over, catch fire, or soak up chemicals.
Wear jewelry for the above reasons. Metals in jewelry may also react with certain chemicals.
Unnecessarily expose any skin.
Wear contact lenses, unless full, non-ventilated goggles are also worn.
Do:
Maintain personal hygiene to avoid contamination.
Wear all proper PPE, especially gloves and goggles at all times.
Wash hands and change gloves as frequently as possible.
Wear closed-toe, thick, shoes.
Wear tight-fitting clothing that covers as much skin as possible- long sleeves, long pants, closed shirt, and lab coat.
B. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): The most obvious safety practice is the use of personal protective equipment. However, PPE is the last system of defense against chemical hazards. Practitioners should focus their efforts on the maintenance of a safe work environment, proper training, and the replacement of more with less dangerous chemicals where possible. We will classify PPE into three sections- eye, body, and respiratory protection. (note: larger labs and some rare reactions may also require hearing protection, light-restrictive eye protection, hard hats, and other forms of protection as necessary). Eye Protection: Chemical splash goggles Eye protection is not just to prevent impact, which is all that general safety goggles, with or without side shields, do. General safety goggles and eyeglasses offer limited protection against sprays, and do NOT prevent splash hazards, which may come from any angle or drip down one’s face into the eyes. Additionally, some chemical fumes are eye irritants. Bees should wear chemical splash goggles labeled with the code Z87.1, which denotes compliance with safety standards. The goggles must fit snugly against the face and remain on at all times. Suggestion: Chemical Splash/Impact Goggle.
Do not touch your eyes while in a lab.
Never wear contact lenses in a lab- some chemicals may react with them, and liquids may get trapped under them, exacerbating eye damage and reducing effectiveness of emergency eye washes.
Face shields that cover the entire face may be necessary for chemicals that are particularly corrosive, flammable, or explosive.
Body Protection: Long clothes that cover as much skin as possible is a must. This means closed shoes or boots, pants, long sleeves, a lab coat, and gloves. Tie back long hair. Change gloves and wash hands as often as possible, especially before leaving the lab. Recognize that touching things such as your phone with your gloves on may spread toxic chemicals.
Gloves: Keep a large amount of gloves on hand. This includes boxes of traditional nitrile/latex gloves, and at least one pair each of heat/cold resistant and thick-rubber, arm-length, corrosive-resistant gloves.
All gloves are permeable- even the proper glove will only protect for a period of time. Many chemicals will eventually work their way through them. It is imperative that gloves are changed and hands washed as often as possible.
If more than one type of hand protection is necessary, multi-hazard protective gloves are available; otherwise, gloves may be layered.
All used gloves should be considered hazardous. Throw them away in a safe place, and do not wear or carry them outside of the lab area.
2. Lab Coats: Multi-hazard protection lab coats are best, and should be both fire (FR) and chemical splash (CP) resistant. Most basic lab coats found online or in stores are not FCP. Proper coats are more expensive, but are absolutely worthwhile as they may prevent fire, chemical burns, and even death (research the UCLA tert-butyllithium incident). Here is an example of a proper lab coat: Lab Coat.
If you work with corrosive chemicals, a chemical splash apron, arm-length rubber gloves, and face shields may be necessary.
Keep lab coats in the lab area unless they are washed. They should be assumed to contain hazardous chemicals.
3. Respiratory Protection: Never smell chemicals or inhale their fumes. Use a fume hood when necessary and keep containers closed tightly. In case of a large chemical spill, evacuate immediately. Use a fume hood with any organic solvent, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia. Use respirators when working with fine powders or toxic fumes. C. Lab setup: Develop a thorough floor plan before equipping your lab. Priorities:
Ventilation- Air must flow from other areas of the facility or home to the lab area, and subsequently out of the building. Fume hoods must immediately direct airflow out of building.
Maximize open work space and visibility, and minimize obstruction throughout the work area.
Allow ample space between and within workstations.
Include ample lighting.
Include ample (excess) storage space that is separate from lab spaces where reactions take place.
Use OSHA approved acid, corrosive, and flammable storage cabinets.
Strategically place first aid, wash stations, spill control kits, fire extinguishers and blankets such that all are easily accessible in case of emergency, and such that an emergency itself (e.g. fire) will not obstruct access.
Doors should, preferably, hinge outward to promote prompt evacuation.
All wash stations must have a proper drain.
Large sinks are best, and there should be one per workstation.
All electrical and gas lines must be easily severable or closable.
Black epoxy resin surfaces are preferred.
Install and routinely check smoke detectors.
D. Behavior and Technique:
Keep a proper lab notebook that records all procedures.
Gather all needed glassware, labware, and chemicals before beginning an experiment.
Keep all equipment clean and dry when not in use.
Never add solvent to acids, bases, etc!! This could result in a violent reaction. All ways prepare the solvent first, and slowly add the acid or base to it.
Eliminate distractions.
Stay organized and keep the lab uncluttered.
Bond and ground when pouring flammable or combustible liquids.
Use the right tool for the job. Do not skimp or substitute glassware.
IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS: The first and most vital step to understand how to safely handle chemicals is thorough, proper, and regular review of Safety Data Sheets. It is recommended that physical copies of SDSs be kept for all chemicals in the laboratory. Safety Data Sheets can be found online as well, and should be reviewed each time a chemical is used, at least until one has extensive experience with that chemical. Safety and storage information should also be reviewed for any compounds synthesized, as well as any side products or impurities. The format of an SDS is an update to the traditional MSDS, and follows the guidelines prescribed by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) established in March 2012. A traditional MSDS is likely to contain all or most of the necessary information; however, SDS has the benefit of a strict and easy to follow format that includes the following 16 sections: Section 1—Identification: Chemical/product name, name and contact information of producer. Section 2—Hazard(s) Identification: All known hazards of the chemical and required label elements. The GHS identifies three hazard classes: health (toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc.), physical (corrosive, flammable, combustible, etc.), and environmental hazards. There are 16 types of physical hazards and 10 types of health hazards. Next to each listed hazard is a rank/category from 1-4, with 1 being the most severe level of hazard. Next are hazard pictograms, a signal word, and hazard (H) statements and precautionary (P) statements. Pictograms allow chemists to quickly understand the basic hazards of a chemical, and must be on the chemical label. What pictograms a chemical requires is quantitatively determined, and users should become familiar with them. 📷 There are two signal words- Danger!, and Warning!, the former being more serious than the latter. P and H statements list specifically hazardous situations and precautions that must be taken when handling the chemical. Section 3—Composition/Information on Ingredients Section 4—First-Aid Measures Section 5—Fire-Fighting Measures Section 6—Accidental Release Measures: What to do in case of accidental spill or release of chemicals, proper containment, and cleanup. Section 7—Handling and Storage Section 8—Exposure Controls/Personal Protection: Includes exposure limits. Section 9—Physical and Chemical Properties: appearance, odor, flashpoint, solubility, pH, evaporation rates, etc. Section 10—Stability and Reactivity: Chemical stability and possible hazardous reactions. Section 11—Toxicological Information: Routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or absorption contact), symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity. Sections 12-15 are optional, but include ecological information, disposal considerations, transportation information, and regulatory information. Section 16-- includes any additional information the producer may want to portray. B. Chemical Labeling: All chemicals should be labeled at all times to avoid hazard, confusion, and waste.
Containers that are being used in a procedure (beakers, flasks, wash bottles, etc.) may simply be labeled with a piece of scotch tape and a permanent marker.
Vessels that will be heated can be labeled with a heat-resistant paint marker.
Chemicals that will be stored (whether produced or purchased) should be labeled with at minimum the chemical name, date of production/purchase/opening, and safety concerns. Simple labels may be used for containers that are not in the manufacturer’s packaging.
C. Chemical Storage: General Reagents:
Keep storage spaces organized, clean, and uncluttered.
All chemicals should be stored properly whenever not in use.
Store bottles away from shelf edges, and/or have lipped shelves to prevent falls from, and contain spills on, shelves.
Keep seals tight.
Keep an inventory.
Always label chemicals properly, including the dates received and opened.
Bees may opt to cover glass containers in clear packing tape to reduce mess if a bottle is broken.
Store flammable and combustible liquids in a flammable cabinet. An old fridge is a good method of storage for bees. Never store food or drink in the same refrigerator.
Do not store liquids above solids.
Always store corrosive chemicals on spill trays.
Store odoriferous and toxic chemicals in ventilated cabinets.
Keep heavy containers on bottom shelves, and don’t store in high places or on the floor unless properly protected.
Acetone with- bromine, chlorine, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, or hydrogen peroxide (do not use acetone to clean receptacles that have had these chemicals in them!).
Iodine with- acetylene, ammonia, or hydrogen.
Water- keep all other chemicals away from water unless in solution. Especially avoid hydration of acetyl chloride, alkaline and alkaline earth metals, barium peroxide, carbides, chromic acid, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorous pentoxide, sulfuric acid, or sulfur trioxide.
Nitric Acid with- acetone, acetic acid, alcohol, chromic acid, aniline, hydrocyanic acid, hydrogen sulfide, or any flammable substances (keep this in mind when cleaning with nitric acid).
Hydrogen Peroxide with- copper, chromium, iron, most metals or salts of metals, alcohols, acetone, organic materials, aniline, nitromethane, flammable liquids, ammonia, or oxidizing agents.
Zinc and sulfur.
Mercury with- acetylene, fulminic acid, or ammonia.
Compressed Gasses:
Keep cylinders of compressed gasses secured
Keep appropriate breathing apparati in the vicinity, but not immediately near the compressed gases in case of emergency.
Keep the valve cap secured unless in use or connected to a line.
Do not store flammable gases near oxidizers or combustible materials.
Do not allow a cylinder to empty completely.
Dispose of cylinders after ten years, or three in the case of corrosive and toxic chemicals.
Note: avoid working with gases when possible. Gas chemistry has many complications, is often unsafe, and produces poor yields and poor quality products. Bulk Storage Containers:
Carboys: These are great for general purpose, and storage of chemicals no longer in their original container. However, they are not ideal for transport or use with acids, caustics, flammable liquids, or corrosive substances.
Safety Cans: have spring loaded lids and flame arresters. They are good for fluids in volumes less than five gallons, are safe for transporting most chemicals, and can be had for around $80. Recommended Safety Can.
Drums: for bulk chemicals. They may weigh in excess of 800 lb (364 kg), and should only be moved with a drum dolly, not rolled or dragged. Drums may be made of steel or high-strength plastics.
D. Bonding and Grounding: “Class I Liquids should not be run or dispensed into a container unless the nozzle and container are electrically interconnected.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii), ATEX directive, and NFPA UFC Div. VIII, Sec. 79.803a). An ungrounded static voltage (including from friction) may cause combustion of some fluids. Metal containers must be connected via a common grounding wire made of solid or braided wire, or welded connections, before fluid is poured between them. E. Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: A variety of common chemicals spontaneously form peroxide compounds under ordinary storage conditions due to reaction with oxygen. Peroxides are extraordinarily explosive, and can often be ignited by contact with heat, friction (incl. simply turning the cap of the container), and mechanical shock (incl. shaking, bumping, or dropping). Three classes of peroxide-forming chemicals are of particular interest, and are organized by the precautions that should be taken with unopened and opened containers. Class A Peroxide Formers: the most hazardous class. Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first). Opened: Test for peroxides quarterly. Common class A peroxide formers include: Butadiene (liquid monomer) Isopropyl ether Sodium amide (sodamide) Chloroprene (liquid monomer) Potassium amide Tetrafluoroethylene (liquid monomer) Divinyl acetylene Potassium metal Vinylidene chloride Class B Peroxide Formers: Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first). Opened: test for peroxide formation every 6 months. *Always test this class immediately before any distillation. Common Class B Peroxide Formers include: Acetal Cumene Diacetylene Methylacetylene 1-Phenylethanol Acetaldehyde Cyclohexanol Diethyl ether Methylcyclopentane 2-Phenylethanol Benzyl alcohol 2-Cychlohexen-1-ol Dioxanes MIBK 2-Propanol Benzaldehyde Cyclohexene Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (glyme) 2-Pentanol Tetrahydrofuran 2-Butanol Decahydronaphthalene Furan 4-Penten-1-ol Class C Peroxide Formers: Same precautions as Class B. Include: Acrylic acid Chloroprene Styrene Vinyl acetylene Vinyladiene chloride Acrylonitirile Chlorotrifluoroethylene Tetrafluoroethylene Vinyl chloride Butadiene Methyl methacrylate Vinyl acetate Vinyl pyridine *Without opening, immediately dispose of any peroxide-forming chemical with any crystalline formation. Be careful not to open, shake, heat, or drop. Testing Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: Peroxide test strips can be bought cheaply online, or various in-lab tests can be performed: One method is to combine the fluid with an equal volume (1-3mL) of acetic acid (AcOH). To this a few drops of a 5% KI solution are added, and a color change indicates the presence of peroxides. Another method adds a small amount of the fluid to be tested (~0.5mL) to ~1mL 10% KI solution and ~0.5mL dilute HCL. To this a few drops of starch indicator are added, and the presence of blue/blue-black color within a minute indicates the presence of peroxides. Fluids with a LOW (<30ppm) concentration of peroxides can often be deperoxidated via filtration through activated alumina, distillation (not for THF!), evaporation, or chromatography. V. Labware Safety A. Glassware:
Always inspect glassware for cracks, chips, or fractures before use. Discard any glassware that is even slightly damaged.
Use glassware for its intended purpose! Heat fluids in a round-bottom boiling flask whenever possible.
Store on a shelf away from the edge. Round-bottomed flasks should be set on cork or tin holders, or padded into a drawer.
Joint grease reduces stuck joints, and therefore breakage.
Always carry glassware with two hands. Do not hold beakers by their sides, or flasks by the neck.
Clean glassware after any procedure, and before as necessary.
B. Support:
Use the fewest amount of clamps such that all structures are firmly held.
Support all flasks with rings.
Assemble apparati from bottom up.
Assemble such that liquid always passes through the male joint. Never allow fluid to pass into the joint. This prevents both leaks and lubricant contamination.
Do not over tighten clamps. Clamps should be tightened the minimum amount that provides a secure frame.
C. Tubing:
Cut glass tubing by placing a single slit in the desired position, then breaking by pulling the edges toward you and pushing the joint out.
Bend glass tubing by heating until red, and pulling ends toward self to form desired angle.
Use lubricant to insert tubing into stoppers, and wear hand protection during assembly.
DO NOT force glass together or into anything. Use minimal pressure, lubricant, and a gentle twisting motion if necessary.
D. Heating:
Heating mantles and hot plates are preferred over bunsen burners in almost all situations. Never unnecessarily introduce a flame to your lab environment.
Avoid rapid temperature changes whenever possible. Borosilicate glass is made for more rapid temperature changes. Heat and cool glass slowly. Do not set hot glass on a cold tabletop or under cold water.
Never look into the mouth of a receptacle that is being heated, or point it towards the self or others.
Use heat resistant gloves and/or tongs to handle hot receptacles or products.
Cover oil baths so they don’t splatter, or use a sand bath in its stead.
Always use boiling chips for reflux and distillation!
E. Electricity:
Be aware of electrical hazards. Check wires periodically, and keep the lab environment dry and clean.
Use power strips to protect equipment.
VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods: Fume hoods are absolutely essential whenever flammability, toxicity, or accidental intoxication is a concern. That includes all organic solvents, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia, as well as any materials that are both volatile and toxic, corrosive, reactive, or intoxicating. The face velocity of a fume hood should be around 100 ft/min or 0.5 m/s. Keep these guidelines in mind when using a fume hood:
Regularly check that air flow is not blocked.
Keep the sash open as little as possible to promote air flow.
Keep all chemicals and glassware at least 6 inches away from the edge of the workspace.
Air should flow from the fume hood directly to the outdoors.
Unfortunately, bees often find that fume hoods are the most difficult apparatus to obtain and install in a private laboratory. Nonetheless, it is imperative that each lab includes one. This is especially important for bees, who often work in confined spaces that can quickly and easily fill with toxic, flammable, or intoxicating vapors. A proper fume hood may cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are many online guides and videos that teach how to construct one for as little as a few hundred dollars. The builder must meticulously ensure that air flow is adequate and constant. The outtake must be properly filtered, and there must not be any leaks through which air can flow other than the space under the sash and the outtake. B. Additional Tips:
Avoid gas chemistry whenever possible. It is often dangerous, difficult, and produces poor quality products and low yields.
Avoid pressurized systems whenever possible. They also present special risks.
After working with potentially pyrophoric agents that may not interact well with water or oxygen, flush apparati with pressurized inert gas before cleaning.
Do not clean bromine contaminated glassware with acetone, which forms bromoacetone, a tear gas.
Always use deionized water- tap water contains interruptive ions such as Mg2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ca2+, as well as dissolved gasses.
VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations: If any hazardous chemical comes in contact with the body or eyes, the emergency shower or eye-wash station should be utilized immediately, with continued application for at least 15 minutes. The eyes should be held open for this entire process. Quality eye-wash stations can be purchased online for between 50 and several hundred US dollars. Bees who don’t have one installed are advised to purchase one. Some models can be attached directly to a sink faucet. An alternative, less effective, and minimal necessary precaution is bottled, eye-safe saline solution such as EyeSaline and Physician’s Care Eyewash Station, which can be purchased online for around $10 for a single bottle, and $30+ for kits. At least two bottles should be kept on hand in case both eyes are contaminated. Application of bottled solution to both eyes may require a partner, because the eyes must be held open to maximize effectiveness. For this, and other reasons (speed, difficulty/time of opening bottles vs. pushing a button, and water pressure) an actual eyewash station is in all ways preferred. Faucet-mounted eyewash stations such as the following are very affordable (US $59.95). Recommended Eyewash Station. Bees may not, however, have the space to install a safety shower. The home shower may be used in its stead; however, precaution must be taken to ensure it is easily accessible. The chemist should alert all others in the home/facility that they are working, and require that the door to the shower, and the path to it, be open at all times in case of emergency. B. Fire extinguishers:
Avoid working with flames whenever possible, especially when working with flammable solvents. Hot plates or heating mantles are preferable in almost all situations.
There are four classes of fires:
Class A- ordinary combustibles- wood, cloth, paper- can be extinguished with water, or general fire extinguishers. Class B- organic solvents, flammable liquids- chemical foam extinguishers (also work for class A and C). Class C- electrical equipment- chemical foam extinguishers. Class D- combustible metals such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, lithium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium.
A dry chemical ABC extinguisher is usually adequate.
If you plan to work with combustible metals (not recommended unless necessary), make sure to have a class D dry chemical fire extinguisher. Other methods or classes of extinguishers will not put out a combustible metal fire. Note that class D fire extinguishers will not work for class A, B, or C fires.
Do not use a CO2 extinguisher- if it has to be used on the person it can cause frostbite and inhibit breathing.
C. Fire blankets: Used for small fires, or to put out a person who has caught fire (laying on ground, standing may cause the fire to move up the body to the head due to a chimney effect). D. Spills: Keep some vinegar or baking soda around to neutralize bases and acids, respectively. After acids and bases are neutralized, the chemical can be mopped up and placed in waste disposal. VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene: Wash hands, face, and all exposed skin after PPE has been removed to avoid recontamination by touching dirty clothes. Shower and change clothes once possible. B. Facility Hygiene: Clean all surfaces, glassware, and equipment before leaving the lab. Keep laboratory items in the lab, and personal items out of it. Chemicals may be transferred into the home through those items. Additionally, foreign objects have the potential to contaminate sterile laboratory environments. C. Waste Disposal: Waste disposal is one of the most important aspects of safety, image management, public relations, avoidance of fines or criminal charges, and environmental preservation.
Create a waste disposal plan before beginning a procedure or ordering a chemical.
Consult the SDS for all chemicals, individually or in a mixture.
Clearly label all containers, including waste.
Rinse out empty containers with an inert solvent several times before disposal.
Collect aqueous waste separately from organic solvent waste, and place solid waste in a labeled container for disposal. Flammable and toxic waste should be stored in a closed waste container in the fume hood until proper disposal is possible.
Non-hazardous waste may be disposed of in a landfill.
The Article “Management of Waste” found here states, “The best strategy for managing laboratory waste aims to maximize safety and minimize environmental impact, and considers these objectives from the time of purchase.” The article describes four tiers of waste management:
Pollution prevention and source reduction (green chemistry).
Reuse and redistribution of unwanted/surplus material (purchasing only what is needed).
Treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste.
Disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial. Additionally, use of solvent as fuel, or a fuel blender (the least desirable tier).
I hope this safety plan can save a few bees. I know there is a lot of information, but chemical safety is extremely important and multifaceted. Best of luck with your endeavors. Stay safe out there!
Table of Contents: I. Introduction II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations B. PPE C. Lab Setup D. Behavior and Technique IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS B. Chemical Labeling C. Chemical Storage D. Bonding and Grounding E. Peroxide Forming Molecules and Shelf Lives V. Labware Safety A. Glassware B. Support C. Tubing D. Heat E. Electricity VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods B. Additional Tips VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations B. Fire Extinguishers C. Fire Blankets D. Spills E. First Aid VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene B. Facility Hygiene C. Waste Disposal IX. List of Edits ____________________________________________________________________________ I. Introduction: Chemistry is an extremely exciting endeavor; however, it can also be an exceedingly dangerous one. Professional chemists are disfigured, maimed, burned, and even killed every year. Clandestine chemists face even greater harm when they have a lack of knowledge, inadequate facilities, no established safety protocol, or a capricious attitude. If you want to be a productive bee, you will face untold hours of preparation. It will prove to be a worthwhile endeavor; however, it is not something to rush, and your chances of success are slim-to-none if you damage yourself, others, or your home/facility. The following document is very long and thorough. We won't pretend that bees are going to follow all of these recommendations, but I urge all baby bees to at least browse this document to become familiarize with the attitude of safety and some of the dangers of laboratory work. I am open to any and all recommendations, questions, and edits- this will be a working document. I wish you all luck in your exploration. Remember, however, that safety in the lab rarely comes down to luck- it is all about preparation, execution, and awareness of your surroundings. Safe travels, fellow bees! II. Basic Laboratory Safety Rules:
Never work alone, and alert others on the premises that you are about to conduct lab work. If you are blinded, set on fire, burnt, frightened, accidentally intoxicated, experience a health emergency, or are otherwise put in danger, you may be unable to remedy the situation alone, which could lead to death, permanent blindness, disfigurement, etc. Be sure that you and/or another has the ability to call 911.
Wear proper PPE at all times and avoid other hazardous dress (see the section on PPE below).
Always prepare for the worst!! Wear the PPE and take the precautions that will protect against the worst case scenario given the chemicals and processes you work with.
Never eat, drink, chew gum, or have any unnecessary items in the lab in case of contamination (of the items, self, or the experiment).
Keep the lab clean, sanitary, and organized.
Never allow walkways or exits to become obstructed.
Thoroughly study the SDS for each chemical you work with.
Have emergency procedures in place, including fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid, spill kits, emergency showers, and eyewash station.
Understand peroxide-forming chemicals, and evaluate shelf-lives of materials.
Bond and ground flammable and combustible fluids.
Use a fume hood.
Store and handle reagents properly.
Add acids and bases to water, never vice-versa.
Never look into the end of any glassware wherein a reaction is taking place.
III. Dress, Preparation, and PPE for Lab Work A. Basic Considerations: Before we apply PPE, there are some basic precautions that must be taken in terms of dress and personal hygiene. Do NOT:
Wear loose fitting clothing that may knock things over, catch fire, or soak up chemicals.
Wear jewelry for the above reasons. Metals in jewelry may also react with certain chemicals.
Unnecessarily expose any skin.
Wear contact lenses, unless full, non-ventilated goggles are also worn.
Do:
Maintain personal hygiene to avoid contamination.
Wear all proper PPE, especially gloves and goggles at all times.
Wash hands and change gloves as frequently as possible.
Wear closed-toe, thick, shoes.
Wear tight-fitting clothing that covers as much skin as possible- long sleeves, long pants, closed shirt, and lab coat.
B. PPE (Personal Protective Equipment): The most obvious safety practice is the use of personal protective equipment. However, PPE is the last system of defense against chemical hazards. Practitioners should focus their efforts on the maintenance of a safe work environment, proper training, and the replacement of more with less dangerous chemicals where possible. We will classify PPE into three sections- eye, body, and respiratory protection. (note: larger labs and some rare reactions may also require hearing protection, light-restrictive eye protection, hard hats, and other forms of protection as necessary). Eye Protection: Chemical splash goggles Eye protection is not just to prevent impact, which is all that general safety goggles, with or without side shields, do. General safety goggles and eyeglasses offer limited protection against sprays, and do NOT prevent splash hazards, which may come from any angle or drip down one’s face into the eyes. Additionally, some chemical fumes are eye irritants. Bees should wear chemical splash goggles labeled with the code Z87.1, which denotes compliance with safety standards. The goggles must fit snugly against the face and remain on at all times. Suggestion: Chemical Splash/Impact Goggle.
Do not touch your eyes while in a lab.
Never wear contact lenses in a lab- some chemicals may react with them, and liquids may get trapped under them, exacerbating eye damage and reducing effectiveness of emergency eye washes.
Face shields that cover the entire face may be necessary for chemicals that are particularly corrosive, flammable, or explosive.
Body Protection: Long clothes that cover as much skin as possible is a must. This means closed shoes or boots, pants, long sleeves, a lab coat, and gloves. Tie back long hair. Change gloves and wash hands as often as possible, especially before leaving the lab. Recognize that touching things such as your phone with your gloves on may spread toxic chemicals.
Gloves: Keep a large amount of gloves on hand. This includes boxes of traditional nitrile/latex gloves, and at least one pair each of heat/cold resistant and thick-rubber, arm-length, corrosive-resistant gloves.
All gloves are permeable- even the proper glove will only protect for a period of time. Many chemicals will eventually work their way through them. It is imperative that gloves are changed and hands washed as often as possible.
If more than one type of hand protection is necessary, multi-hazard protective gloves are available; otherwise, gloves may be layered.
All used gloves should be considered hazardous. Throw them away in a safe place, and do not wear or carry them outside of the lab area.
2. Lab Coats: Multi-hazard protection lab coats are best, and should be both fire (FR) and chemical splash (CP) resistant. Most basic lab coats found online or in stores are not FCP. Proper coats are more expensive, but are absolutely worthwhile as they may prevent fire, chemical burns, and even death (research the UCLA tert-butyllithium incident). Here is an example of a proper lab coat: Lab Coat.
If you work with corrosive chemicals, a chemical splash apron, arm-length rubber gloves, and face shields may be necessary.
Keep lab coats in the lab area unless they are washed. They should be assumed to contain hazardous chemicals.
3. Respiratory Protection: Never smell chemicals or inhale their fumes. Use a fume hood when necessary and keep containers closed tightly. In case of a large chemical spill, evacuate immediately. Use a fume hood with any organic solvent, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia. Use respirators when working with fine powders or toxic fumes. C. Lab setup: Develop a thorough floor plan before equipping your lab. Priorities:
Ventilation- Air must flow from other areas of the facility or home to the lab area, and subsequently out of the building. Fume hoods must immediately direct airflow out of building.
Maximize open work space and visibility, and minimize obstruction throughout the work area.
Allow ample space between and within workstations.
Include ample lighting.
Include ample (excess) storage space that is separate from lab spaces where reactions take place.
Use OSHA approved acid, corrosive, and flammable storage cabinets.
Strategically place first aid, wash stations, spill control kits, fire extinguishers and blankets such that all are easily accessible in case of emergency, and such that an emergency itself (e.g. fire) will not obstruct access.
Doors should, preferably, hinge outward to promote prompt evacuation.
All wash stations must have a proper drain.
Large sinks are best, and there should be one per workstation.
All electrical and gas lines must be easily severable or closable.
Black epoxy resin surfaces are preferred.
Install and routinely check smoke detectors.
D. Behavior and Technique:
Keep a proper lab notebook that records all procedures.
Gather all needed glassware, labware, and chemicals before beginning an experiment.
Keep all equipment clean and dry when not in use.
Never add solvent to acids, bases, etc!! This could result in a violent reaction. All ways prepare the solvent first, and slowly add the acid or base to it.
Eliminate distractions.
Stay organized and keep the lab uncluttered.
Bond and ground when pouring flammable or combustible liquids.
Use the right tool for the job. Do not skimp or substitute glassware.
IV. Chemical Safety A. SDS: The first and most vital step to understand how to safely handle chemicals is thorough, proper, and regular review of Safety Data Sheets. It is recommended that physical copies of SDSs be kept for all chemicals in the laboratory. Safety Data Sheets can be found online as well, and should be reviewed each time a chemical is used, at least until one has extensive experience with that chemical. Safety and storage information should also be reviewed for any compounds synthesized, as well as any side products or impurities. The format of an SDS is an update to the traditional MSDS, and follows the guidelines prescribed by the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals (GHS) established in March 2012. A traditional MSDS is likely to contain all or most of the necessary information; however, SDS has the benefit of a strict and easy to follow format that includes the following 16 sections: Section 1—Identification: Chemical/product name, name and contact information of producer. Section 2—Hazard(s) Identification: All known hazards of the chemical and required label elements. The GHS identifies three hazard classes: health (toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, etc.), physical (corrosive, flammable, combustible, etc.), and environmental hazards. There are 16 types of physical hazards and 10 types of health hazards. Next to each listed hazard is a rank/category from 1-4, with 1 being the most severe level of hazard. Next are hazard pictograms, a signal word, and hazard (H) statements and precautionary (P) statements. Pictograms allow chemists to quickly understand the basic hazards of a chemical, and must be on the chemical label. What pictograms a chemical requires is quantitatively determined, and users should become familiar with them. 📷 There are two signal words- Danger!, and Warning!, the former being more serious than the latter. P and H statements list specifically hazardous situations and precautions that must be taken when handling the chemical. Section 3—Composition/Information on Ingredients Section 4—First-Aid Measures Section 5—Fire-Fighting Measures Section 6—Accidental Release Measures: What to do in case of accidental spill or release of chemicals, proper containment, and cleanup. Section 7—Handling and Storage Section 8—Exposure Controls/Personal Protection: Includes exposure limits. Section 9—Physical and Chemical Properties: appearance, odor, flashpoint, solubility, pH, evaporation rates, etc. Section 10—Stability and Reactivity: Chemical stability and possible hazardous reactions. Section 11—Toxicological Information: Routes of exposure (inhalation, ingestion, or absorption contact), symptoms, acute and chronic effects, and numerical measures of toxicity. Sections 12-15 are optional, but include ecological information, disposal considerations, transportation information, and regulatory information. Section 16-- includes any additional information the producer may want to portray. B. Chemical Labeling: All chemicals should be labeled at all times to avoid hazard, confusion, and waste.
Containers that are being used in a procedure (beakers, flasks, wash bottles, etc.) may simply be labeled with a piece of scotch tape and a permanent marker.
Vessels that will be heated can be labeled with a heat-resistant paint marker.
Chemicals that will be stored (whether produced or purchased) should be labeled with at minimum the chemical name, date of production/purchase/opening, and safety concerns. Simple labels may be used for containers that are not in the manufacturer’s packaging.
C. Chemical Storage: General Reagents:
Keep storage spaces organized, clean, and uncluttered.
All chemicals should be stored properly whenever not in use.
Store bottles away from shelf edges, and/or have lipped shelves to prevent falls from, and contain spills on, shelves.
Keep seals tight.
Keep an inventory.
Always label chemicals properly, including the dates received and opened.
Bees may opt to cover glass containers in clear packing tape to reduce mess if a bottle is broken.
Store flammable and combustible liquids in a flammable cabinet. An old fridge is a good method of storage for bees. Never store food or drink in the same refrigerator.
Do not store liquids above solids.
Always store corrosive chemicals on spill trays.
Store odoriferous and toxic chemicals in ventilated cabinets.
Keep heavy containers on bottom shelves, and don’t store in high places or on the floor unless properly protected.
Acetone with- bromine, chlorine, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, or hydrogen peroxide (do not use acetone to clean receptacles that have had these chemicals in them!).
Iodine with- acetylene, ammonia, or hydrogen.
Water- keep all other chemicals away from water unless in solution. Especially avoid hydration of acetyl chloride, alkaline and alkaline earth metals, barium peroxide, carbides, chromic acid, phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus pentachloride, phosphorous pentoxide, sulfuric acid, or sulfur trioxide.
Nitric Acid with- acetone, acetic acid, alcohol, chromic acid, aniline, hydrocyanic acid, hydrogen sulfide, or any flammable substances (keep this in mind when cleaning with nitric acid).
Hydrogen Peroxide with- copper, chromium, iron, most metals or salts of metals, alcohols, acetone, organic materials, aniline, nitromethane, flammable liquids, ammonia, or oxidizing agents.
Zinc and sulfur.
Mercury with- acetylene, fulminic acid, or ammonia.
Compressed Gasses:
Keep cylinders of compressed gasses secured
Keep appropriate breathing apparati in the vicinity, but not immediately near the compressed gases in case of emergency.
Keep the valve cap secured unless in use or connected to a line.
Do not store flammable gases near oxidizers or combustible materials.
Do not allow a cylinder to empty completely.
Dispose of cylinders after ten years, or three in the case of corrosive and toxic chemicals.
Note: avoid working with gases when possible. Gas chemistry has many complications, is often unsafe, and produces poor yields and poor quality products. Bulk Storage Containers:
Carboys: These are great for general purpose, and storage of chemicals no longer in their original container. However, they are not ideal for transport or use with acids, caustics, flammable liquids, or corrosive substances.
Safety Cans: have spring loaded lids and flame arresters. They are good for fluids in volumes less than five gallons, are safe for transporting most chemicals, and can be had for around $80. Recommended Safety Can.
Drums: for bulk chemicals. They may weigh in excess of 800 lb (364 kg), and should only be moved with a drum dolly, not rolled or dragged. Drums may be made of steel or high-strength plastics.
D. Bonding and Grounding: “Class I Liquids should not be run or dispensed into a container unless the nozzle and container are electrically interconnected.” (OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106(e)(6)(ii), ATEX directive, and NFPA UFC Div. VIII, Sec. 79.803a). An ungrounded static voltage (including from friction) may cause combustion of some fluids. Metal containers must be connected via a common grounding wire made of solid or braided wire, or welded connections, before fluid is poured between them. E. Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: A variety of common chemicals spontaneously form peroxide compounds under ordinary storage conditions due to reaction with oxygen. Peroxides are extraordinarily explosive, and can often be ignited by contact with heat, friction (incl. simply turning the cap of the container), and mechanical shock (incl. shaking, bumping, or dropping). Three classes of peroxide-forming chemicals are of particular interest, and are organized by the precautions that should be taken with unopened and opened containers. Class A Peroxide Formers: the most hazardous class. Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first). Opened: Test for peroxides quarterly. Common class A peroxide formers include: Butadiene (liquid monomer) Isopropyl ether Sodium amide (sodamide) Chloroprene (liquid monomer) Potassium amide Tetrafluoroethylene (liquid monomer) Divinyl acetylene Potassium metal Vinylidene chloride Class B Peroxide Formers: Unopened: discard or test for peroxides after 12 months or at manufacturer’s expiration date (whichever comes first). Opened: test for peroxide formation every 6 months. *Always test this class immediately before any distillation. Common Class B Peroxide Formers include: Acetal Cumene Diacetylene Methylacetylene 1-Phenylethanol Acetaldehyde Cyclohexanol Diethyl ether Methylcyclopentane 2-Phenylethanol Benzyl alcohol 2-Cychlohexen-1-ol Dioxanes MIBK 2-Propanol Benzaldehyde Cyclohexene Ethylene glycol dimethyl ether (glyme) 2-Pentanol Tetrahydrofuran 2-Butanol Decahydronaphthalene Furan 4-Penten-1-ol Class C Peroxide Formers: Same precautions as Class B. Include: Acrylic acid Chloroprene Styrene Vinyl acetylene Vinyladiene chloride Acrylonitirile Chlorotrifluoroethylene Tetrafluoroethylene Vinyl chloride Butadiene Methyl methacrylate Vinyl acetate Vinyl pyridine *Without opening, immediately dispose of any peroxide-forming chemical with any crystalline formation. Be careful not to open, shake, heat, or drop. Testing Peroxide-Forming Chemicals: Peroxide test strips can be bought cheaply online, or various in-lab tests can be performed: One method is to combine the fluid with an equal volume (1-3mL) of acetic acid (AcOH). To this a few drops of a 5% KI solution are added, and a color change indicates the presence of peroxides. Another method adds a small amount of the fluid to be tested (~0.5mL) to ~1mL 10% KI solution and ~0.5mL dilute HCL. To this a few drops of starch indicator are added, and the presence of blue/blue-black color within a minute indicates the presence of peroxides. Fluids with a LOW (<30ppm) concentration of peroxides can often be deperoxidated via filtration through activated alumina, distillation (not for THF!), evaporation, or chromatography. V. Labware Safety A. Glassware:
Always inspect glassware for cracks, chips, or fractures before use. Discard any glassware that is even slightly damaged.
Use glassware for its intended purpose! Heat fluids in a round-bottom boiling flask whenever possible.
Store on a shelf away from the edge. Round-bottomed flasks should be set on cork or tin holders, or padded into a drawer.
Joint grease reduces stuck joints, and therefore breakage.
Always carry glassware with two hands. Do not hold beakers by their sides, or flasks by the neck.
Clean glassware after any procedure, and before as necessary.
B. Support:
Use the fewest amount of clamps such that all structures are firmly held.
Support all flasks with rings.
Assemble apparati from bottom up.
Assemble such that liquid always passes through the male joint. Never allow fluid to pass into the joint. This prevents both leaks and lubricant contamination.
Do not over tighten clamps. Clamps should be tightened the minimum amount that provides a secure frame.
C. Tubing:
Cut glass tubing by placing a single slit in the desired position, then breaking by pulling the edges toward you and pushing the joint out.
Bend glass tubing by heating until red, and pulling ends toward self to form desired angle.
Use lubricant to insert tubing into stoppers, and wear hand protection during assembly.
DO NOT force glass together or into anything. Use minimal pressure, lubricant, and a gentle twisting motion if necessary.
D. Heating:
Heating mantles and hot plates are preferred over bunsen burners in almost all situations. Never unnecessarily introduce a flame to your lab environment.
Avoid rapid temperature changes whenever possible. Borosilicate glass is made for more rapid temperature changes. Heat and cool glass slowly. Do not set hot glass on a cold tabletop or under cold water.
Never look into the mouth of a receptacle that is being heated, or point it towards the self or others.
Use heat resistant gloves and/or tongs to handle hot receptacles or products.
Cover oil baths so they don’t splatter, or use a sand bath in its stead.
Always use boiling chips for reflux and distillation!
E. Electricity:
Be aware of electrical hazards. Check wires periodically, and keep the lab environment dry and clean.
Use power strips to protect equipment.
VI. Reaction Safety A. Fume Hoods: Fume hoods are absolutely essential whenever flammability, toxicity, or accidental intoxication is a concern. That includes all organic solvents, concentrated acids, and concentrated ammonia, as well as any materials that are both volatile and toxic, corrosive, reactive, or intoxicating. The face velocity of a fume hood should be around 100 ft/min or 0.5 m/s. Keep these guidelines in mind when using a fume hood:
Regularly check that air flow is not blocked.
Keep the sash open as little as possible to promote air flow.
Keep all chemicals and glassware at least 6 inches away from the edge of the workspace.
Air should flow from the fume hood directly to the outdoors.
Unfortunately, bees often find that fume hoods are the most difficult apparatus to obtain and install in a private laboratory. Nonetheless, it is imperative that each lab includes one. This is especially important for bees, who often work in confined spaces that can quickly and easily fill with toxic, flammable, or intoxicating vapors. A proper fume hood may cost several thousand dollars. Fortunately, there are many online guides and videos that teach how to construct one for as little as a few hundred dollars. The builder must meticulously ensure that air flow is adequate and constant. The outtake must be properly filtered, and there must not be any leaks through which air can flow other than the space under the sash and the outtake. B. Additional Tips:
Avoid gas chemistry whenever possible. It is often dangerous, difficult, and produces poor quality products and low yields.
Avoid pressurized systems whenever possible. They also present special risks.
After working with potentially pyrophoric agents that may not interact well with water or oxygen, flush apparati with pressurized inert gas before cleaning.
Do not clean bromine contaminated glassware with acetone, which forms bromoacetone, a tear gas.
Always use deionized water- tap water contains interruptive ions such as Mg2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, and Ca2+, as well as dissolved gasses.
VII. Emergency Procedures A. Emergency Shower and Eyewash Stations: If any hazardous chemical comes in contact with the body or eyes, the emergency shower or eye-wash station should be utilized immediately, with continued application for at least 15 minutes. The eyes should be held open for this entire process. Quality eye-wash stations can be purchased online for between 50 and several hundred US dollars. Bees who don’t have one installed are advised to purchase one. Some models can be attached directly to a sink faucet. An alternative, less effective, and minimal necessary precaution is bottled, eye-safe saline solution such as EyeSaline and Physician’s Care Eyewash Station, which can be purchased online for around $10 for a single bottle, and $30+ for kits. At least two bottles should be kept on hand in case both eyes are contaminated. Application of bottled solution to both eyes may require a partner, because the eyes must be held open to maximize effectiveness. For this, and other reasons (speed, difficulty/time of opening bottles vs. pushing a button, and water pressure) an actual eyewash station is in all ways preferred. Faucet-mounted eyewash stations such as the following are very affordable (US $59.95). Recommended Eyewash Station. Bees may not, however, have the space to install a safety shower. The home shower may be used in its stead; however, precaution must be taken to ensure it is easily accessible. The chemist should alert all others in the home/facility that they are working, and require that the door to the shower, and the path to it, be open at all times in case of emergency. B. Fire extinguishers:
Avoid working with flames whenever possible, especially when working with flammable solvents. Hot plates or heating mantles are preferable in almost all situations.
There are four classes of fires:
Class A- ordinary combustibles- wood, cloth, paper- can be extinguished with water, or general fire extinguishers. Class B- organic solvents, flammable liquids- chemical foam extinguishers (also work for class A and C). Class C- electrical equipment- chemical foam extinguishers. Class D- combustible metals such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium, lithium, zirconium, sodium, and potassium.
A dry chemical ABC extinguisher is usually adequate.
If you plan to work with combustible metals (not recommended unless necessary), make sure to have a class D dry chemical fire extinguisher. Other methods or classes of extinguishers will not put out a combustible metal fire. Note that class D fire extinguishers will not work for class A, B, or C fires.
Do not use a CO2 extinguisher- if it has to be used on the person it can cause frostbite and inhibit breathing.
C. Fire blankets: Used for small fires, or to put out a person who has caught fire (laying on ground, standing may cause the fire to move up the body to the head due to a chimney effect). D. Spills: Keep some vinegar or baking soda around to neutralize bases and acids, respectively. After acids and bases are neutralized, the chemical can be mopped up and placed in waste disposal. VIII. Post-Procedure Protocols A. Personal Hygiene: Wash hands, face, and all exposed skin after PPE has been removed to avoid recontamination by touching dirty clothes. Shower and change clothes once possible. B. Facility Hygiene: Clean all surfaces, glassware, and equipment before leaving the lab. Keep laboratory items in the lab, and personal items out of it. Chemicals may be transferred into the home through those items. Additionally, foreign objects have the potential to contaminate sterile laboratory environments. C. Waste Disposal: Waste disposal is one of the most important aspects of safety, image management, public relations, avoidance of fines or criminal charges, and environmental preservation.
Create a waste disposal plan before beginning a procedure or ordering a chemical.
Consult the SDS for all chemicals, individually or in a mixture.
Clearly label all containers, including waste.
Rinse out empty containers with an inert solvent several times before disposal.
Collect aqueous waste separately from organic solvent waste, and place solid waste in a labeled container for disposal. Flammable and toxic waste should be stored in a closed waste container in the fume hood until proper disposal is possible.
Non-hazardous waste may be disposed of in a landfill.
The Article “Management of Waste” found here states, “The best strategy for managing laboratory waste aims to maximize safety and minimize environmental impact, and considers these objectives from the time of purchase.” The article describes four tiers of waste management:
Pollution prevention and source reduction (green chemistry).
Reuse and redistribution of unwanted/surplus material (purchasing only what is needed).
Treatment, reclamation, and recycling of materials within the waste.
Disposal through incineration, treatment, or land burial. Additionally, use of solvent as fuel, or a fuel blender (the least desirable tier).
I hope this safety plan can save a few bees. I know there is a lot of information, but chemical safety is extremely important and multifaceted. Best of luck with your endeavors. Stay safe out there!
The Racist Origins and Painful Legacy of Atlanta's Zoning
I'm going to start this post off with a few disclaimers:
A good amount of my information comes from The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein. I tried to find as many direct sources for the relevant topics brought up in the book as I could, but they weren't always readily availible. I highly encourage you to read the book itself if you want more details and his sources.
While I am going to try to use Atlanta-specific information as much as possible, there are some things that I can only provide evidence for in general, not to mention that I have to discuss this with the wider national historical context as well since Atlanta was but one part of a massive racist horror show.
I am by no means claiming to be an expert on this material. It's just what I have the most supporting information already at had for. Again, if you want to read more details from someone who spent much more time researching than I have, pick up a copy of The Color of Law.
I am by no means claiming that fixing zoning will be the end-all-be-all of segregation legacy, nor that it will singularly solve disparities for minority populations compared to white populations within the city. Undoing the sheer scale of bullshit put in place to codify segregation and racial suppression as it manifests today is an undertaking requiring effort on par with something like the Green New Deal (coincidentally, there can be quite a lot of overlap in with a GND, and that's why climate and social justice are so often packaged with various versions of a GND). Fixing the legacy of racist zoning's impacts is just one part to an incredibly complex system, but it's still one worthy of doing. Gotta start somewhere, right?
Alright, on to the main content... Buckleupkiddos,we'regoingforafuckinride!
Why the Fuck are you Talking About Zoning Right Now‽
The country is, to use an incredible amount of understatement, in a bit of a pickle right now. We're in the midst of a global pandemic that's surging, and resurging within our borders. We're reeling at a seemingly never ending parade of tragedy and failure of composure from the very police forces sworn to protect us. We're dealing with an ever escalating push back and response from a federal government that is attempting to label protesters as terrorists. We've had impeachments, assassinations of foreign political operatives, the emboldenment of out-and-loud racists, foreign bounties on our military, historic Supreme Court decisions, and record stock market crashes. We're staring down the barrel of a depression, and there's a looming climate catastrophe that's been burning in the background of all of this. So why, in the middle of all of this, am I bringing up zoning of all things? How could that possibly be relevant to any of this? Well... as it turns out... quite a bit. See, zoning is one of those core functions of government, generally on the local level but not always, that just kinda exists. It's a long, boring, complicated mess of legal code that just doesn't come up all that often in our every day discussions (unless you're a nerd like me who keeps trying to shove it into every conversation... ahem...). No matter how innocuous or intangible or boring zoning may feel, though, it actually has massive ramifications for how our build environment is shaped. That is literally its job, after all: codifying what is and isn't allowed to be built, where, and how. That build environment then has massive ramifications on a whole pile of social, economic, and environmental issues. A good zoning code balances public desires for safety, health, and environmental protections, while also helping to ensure various amenities are provided, ideally outweighing any downsides of development with benefits to the community at large. Unfortunately, most zoning systems fail at this balance, often focusing on the wrong components as perceived negatives when they're actually benefits, while codifying build requirements that actively make things worse for the communities around them. A bad zoning code can make housing more expensive, make it harder to meet climate and environmental goals, make the general population more sickly, impede the ability of persons to generate generational wealth, and horrendously damage the tax base, making it harder to fund public projects. As it turns out, most of these issues trace back to a few core ideas of the initial model zoning systems, and were originally put in as features of the codes. The intent at the time was mainly focused on creating a few specific negative outcomes, with many of the others having taken decades to fully manifest and be recognized. Yet, the original structure of the codes remain, bureaucratic momentum and an incomplete understanding of justice keeping them in place, dragging out the problems for years and years and years. So what were those features, and what specific negative outcomes were they trying to achieve?
Setting the Stage for Segregation
First, we have to step back, and take a bit of a historical run up to provide proper context. In 1877, Reconstruction ended. Federal troops, who had defeated the Confederacy, packed up and left the south after 12 years of postbellum occupation (14 if you include overlap years of occupation before the war's end). Reconstruction, though certainly not perfect, had been a time of relative empowerment for black Americans. Backed by federal troops, integration and political power was actually in reach. It wasn't 40-acres and a mule, but it was an incredible leap forward as the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were enforced in about as blunt a way as possible: at the muzzle of a rifle. That all came to a painful and tragic end with the election of Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, who had promised southern Democrats the end of occupation in exchange for electoral support. Almost immediately, black Americans suffered a bloody, violent resurgence of oppression, with segregation becoming standard practice, and enforced both at the hands of local law enforcement and mobs of white Americans. Worse yet, as Jim Crow laws and their efforts anchored themselves across the south, previously diverse and inclusive (relatively speaking) parts of the country began to follow suit. All over, towns and cities undertook the effort of removing, or isolating their black populations, using similar tactics learned from the southern states. Like a cancer, segregation spread far and wide, becoming more and more recognized and acceptable. By 1913, freshly elected president Woodrow Wilson and his cabinet approved the implementation of segregation in federal offices, marking about as drastic a change in federal priority as you could take over the course of three and a half decades. It is in this atmosphere of invigorated racist bullshit that zoning rises within the policy consciousness.
The Original Sin of Zoning
As a concept, zoning ordinances within the U.S. were rather new, with the 1908 Los Angeles municipal zoning ordinances being the first of their kind. The LA laws were a formalizing of existing nuisance laws, meant to create separations of land use and buffers between the harmful effects of industries and residences. Though specific business classifications (such as unnecessary prohibition of laundries, which were predominantly owned by Chinese immigrants at the time, in certain areas) did come with racial issues, they were quite tame by the standards of the time, as we're about to see. Prior to the rise of zoning as a popular government effort, it was fairly rare to see actual legal code dedicated towards segregation, instead focusing efforts on government-endorsed vigilantism and governments not enforcing equality laws already in place. This began to change, however. In 1910, a few years before the federal government would make official its office segregation, and two years after the LA zoning system was established, Baltimore became the first city in the nation, (as stated by the New York Times), to create an explicit law mandating the segregation of city areas. The city ordinance dictated that blacks could not buy homes on blocks where whites were the majority, and vice versa. The law was... horribly broken, and judges had to grapple with the complex, integrated reality of the city, trying to adjudicate who could and couldn't live where, or buy property where, creating an incredible mess of legal issues across the city. The practical problems with the law did not stop other cities from copying the effort, though. Invigorated by Baltimore's example, Birmingham, Dade County (Miami), Charleston, Dallas, Louisville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Richmond, St. Louis, and others all made their own version of racial segregaition mandates within landuse. Amungst this list was, in fact, the City of Atlanta, whose ordinance virtually copied the Baltimore law, with the added provision that a person of one color occupying a house in a mixed block could object to one of another color moving next door. Unlike the initial LA zoning laws, the systems put in place following Baltimore's example were specifically racially focused, with more familiar zoning laws taking shape in the years to come. These initial racist laws would persist until the 1917 Supreme Court decision that such laws were unconstitutional in Buchanan v. Warley. However... the decision was based around the freedom of individuals to buy and sell property to whomever they wished, rather than a denunciation of segregation within law itself. Many cities simply ignored the Supreme Court ruling, and moved ahead with their segregationist laws, while others claimed that slight variations in the ordinances, such as the difference between block level and larger zoning styles, meant they didn't have to follow the ruling. The City of Atlanta was, once again, one of these cities. In The Atlanta Zone Plan: Report Outlining a Tentative Zone Plan for Atlanta (1922), written by Robert H. Whitten as a consultant for the the City Planning Commission, explicit residential districts were outlined by racial makeup, with R1 as "white residence district", R2 as "colored residence district", and R3 as "undetermined race district". It was nice enough to allow servants' quarters remain open to either race. The plan justifies this by saying:
the above race zoning is essential in the interest of the public peace, order and security and will promote the welfare and prosperity of both the white and colored race.
Additionally, Whitten defended his zoning plan in professional publications by saying that "[e]stablishing colored residence districts has removed one of the most potent causes of race conflict." This, he added, was "a sufficient justification for race zoning.... A reasonable segregation is normal, inevitable and desirable." Here is a map of the proposed zoning system within the then city limits. You can get an idea of just how limited housing areas for blacks were, just how much of the city was to be dedicated to single family housing compared to apartments, and how relegated commercial uses would be. Incidentally enough, this is where the City of Atlanta begins to see a zoning code similar to modern codes. We'll get to that in a moment. For now, note how closely this map matches some of the racial demographics of the city today, oh, and (just coincidentally I'm sure) how the largest 'Colored District' in the city was to be essentially bordered on three sides by industrial areas. Other zoning maps from the same time would go further with encroaching industrial zones, limiting colored areas, and limiting apartment areas. CanIjusttakeamomenttosayhowmuchIfuckinglovetheAtlantaHistoryCenteranditsarchives?Okay,movingon. At the same time that Atlanta was ignoring its constitutional duty to not segregate its people, the federal government was stepping into the zoning game. In 1921, then Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover organized an Advisory Committee on Zoning to develop a manual explaining why every municipality should develop a zoning ordinance, with an eventual goal of developing model legislation that could be easily adopted. This committee had such members as Frederick Law Olmsted, who argued in 1918 that not only were certain housing types "coincident with racial divisions", and, since it was undesirable to "force the mingling of people who are not yet ready to mingle", great care should be take not to mix housing types, and Irving B. Hiett, who was the president of the National Association of Real Estate Boards, an organization who would produce a code of realtor ethics stating that "A Realtor should never be instrumental in introducing into a neighborhood... members of any race or nationality... detrimental to property values" just a few years later. By 1922, the committee had developed A Zoning Primer, which argued that zoning was required to preserve property values, and which was widely distributed across the country. The policies would push out wide and far across the nation, following the federal government's example.
Pretending as if Racist Plans Aren't
In 1924, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down the City of Atlanta zoning code due to its racial components. Despite this, the underlying plan and map developed with segregation in mind, would act as the basis for future plans. Indeed, there are many overlaps with the 1922 plan, and even zoning designations today. Keep Whitten's and the Zoning Commission's mentalities concerning the importance of racial segregation when looking back through the rest of the initial Atlanta zoning proposal. It provides leading anecdotes (without apparent supporting evidence beyond some photographs that don't really seem to match the narrative) of the dangers of mixing small stores, and low-rise multi-family housing with lower densities, primarily focusing on the perceived loss of value of adjacent properties, while framing the persons who make such developments as greedy speculators only out for a quick buck (rather than look at the economic benefit to the store owner, the new access to the store that surrounding areas get, and the housing relief the apartment dwellers experience). Still without apparent evidence, the proposal makes sweeping, generalized statements about the need to preserve neighborhoods' character, and preserve property values. It proposes to do this by dividing the city into use, height, area, and race categories, with each mixing with the others to dictate specific allowances. The racial categories were removed, yet the remainder of the plan's suggestions would persist. Even in 1917 it was understood that density was a major component of affordability. Special City Plan Adviser for the City Plan Commission of Cleveland Ohio Robert H. Whitten's essay The Zoning of Residence Sections, where Olmsted argued the merits of preventing the mixing of people and their racially pre-dis-positioned housing preferences, outright states:
We want to distribute the population as much as practicable, but at the same time we do not wish to force people who for business or other reasons need to live close to the central business sections either to pay very high rents or to go to much less convenient locations. As a city reaches metropolitan size, the demand for housing space near the central area becomes so great that the only way to make that location available to any but the wealthy is to permit a more intensive utilization of the land. Were it not for the ability to pile one dwelling on top of another, rents would be prohibitive in these central locations for the great mass of the people.
Even while expounding on the virtues of low-density housing, Whitten takes effort to acknowledge the economic need for multi-family housing to maintain affordability. Yeah, it's done in a condescending way where he can only imagine a case where being adjacent to the central business district is a legitimate reason for housing density, but he at least still accepts it as reality. Yet, dwelling house districts, from which apartment houses would be excluded, were to include the larger portion of the area of Atlanta, and were to primarily be made up of the largest area class, requiring at least 5000 sqft per family of lot area. The code outright targets 2-3 story buildings with families living over a store (generally which they would operate) as being undesirable, and thus is explicitly designed to prevent such outcomes. All of these things drove up the per-house price, requiring a family to pay for a significant amount of land, as well as an individual house, in the majority of the city's residential area. In the maps I linked above, you can see just how few areas were allowed to have apartments compared to the wider single-family zones. The federal zoning primer includes similar sentiments, telling an anecdote of how an apartment house built next to a home would destroy values by becoming 'a giant airless hive, housing human beings like crowded bees', as well as lumping 'sporadic stores' in with 'factories or junk yards' as a contributing factor of blight within a residential neighborhood. It's important to note that none of these codes tried to make improvements to living conditions through legislation like building codes, which could have helped prevent the squalor conditions that were so readily associated with apartments, and which had been present in the U.S. since at least 1859, in Baltimore, choosing instead to essentially quarantine apartments to prevent their spread into single family areas. As I laid out above, these are all value judgements made by people who viewed the mixing of races as something to avoid, as something that itself would contribute to a loss of property values (rather than recognize that self-fulfilling white panic, was the actual source of value drop, and that the constrained black populations were willing to pay higher prices because there were so few homes they could even get into, actually raising prices), and even made racial connections to types of housing to keep separated. But, because of the insistence of the courts, their policies were forced to take on an air of race neutrality. Thus, explicit race-based zoning was stripped from the codes, and the far more familiar forms of space and use based zoning were established. Those forms just so happen to harshly restrict the kinds of housing openly accepted as being affordable to the masses, and, in particular, the demographics of people who were least economically able to choose elsewhere. As the federal zoning primer said: Zoning Is Legal This is not to say that exclusionary zoning was not without its legal challenges, of course. In the 1926 Supreme Court case of Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365, the court upheld the constitutionality of exclusionary zoning, using as part of its opinion the argument that "very often the apartment house is a mere parasite", and that, if allowed to mix with single-family houses, "come very near to being nuisances". The case was brought to the Supreme Court as an appeal to a U.S. District Court of Ohio ruling against the constitutionality of exclusionary zoning, stating that "the blighting of property values and the congesting of the population, whenever the colored or certain foreign races invade a residential section, are so well known as to be within the judicial cognizance." Essentially, while the Supreme Court decided that exclusionary zoning was based on inherit issues with mixing building types (even though 1) the issues aren't inherit, and 2) the exclusion argument is based on a slippery slope fallacy), the District Court had (correctly) identified an underlying racial motivation for preventing mixing.
When the Pretending Becomes More Overt
Were all else equal, we might be able to ignore the initial racial components of exclusionary zoning, and merely call the resulting codes classist (the reality is that racism and classism were/are tightly intertwined, with each giving perceived justification to the other), but things weren't equal. The median household income for a black family in 1947 (the earliest year I could actually find data) was just 51% of a white household (it was only up to ~63% in 2018). Even though modern discussion around apartments tends to bemoan the 'luxury' branding, and how accurate it may or may not be, the hard reality is that living in an apartment is cheaper than buying a house, at least in the immediate. For lower income people, it's pretty much the only option. For poor, and thus disproportionately black, people, the primary need for housing affordability was in the form of apartment buildings and residential density, even if that was only desired as a stepping stone. But that's not what the zoning system provided. Overwhelmingly, the city's land was designated for single family homes. Large lots, and individual homes drive up the per-unit costs of housing, locking poorer people out of being able to buy into neighborhoods. Worse yet would be the zoning systems of suburban and smaller towns, which would eliminate the ability to build apartments all together, essentially locking lower income, and thus disproportionately black, persons from being able to relocate there at all. This lead to crowding in the limited apartments, and, since the building codes hadn't been adequately updated to actually prevent it, the very slum conditions used as a justification for preventing apartments in the first place became self-fulfilling. Of course, not all black people were so poor that they couldn't afford to buy a single-family home, and quite a few did look to leave the limited availability of apartments. They were not met well, and indeed, in the years following the installation of exclusionary zoning systems, the federal government would essentially codify black exclusion from single-family neighborhoods, with cities clinging to the federal policies as justification for blocking black and integrated housing. Property (particularly home) mortgages used to be very, very different than how we think of them today, which locked many people out of the ability to get them. High-interest rates, huge down-payments, interest-only payments, and short (5-7 year) payback periods. These terms kept middle and low class persons (of all races) from being able to afford to buy property. As part of the New Deal, the Home Owners' Loan Corporation was established. The loan system was restructured to be closer to the lower rates, lower down-payments, overall payment, and long-term periods we're more familiar with today. Additionally, many existing mortgages were bought and restructured to save property owners from foreclosure. In the process of this, though, HOLC wanted an inventory of risk across the nation, so it could manage these new loan terms without crippling itself financially. This is where the kinda okay policy stopped. The risk inventory was carried out by local real estate agencies, who had national ethics codes and local policies for their agents to explicitly consider race when evaluating risk. So much so that they were actually under direction to maintain community segregation when otherwise selling properties. The inventory took the form of color-coded maps, where red sections on the map represented high-risk (don't loan people money / bail them out here). Many, many of these red areas were based on racial prejudice, with even wealthy / middle class integrated or black communities being rated far worse than equivalent income white areas. Here is a database of maps across the U.S., overlaid against modern areas. Here's a fun game: compare the Redlining Map for Atlanta to the initial racial zoning map! No it's not a 1-1 match, but it gets awfully close, particularly if you start to include initially designated areas for apartment buildings. This entire mess was made even worse with the establishment of the Federal Housing Authority, which was intended to insure private bank loans to first-time home buyers. Even though the FHA had its own auditing system separate from the HOLC, it still had direct segregation and whites-only policies. Additionally the FHA very specifically did not insure mortgages within urban centers. This meant that both HOLC and FHA services were denied to nearly the same areas: black or integrated neighborhoods, most often in urban centers. The FHA justified its racial rules by claiming that black people ruined property values. This was actually backwards, as the limited options available to black people meant that black and integrated properties were in high demand, and thus could be sold at a much higher price. What did happen, though, was 'block-busting'. So, because the FHA (and other organizations) continuously sold the idea that black people ruined property values, as well as the base-level racism, this left white neighborhoods vulnerable to manipulation. Speculators would buy up properties in blocks on the border of black / integrated and white areas, and then rent / sell them to black people. These speculators would also hire black people to walk around white neighborhoods asking about home sales, and looking like they lived there. Then the speculators would go around warning white property owners that their housing values would tank with all the black people moving in, and make stupidly low offers, buying out white properties well below the actual value (this is where the FHA was getting its data). Then the speculators would turn around and, because there were so few other options, sell the same properties above their actual value to black people at bad rates. This drove up costs for black people who otherwise just wanted a home, and the high prices contributed to perpetuating poverty and again creating self-fulfilling slum conditions. Many cities, private lenders, and other government agencies (like Veterans Affairs) anchored their lending and development approval processes on the FHA backing of home loans, which meant that blacks were barred from even the opportunity to really leave parts of the city within which they lived. It's worth reiterating that the HOLC and FHA policies were targeted directly at owning private homes, working off of a national policy that private homes were less communist than apartments. No, I'm not kidding. The U.S. Department of Labor distributed pamphlets entitled We Own Our Own Home to schoolchildren stating that it was a "patriotic duty" to cease renting, and to buy a house. Millions of posters were printed, and hung in factories and other businesses, while newspaper ads were run throughout the country. This national housing direction propped up single-family residences, and the infrastructure to support them, while leaving pretty much everything else to languish. Then there were the racial covenants, where individual properties were made unavailable to black people by deed restrictions, and which were often implimented on neighborhood scales. Then there was the New-Deal, where the Civilian Conservation Corps abided by local segregation policies for its camps and worker housing, further entrenching local segregation. Then there was the issue of cities targeting black and low-income areas overwhelmingly with zoning variances for industry and toxic waste disposal sites, exposing those persons to much higher quantities of toxins and pollutants. Then there was public housing which eliminated mixed-income tenants, was often explicitly segregated, often resisted adding housing for black people, and, when they did add housing open to blacks, located overwhelmingly in already black and poor neighborhoods, effectively concentrating poverty and increasing segregation. Then there were Interstate Highways, which were explicitly used for 'slum clearing' in many cities (including defining slum based on racial makeup rather than socioeconomic status of the persons living there), which were massive transportation subsidies to the very same segregated low-density suburbs already built with federal loan backing while public transportation languished, and which were actually used as physical barriers between parts of the city. Frankly, the list kinda just keeps going, and so I'm not going to try and fit it all. Seriously, go read the Color of Law for more explicit details. My main point with all of these is that, when you combine the initial versions of the zoning codes, the opinions of the people who made them, and the wider reactions and policies that came after the codes proved not to 100% segregate black people from white people, it becomes clear that a major component of the zoning system was established not actually to prevent health or value issues, but rather to maintain the separation of races.
That was a lot of words...
Right, so here's the summary:
After a decade of relative progress, the federal government abandons Reconstruction
Almost immediately, communities, including previously inclusive ones, begin to force their black populations out in a renewed effort of segregation
At first this is done outside of the law, but eventually cities get the idea to literally codify segregation through ordinances
That codified segregation was struck down in the Supreme Court, so cities are forced to find a proxy method of enforcing segregation
Cities used the separating of mixed-use developments and multi-family apartment buildings to create racial segregation through the proxy of economic segregation
When this doesn't work 100%, the federal government established home mortgage support systems that directly excluded black people, preventing them from buying into single-family neighborhoods even if they could afford it
There was a lot of other shit that happened to basically show that zoning was not the unbiased system it was pretending to be
Persistence of bad policy
Even though many of the explicitly racist policies have been removed or overturned, and what progress there has been in raising the wealth of black persons has helped with some racial mixing, it's clear that the proxy methods for discrimination persist to this day, with visible segregaition outcomes. Even when we do see integration, it is often in the form of wealthy white people moving into the limited new developments allowed in previously majority black areas (AKA 'Gentrification'). Today, Atlanta is still overwhelmingly zoned for low-density, single-family residential, even if some of those zones allow up to Accessory Dwelling Units (such density, much urban). Lot sizes in much of the city are still mandated to be quite large, and height planes still overly limit the number of stories buildings can be. What apartment buildings are allowed are constrained by cumbersome parking requirements (both codified and required by private lenders), and property setbacks. Mixed uses are often restrained on individual properties, requiring a specific zoning designation to be allowed. Even the city's plan for handling future growth still relegates nearly 75% of the area to relatively low-density housing as 'conservation' areas. Metro-wide, not nearly as many homes are being built as were pre-recession. While home prices are increasing back to pre-recessionary levels, housing inventory in metro Atlanta is constrained – partially due to a lag in residential construction. Prior to the recession, it was not uncommon for residential building permits to exceed 5,000 per month (in some cases, reaching over 7,000). After May 2007, the region experienced a steep decline in residential building permits, which persisted into early 2012, when the region began seeing modest increases. Though residential permits have trended upward since 2012, they have yet to reach pre-recessional levels, hovering instead between 2,000 and 3,000 permits per month. Because of this, all counties in metro Atlanta are experiencing the a decline in housing inventory. One of the main summary points of that report was: "Home prices rising significantly – faster than wages – due in large part to dwindling supply"ARC Regional Snapshot: Affordable Housing While the metro itself has been pretty easy to build new housing within (atleast from 2000 to 2015) compared to other metros, the parts of the city and close-in suburbs tend to be the hardest within which to add new supplly (of the 10 hardest zipcodes to build, the top 3 were partially in the city, and another three were in or partly in the city). Indeed, inflation-adjusted housing prices are rising quite quickly in the Atlanta Metro, even including months during this pandemic. Prices are looking to pass pre-2008 peak in 2023ish. Only, this time, vacancy rates for both renters and homeowners have been nearly at all-time lows for the metro (Source: Census Bureau). Many of the most intense price increases happening within the core city. At the same time, affordable housing initiatives are proving to be far too few to handle the rising costs, with recent 'Inclusionary Zoning' rules, as well as the wider public housing program failing to close the need. We're talking programs considering themselves successful at a few thousand units, when the demand for affordable housing (let alone total housing) is in the hundreds of thousands. The simple reality is that the racism of our past is leading to an over-all affordability crisis today. While, as usual, the hardest hit are African Americans, this affordability crisis has far reaching impacts across the demographic spectrum, including poor whites, and, particularly, poor Latino populations as well, locking out a wide variety of people who would otherwise want to live in the kinds of dense, walkable, urban areas the City of Atlanta uniquely offers within the metro. Not only that, but the very types of low-density developments so widely codified across the city and nation do not generate enough economic activity to actually pay for the infrastructure needed to support them, propped up by piles of hidden subsidies, all resulting in cities being effectively bankrupt. (Here's another real-world example) Even some of the most 'wealthy' of towns are having to seriously reconsider their historic development patterns to close out financial gaps. In Atlanta, this leads to things like a massive backlog of maintenance issues that even recent bonds and tax increases can't fully handle. Again, policies of a racist past are hurting everyone today. Undoing those policies, and transitioning back to tried-and-true development styles would greatly help fix financial issues. Additionally, as we work to overcome challenges with climate as a whole, we need to be seriously looking at our build environments, and just how much low-density development contributes to emissions compared to higher-density parts of the metro, and even the city itself. At the same time, moving away from cars would help reduce respiratory issues for poor and minority persons who are disproportionately affected by road-pollution, and generally moving to cleaner industries while cleaning up legacy pollution sites can help undo the years of inequality through industrial exposure..
Okay, so what do we do?
We need to have a hard discussion about zoning policies: their origins, their purposes, and their effects. We need to be prepared to recognize when policies were built on hate, and where they have lead to harm, just as much as we need to be ready to recognize that not every aspect of the zoning system is bad. We need to be willing to change, and be proactive about fixing the failings of previous generations. Ideally for the net benefit of all of us. As part of this discussion, though, we are going to have to really, truly consider what 'character' of this city are valuable. What are tangible goals, what are the potential negative outcomes, and what can be done to mitigate those outcomes, ideally while actually adding to the 'character' of the city. Again, we needs to be willing to change here. Not everything wrapped under the broad umbrella of 'character' is actually worth keeping, particularly given how I could probably copy and paste some of the 'neighborhood character' arguments from the initial racial zoning codes into places like NextDoor or Facebook or even here on Reddit without anyone suspecting they are nearly 100 years old.
The MegaGuide for the Flu Pandemic Survival and Preparedness: The MegaList of Things to Have
[ANNOUNCEMENT]
The MegaList has been fully updated.
The printable pdf and editable docx format are now available to download below.
New version available: minimaList. A simplified and low budget version of the MegaList that contains the most essential items for flu pandemic survival and preparedness.
The MegaList's LOIs, types and examples of items, and explanations has been moved to the digital format.
[WHAT'S NEW?] Last updated: March 1, 2020 15:00 GMT #03/01 Current status:
29 references are used, sourced from 15 prepping sites and 12 medical-related sites/governments/organizations.
1. MegaList
Contain 383 items and 17 skills to learn.
Divided into 85 subcategories in 17 main categories.
Forever chemical Pollution - Immune systems low in key areas of Co-Vid outbreak - cause and effect?
Presented here is a link hop - what i hope to suggest is that the Viral outbreak has gained traction due to local populations Immune systems being compromised after exposure to FOREVER CHEMICALS. Yes i know we can't really trust the numbers of Co_vid deaths etc but i thought it would be interesting to try and find out if their was a correlation between PFAs etc with the initial/central outbreak areas Can the testing kits be trusted? --- CR-based tests are being rolled out in hospitals nationwide, and the Food and Drug Administration is fast-tracking novel approaches as well https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-coronavirus-tests-work-and-who-offers-them/ SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus Multiplex RT-qPCR Kit Regulatory status: For research use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures. non-specific interference of Influenza A Virus (H1N1), Influenza B Virus (Yamagata), Respiratory Syncytial Virus (type B), Respiratory Adenovirus (type 3, type 7), Parainfluenza Virus (type 2), Mycoplasma Pneumoniae, Chlamydia Pneumoniae, etc. but the test has limitations Limitations
The detection result of this product is only for clinical reference, and it should not be used as the only evidence for clinical diagnosis and treatment. The clinical management of patients should be considered in combination with their symptoms/signs, history, other laboratory tests and treatment responses. The detection results should not be directly used as the evidence for clinical diagnosis, and are only for the reference of clinicians.
The detection result can be affected by operations, including specimen collection, storage and transportation. False negative result may occur if there is any mistakes in the operation. Cross contamination during specimen treatment may lead to false positive result.
The detected target sequences of this products are the conservative region of 2019-nCoV's ORF1ab gene and N gene. However, target sequence variations may lead to false negative result.
https://www.creative-diagnostics.com/sars-cov-2-coronavirus-multiplex-rt-qpcr-kit-277854-457.htm see also Jon Rappaports blog https://blog.nomorefakenews.com/2020/03/30/corona-creating-the-illusion-of-a-pandemic-through-diagnostic-tests/ Quote: on joining CD diagnostics "When I joined this company it was because their initial work was interesting enough for me to say, Hey this is a big market with an unmet need,'" he said. "So I decided I should join them and see what I can do." https://eu.delawareonline.com/story/money/business/2015/02/22/delaware-biotech-company-poised-growth/23853883/ interestingly Creative Diagnostics is a partner of this company CD Genomics, https://www.cd-genomics.com/ a genomics services company, innovates sequencing services as well as genotyping and library construction to develop integrated systems of genomic products and services. With professional work team and advanced biotechnology, the company has already been selling products in the United States, Europe, Asia. Scientists from CD Genomics have participated in many genome projects, such as Illumina,[1] the genome sequence,[2] DNA analyzer,[3] Bacillus thuringiensis, Thermoanaerobacter tengcongensis, Streptococcus suis, and quite a few virus genomes.[4] via wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD_Genomics CD Genomics provides viral genome sequencing service within Illumina and PacBio Platforms. We can create high-quality de novo assembly of large viral genomes and highest possible data quality at low cost. https://www.cd-genomics.com/Viral-Genome-Sequencing.html https://www.melbournebioinformatics.org.au/tutorials/tutorials/assembly/assembly-protocol/ is CD Genomics a secret Dupont start up company? ______________________________________ interestingly the CEO of creative diagnostics is Rick Berkmeyer who used to work at Dupont “One of the things that I did while I was at DuPont was a two-year stint in each department,” Birkmeyer said. “The roles change. Therefore, there are times the personality of a CEO might fit at one stage and then another stage.” https://technical.ly/delaware/2015/04/03/ceo-profile-rick-birkmeyer-cd-diagnostics/ Dupont Gave CD dignostics CEO a start up grant to form Strategic Diagnostics "When I was working with DuPont, one of the groups that was part of DuPont at the time was Conoco Oil. They had spent $17 million developing a little rapid test that looks much like a home pregnancy test kit. It was for bacteria that was found in oil wells that very quickly could eat through a stainless shaft and cause that well to go down for days. They wanted a test that could very quickly say: “Is this bacteria present so that we can treat this well with biocide?” Within DuPont, they spent the $17 million developing this test. They brought it to my group to manufacture it, and lo and behold, they found out that the product couldn’t be frozen and had to be refrigerated. Well, that’s a real problem when your market is Abu Dhabi and the north slopes of Alaska. So, I convinced them to support me, give me a grant, move outside of DuPont, and start up my first company, Strategic Diagnostics. So, that’s how I got started." https://citybizlist.com/article/375718/a-video-conversation-with-rick-birkmeyer-ceo-of-cd-diagnostics-part-i _____________________________________ THE DOW AND DUPONT MERGER https://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/2016/02/what_to_know_about_the_3_new_c.html "...if Monsanto and Bayer, the 1st and 3rd largest biotech and seed firms, together with Dow and DuPont being the 4th and 5th largest biotechnology and seed companies in the world respectively, both went through with the mergers, the so-called "Big Six" in the industry would control 63 percent of the global seed market and 76 percent of the global agriculture chemical market. They would also control 95 percent of corn, soybeans, and cotton traits in the US. Both duopolies would become the "big two" industry dominators. The merger formed the world's largest chemical company in terms of sales. DuPont is headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont DOW CHEMICALS! https://www.dupont.com/subsidiaries.html _____________________________________________ POISONING THE ENVIRONMENT _____________________________________________ in DUPONTS own words Litigation: The Company is party to a number of claims and lawsuits arising out of the normal course of business with respect to product liability,patent infringement, employment matters, governmental tax and regulation disputes, contract and commercial litigation, and other actions.Certain of the claims and lawsuits facing the Company purport to be class actions and seek damages in very large amounts. All such claims are contested. With the exception of the possible effect of the asbestos-related liability of Union Carbide Corporation (“Union Carbide”) and Chapter 11 related matters of Dow Corning Corporation ("Dow Corning") as described below, it is the opinion of the Company's management that the possibility is remote that theaggregate of all such claims and lawsuits will have a material adverse impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.Union Carbide is and has been involved in a large number of asbestos-related suits filed primarily in state courts during the past four decades. At December 31, 2017, Union Carbide's total asbestos-related liability, including defense and processing costs, was $1,369 million ($1,490 million at December31, 2016).In 1995, Dow Corning, a former 50:50 joint venture, voluntarily filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in order to resolve breastimplant liabilities and related matters ("Chapter 11 Proceeding"). Dow Corning emerged from the Chapter 11 Proceeding on June 1, 2004, and is implementing the Joint Plan of Reorganization (the "Plan"). The Plan provides funding for the resolution of breast implant and other product liability litigation covered by the Chapter 11 Proceeding and provides a process for the satisfaction of commercial creditor claims in the Chapter 11 Proceeding. At December 31, 2017, Dow Corning's liability for breast implant and other product liability claims was $263 million ($263 million at December 31, 2016) andthe liability related to commercial creditor claims was $78 million ($108 million at December 31, 2016).See Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on these matters. Environmental Compliance: The costs of complying with evolving regulatory requirements could negatively impact the Company's financial results.Actual or alleged violations of environmental laws or permit requirements could result in restrictions or prohibitions on plant operations, substantial civil or criminal sanctions, as well as the assessment of strict liability and/or joint and several liability. The Company is subject to extensive federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations, rules and ordinances relating to pollution, protection of the environment, greenhouse gas emissions, and the generation, storage, handling, transportation, treatment, disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and waste materials. At December 31, 2017, the Company had accrued obligations of $878 million ($909 million at December 31, 2016) for probable environmental remediation and restoration costs, including $152 million ($151 million at December 31, 2016) for the remediation of Superfund sites. This is management's best estimate of the costs for remediation and restoration with respect to environmental matters for which the Company has accrued liabilities,although it is reasonably possible that the ultimate cost with respect to these particular matters could range up to approximately two times that amount. Costsand capital expenditures relating to environmental, health or safety matters are subject to evolving regulatory requirements and depend on the timing of thepromulgation and enforcement of specific standards which impose the requirements. Moreover, changes in environmental regulations could inhibit orinterrupt the Company's operations, or require modifications to its facilities. Accordingly, environmental, health or safety regulatory matters could result insignificant unanticipated costs or liabilities. Health and Safety: Increased concerns regarding the safe use of chemicals in commerce and their potential impact on the environment as well as perceived impacts of plant biotechnology on health and the environment have resulted in more restrictive regulations and could lead to new regulations. Concerns regarding the safe use of chemicals in commerce and their potential impact on health and the environment and the perceived impacts of plant biotechnology on health and the environment reflect a growing trend in societal demands for increasing levels of product safety and environmental protection. These concerns could manifest themselves in stockholder proposals, preferred purchasing, delays or failures in obtaining or retaining regulatory approvals, delayed product launches, lack of market acceptance and continued pressure for more stringent regulatory intervention and litigation. These concerns could also influence public perceptions, the viability or continued sales of certain of the Company's products, the Company's reputation and the cost to comply with regulations. In addition, terrorist attacks and natural disasters have increased concerns about the security and safety of chemical production and distribution. These concerns could have a negative impact on the Company's results of operations. https://thedowchemicalcompany.gcs-web.com/static-files/ae06e81d-62eb-4673-89aa-48450d6bb0ab THIS ARTICLE TALKS ABOUT FORMER DUPONT WORKERS MAKING THEIR OWN COMPANYS AFTER DUPONT 'LAYOFFS' https://eu.delawareonline.com/story/news/2016/01/29/delaware-workers-crossroads-layoffs/79003660/ IS DUPONT LAYING OFF KEY INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE AND AQUIRING HIDDEN COMPANIES IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL AREA? TO HIDE ITS PRACTICES AFTER BAD PRESS? "When it spun off its former performance chemicals unit in 2015, DuPont was facing multidistrict litigation involving 3,500 personal injury claims related to PFOA. DuPont pegged the maximum liability for those cases at $128 million. Dupont settled 19 months later for $671 million, agreeing to pay half the settlement amount, and up to $125 million more toward costs of other PFOA-related litigation. Chemours paid the other half. Chemours claims that DuPont had “a keen incentive” to downplay environmental liabilities while extracting a multibillion-dollar dividend from Chemours that would help fund a stock buyback. Chemours sought a declaratory judgment from the court limiting DuPont’s indemnification rights to the maximum liabilities it certified, or for an order directing the return of the $3.9 billion dividend." https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/ma30/judge-dismisses-chemours-lawsuit-against-dupont/ ______________________________________ just a little reminder of what DuPont do PFAS chemicals have caused contamination problems in drinking water supplies in cities and towns across the nation and are now the subject of numerous lawsuits. DuPont Made Billions Polluting Tap Water With PFAS; Will Now Make More Cleaning It Up Since the 1940s, DuPont made and used PFAS chemicals to make highly profitable consumer products, including Teflon, which at one point earned $1 billion a year for the chemical giant. Communities whose water is contaminated with the Teflon chemical, or other PFAS compounds from other companies, face huge costs for installing filters to remove the chemicals, which have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease, reproductive and immune system problems and many other serious health harms. https://www.ewg.org/release/dupont-made-billions-polluting-tap-water-pfas-will-now-make-more-cleaning-it USA: New York state sues Chemours, Dupont, 3M for allegedcontamination of drinking water by toxic substances "claims toxic substances in the manufacturers’ products, specifically foam used for firefighting, threatened public health and damaged the state’s natural resources... The aqueous film-forming foam, known as AFFF, contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, including PFOS, a type of PFAS commonly found in contamination from the use of firefighting foam... New York’s legal actions follows on the heels of similar lawsuits against chemical makers from other states, including New Jersey, New Hampshire, and North Carolina..." [snip] The complaint alleges that DuPont, Chemours, and the manufacturers should have known that AFFF products and PFAS would “very likely injure and/or threaten public health and the environment.” The companies also should have known that the products dissolve easily in water, have long shelf lives, and tend to bioaccumulate in the blood, meaning they can build up and stay in the blood of the general population, according to the complaint. “On information and belief, Manufacturers’ and DuPont/Chemours’ conduct involved actual malice or wanton, willful, and reckless disregard for the health, safety, and rights of others. The Court should award the State punitive damages in an amount sufficient to deter and punish such conduct,” the complaint says. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/usa-new-york-state-sues-chemours-dupont-3m-for-alleged-contamination-of-drinking-water-by-toxic-substances https://news.bloombergenvironment.com/environment-and-energy/n-y-sues-chemours-dupont-3m-over-pfas-contamination _____________________________________ Northern Italy is showing the highest in numbers for "Co-Vid 19" ______________________________________ "The number of cases has increased rapidly because there are two hotbeds, among other things, linked to two hospitals, and we have learned from SARS that these viruses spread mainly in nosocomial [originating in hospital] environments,» explains Giorgio Palù, professor of microbiology and virology at the University of Padua, and an internationally-renowned expert. "Besides, northern Italy has communications with China every day because there are fairs, industries, relocated industries, and people travel a lot." "The city of Vicenza is about 30km from Vo', a small settlement of 3,000 inhabitants that ended up on the news globally when one of its fellow citizens, 78-year-old pensioner Adriano Trevisan, became the first victim of coronavirus. " https://euobserver.com/coronavirus/147552 Via WHO special report "The discovery of PFAS water contamination in the Veneto Region, which was both complex and severe, was undoubtedly a testing moment for both the institutions and the population of the Veneto Region. " http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/341074/pfas-report-20170606-h1330-print-isbn.pdf _____________________________________ 11 September 2018 Italy pneumonia due to Legionella? "Legionella, the bacteria that causes Legionnaires' disease and other illnesses, has been confirmed in at least 12 of around 200 cases of pneumonia in Brescia, northern Italy, authorities said on Tuesday." "There is no reason to close schools or not to drink tap water," he assured, adding that most of the patients affected were either elderly or had weakened immune systems. Separately, a suspected legionella infection was reported on Tuesday in Turin, where a woman in her 60s and suffering from other health problems died in hospital with symptoms of pneumonia. Health authorities are investigating, according to Ansa, which reports that she may have picked up the bacteria while on holiday at the coast. https://www.thelocal.it/20180911/legionella-bacteria-confirmed-in-northern-italy-pneumonia Italy Dow was established in Italy in 1960. A key player of the local chemical industry, Dow can count on a solid structure with its headquarters in Milan, a global R&D center in Correggio for Polyurethanes and four industrial production sites: Correggio (Polyurethanes systems), Mozzanica (Water-based acrylic emulsions), Mozzate (Polyurethanes and specialty resins for the production of adhesives), Parona (Polyester resin adhesives). https://campusemeai.dow.com/en-us/locations/italy Subsideries in Italy Danisco Italy S.p.A. Just Outside Milan, Northern Italy Hops, malt and raw material suppliers https://www.beverage-world.com/firmeninfo.php?sprache=uk&keyfirma=2380595 Raw materials (1025 Companies) Raw materials for non-alcoholic beverages production (680 Companies) Fruit extracts (43 Companies) Fruit juice concentrates, beverage concentrates (263 Companies) Flavours (161 Companies) clicking on this link www.danisco.com redirects to here [CAUTION SICKENING PR] https://www.dupontnutritionandbiosciences.com/ At DuPont Nutrition & Biosciences, we deliver essential food and beverage innovation, enabling healthy, safe and sustainable options so customers can deliver products consumers love, around the world every day. Through deep consumer insights and market knowledge, strong technical expertise and problem-solving capabilities and our broad DuPont™ Danisco® range, we know It’s What’s Inside that can create the best solutions for you. For decades, our DuPont™ Danisco® range of ingredients has provided improved nutritional profiles, better taste and texture, and greater cost efficiency to meet the needs of global food and beverage, dietary supplement and pet food manufacturers. Through the work of a global network of food scientists and technologists at DuPont, the Danisco® range is supported by a uniquely broad spectrum of know-how across applications and market segments. https://www.food.dupont.com/ ________________________________________ Performance Specialty Products Italy S.r.l. Milan Area, Italy Advanced Printing at Performance Specialty Products Italy S.r.l. but here it describes Probiotics, personal protection devices, systems for the supply of clean water, smarter and faster electronics and much more: we use science to innovate, to create many important products and solutions for daily use. At DuPont, we are working to make the world a safer, healthier and better place. https://www.dupont.it/ ______________________________________ For decades prior to 2013, the people living in 21 municipalities in the south-west of the Veneto Region, Italy, were unaware that the tap water they were drinking contained perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS). The contamination was affecting the groundwater, the surface water and the drinking-water. PFAS are highly resistant persistent compounds used for repelling oil, grease and water and protecting the surfaces of carpeting and clothing; they are also contained in fire-fighting foam. They have been found to have negative consequences for human health, such as pregnancy complications, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, and cancer, though these are not fully established. This case story describes the experiences of the Veneto Region in managing PFAS contamination in its waters. It provides a snapshot of the situation prior to the discovery of the contamination in 2013 and describes the short-, medium- and long-term steps taken to deal with it up to spring 2017 [SNIP] From the 1950s until the early 2000s, the chemical plant, DuPont Washington Works, in southwest Parkersburg, West Virginia, USA, released C8 into the air and the Ohio River. C8 is a surfactant for polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) used to produce polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), or Teflon. PFOA in these emissions reached drinking-water supplies by entering the groundwater where it was detected in six districts near the DuPont plant in 2002. Air emissions from the plant have been largely eliminated, as have any significant releases into the Ohio River. Carbon filters are used to remove C8 from nearby water systems.A class-action lawsuit against Dupont ended in a settlement, which involved: • carrying out a supplies’ clean-up;• conducting a biomonitoring survey; • establishing a C8 science panel, including international experts. A biomonitoring survey, called the C8 health project, was conducted between August 2005 and July 2006. Information was gathered through interviews and questionnaires, and blood samples were collected from about 69 000 people living near the plant. The C8 health panel found six probable cause–effect links, namely between C8 and pregnancy-induced hypertension/preeclampsia, autoimmune ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, cancers of the testes and kidney, and increased cholesterol (1 [SNIP] identification of PFAS contamination; During the spring of 2013, following the results of a IRSA–CNR study (20), the Regional authorities were alerted about the presence of PFAS in the groundwater, surface water and drinking-water in some parts of the Veneto Region. The area involved spanned more than 200 kms2. Studies carried out by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency showed two main pathways for the spread of the contamination: (i) wastewater from the factory responsible for the pollution, which was emitted into a creek and percolated into the ground-water system; and (ii) water from a wastewater-treatment plant connected to the factory; this wastewater was deposited into a canal that drained into a river, the high flow rates of which enabled PFAS to be transported over long distances. [SNIP} The Regional Environmental Protection Agency took the lead in carrying out a series of environmental monitoring actions in 2014–2016. In August 2014, a preliminary evaluation of local food products revealed contamination in some categories, such as eggs from locally bred hens and fish from contaminated rivers, that could affect the health of the consumers. The Region’s drinking-water monitoring system was reorganized and procedures to manage PFAS concentrations above the threshold value were established. The monitoring system included not only drinking-water but also other environmental matrices, such as surface water, groundwater, soil and air; thus, a comprehensive PFAS data warehouse was created for all water sources. Moreover, an environmental early-warning system was set up to identify key water-sampling points that should be regularly monitored. The selection of water-sampling points was systemized and the drinking-water network re-evaluated according to the water-safety plan approach promoted by WHO (26). A hydrogeological study was carried out to investigate the distribution of groundwater and the extension and flow velocity of the contamination plume. These data eventually allowed for estimations of the duration of contamination, which dated back more than 20 years. Soil monitoring showed a widespread presence of PFAS, not only in areas where human activity or erosion could have produced contamination, but also in those assumed to be free of it. Of 14 soil samples taken in the summer of 2016, half were found to have PFOA values higher than the threshold. Levels of PFAS in water from other industrial sources than the chemical plant were also measured but found to be considerably lower than those in water from the plant [SNIP] Occupational retrospective cohort study of employees at the chemical plant Currently, out of a total of approximately 600 employees at the chemical plant, 130 work in the production department, the pilot plant, the laboratory and the waste-processing area. The probable long-term effects of PFOA exposure on the health of 415 male employees, including former employees, were examined through a retrospective cohort mortality study (1975–2016). The study looked at all-cause mortality and mortality from diseases of the circulatory system, malignant neoplasms, cirrhosis and diabetes. The sera of a group of employees have been measured for PFOA contamination since 2000; in 2004–2012, the levels of those working in the PFAS production departments were steady. Mortality rates were higher for those exposed to PFOA and excess rates of liver, bladder and kidney cancer and cirrhosis were also observed for this group. Excess rates of cirrhosis, diabetes and hypertension were observed among all employees though they were higher among those exposed to PFOA (30 http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/341074/pfas-report-20170606-h1330-print-isbn.pdf __________________________________________ POISONING THE ENVIRONMENT WUHAN _____________________________________________ .. Some previous studies have also reported the occurrence of PFASs, especially PFOA and PFOS in river water globally (Hansen et al., 2002;Mclachlan et al., 2007;Murakami et al., 2008;Yeung et al., 2009;Nakayama et al., 2010;Hong et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2013;Zhang et al., 2013). In general, the PFAS concentrations in the Yangtze River were lower than those in other rivers in the world. ... ... This suggests widespread use of PFASs in industrial applications in these two cities. There are dozens of major industries, including fluorochemical, food pro- cessing, textiles, insecticides, pharmaceutical, and electroplating located in Wuhan ( Zhou et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2013), which could be the potential pollution sources. Wang et al. (2013) reported PFASs contami- nation in the effluents of a manufacturing plant in Wuhan, being respon- sible for the high PFAS concentration in the surrounding river water. ... ... There are dozens of major industries, including fluorochemical, food pro- cessing, textiles, insecticides, pharmaceutical, and electroplating located in Wuhan ( Zhou et al., 2013;Wang et al., 2013), which could be the potential pollution sources. Wang et al. (2013) reported PFASs contami- nation in the effluents of a manufacturing plant in Wuhan, being respon- sible for the high PFAS concentration in the surrounding river water. High concentrations of PFASs, especially thousands ng/L of PFBA (max concentration 47800 ng/L) and PFBS (max concentration 15 300 ng/L), were observed in surface water near a fluorochemical plant in Wuhan ( Zhou et al., 2013). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247154912_Distribution_of_perfluorinated_compounds_in_surface_water_from_Hanjiang_River_in_Wuhan_China Animal-related poison experiments and human epidemiological studies have revealed PFC adverse effects, such as hepatotoxicity, immunotoxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, hormonal effects and carcinogenic potency9,10,11,12. In recent years, PFCs have been frequently detected in various environmental waters and strongly proved to accumulate in aquatic biotas, which makes the aquatic ecosystem as an important medium for PFC transport. [SNIP] Occurrence investigation of PFCs in surface water from East Lake The East Lake, located in Wuhan city, is the second largest urban lake in China, with a total water area of 33 km2 and an average depth of 2.5 m. A number of enterprises, hospitals and communities are built around the lake, which makes it very important for industrial production, life of local residents and tourist entertainment. However, during the past decades, with the rapid industrialization and urbanization, chemical pollutants were continuously discharged into the lake that has no dilution ability due to its closed shape Presently, the existence of PFOS and PFOA in East Lake has been proved by researchers. [SNIP] the PFCs in surface water from East Lake were accurately and sensitively determined by the proposed MSPE-UPLC-MS/MS method. The surface water had a widespread contamination of PFCs with PFOS and PFOA as the most prevalent pollutants, and the Niuchao lakelet was loaded with the greatest PFC pollutions attributed to more human activities. https://www.nature.com/articles/srep38633 https://books.google.com.cy/books?id=MPZICAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109&lpg=PA109&dq=Perfluoroalkyl+wuhan&source=bl&ots=g2T_rh2qs1&sig=ACfU3U2hztkNDHlK7St6Jp4c5A3ifMiDAg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjugf3t5sXoAhW1A2MBHWzKCcEQ6AEwCXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Perfluoroalkyl%20wuhan&f=false _____________________________________ OH THE IRONY...suit up! _____________________________________ dupont in wuhan https://www.dupont.com/content/dam/dupont/ameus/en/transportation-industrial/public/documents/en/DuPont%20-%20Wuhan%20-%20ISO90012015.pdf THEY MAKE THE PROTECTIVE SUITS "Thousands of DuPont employees are working around the clock to increase production of protective garments that are in high demand by first responders and medical workers in high-impact regions like Wuhan, China. The protective suits are used by health professionals during the outbreaks to reduce the risk of infection. Reports from China show workers running low on safety supplies including garments and masks." [SNIP} "Of the protective suits DuPont makes, the most popular is the white Tyvek suit, which costs anywhere between $5 to $15. The suit is thin and protects the body from many fluids, but does not cover the hands, feet or face. But it also makes heavy duty Hazmat suits that act as a shell around the entire body, and are often worn with an oxygen tank. Those suits can cost in many cases more than $1,000." https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/21/coronavirus-dupont-ramps-up-safety-suit-production-amid-china-shortage.html ____________________________________
Management method codes describe the type of hazardous waste management system used to treat or dispose of a hazardous waste stream. Also known as EPA Handling Codes they reflect the disposal method for the Hazardous Waste Management Method Code provided in Box 19 of the Hazardous Waste Manifest Form. See the list of California Hazardous Waste Codes for a complete list a waste is identified as being toxic if it has an dermal LC50 less than 10,000 mg/kg. U.S. EPA Test Method, SW-846 Methods (and stored or transported) for disposal at another location, the environmental media may be regulated as hazardous waste if it contains MANAGEMENT METHOD CODES Management method codes describe the type of hazardous waste management system used to treat, recover, or dispose of hazardous waste. Select the final substantive method used. Review the groups and pick the appropriate code. Reclamation and Recovery Code HOIO H020 H039 H050 H061 Management Method Code Description Codes to describe the type of hazardous waste management system used to treat, recover, or dispose of a hazardous waste. These codes are updated routinely and published in the instructions of the current edition of the booklet. For the convenience of readers, we present a list of Management Method Codes that were included in the 2003 Hazardous hazardous waste - score 10; stable non-reactive hazardous waste you need to show the number for your recovery or disposal method. Some common codes are given below Codes to describe the type of hazardous waste management system used to treat, recover, or dispose of a hazardous waste. These codes are updated routinely and published in the instructions of the current edition of the booklet. For the convenience of readers, we present a list of Management Method Codes that were included in the 2003 Hazardous * The Handling Codes provided in this conversion table reflect the disposal method for the Hazardous Waste Management Method Code provided in Box 19 of the Hazardous Waste Manifest Form. Note, the Management Method Code in Box 19 describes the way in which the waste is to be managed by the first Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facility (TSDF) to receive the waste (as provide in Box 8 of the manifest form). Waste related activities are classed as recovery (R) or disposal (D) as defined in the EU Waste Framework Directive 2008/98 and should be used for Consignment Notes.. For Operator Returns, the Environment Agency have produced a Flowchart that breaks codes down to Level 3 and provides comprehensive explanations of what each code covers. Recovery Operations Hazardous waste is defined by waste that poses significant or potential threats to the public, health, or environment. To meet the requirements for hazardous waste, the material needs to display at least one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity, and/or toxicity. D Codes Description and Examples of Disposal Codes D10 Incineration on land Covers the incineration of waste where the main purpose of the incineration is the thermal treatment of waste in order to reduce the volume and the hazardousness of the waste, and to obtain an inert product that can be disposed of.
-- Created using PowToon -- Free sign up at http://www.powtoon.com/youtube/ -- Create animated videos and animated presentations for free. PowToon is a free... There are literally thousands of different substances used in the workplace. Cleaners, adhesives, paints, solvents, pesticides, inks, lubricants and fuels ar... Guidelines for management and disposal of chemical waste on campus Do you understand what is meant by "hazardous waste"? Do you know where to dispose of such waste? Watch this short video clip to find out. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Press Copyright Contact us Creators ... Drained Oil and Fuel Filters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP9LGIgd03o#t=00m05s Universal Waste: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HP9LGIgd03o#t=01m08s Empty ... My name is Erik and on my channel you can find funny videos of games I love to play! Mostly GTA 5! Subscribe today to never miss an upload! For more 2D animation videos: visit: http://www.bodeanimation.com/portfolio.html, video is created for Banyan Nation, that offers waste management solutions ... A waste characterisation study is an important tool for helping local governments and private companies make decisions on the best solid waste management pro... Topics to be covered include: definitions, acronyms, common names of wastes, California chemical lists that create a hazardous waste, federal vs. California ...
