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Notes on Specialised F&G Hazards
Published in James McNay, A Guide to Fire and Gas Detection Design in Hazardous Industries, 2023
Toxic gases such as hydrogen sulphide (H2 S) are present on many oil and gas facilities and can range from relatively low levels (up to 500 ppm) to facilities with an extreme H2 S risk (~30,000 ppm up to where it begins to register as a % of the stream). Such toxic gases become hazardous to health at very low concentrations; for example, H2 S can cause damage to the lungs at approximately 50–100 ppm and can cause rapid unconsciousness at approximately 700–1,000 ppm (5). In order to determine the risk posed by various toxic gases, workplace exposure limits are specified, for example, in Europe in EH40 (6). These, and other guideline limits, set values of exposure across various timelines in which humans can be safely exposed. For example, time weighted average (TWA) and short-term exposure limit (STEL) refer to the limit of safe exposure after 8 hours, and 15 minutes of exposure, respectively. Other values applied globally include Emergency Response Planning Guidelines (ERPG) and Acute Exposure Level Guidelines (AEGL) which apply similar logic in their application.
Human physiology, hazards and health risks
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2016
David J. Baker, Naima Bradley, Alec Dobney, Virginia Murray, Jill R. Meara, John O’Hagan, Neil P. McColl, Caryn L. Cox
For chemical incidents the most common guidelines are:The Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) [13] are based primarily on acute toxicology and derived for risks to humans resulting from once-in-a-lifetime, or rare, exposure to airborne single chemicals. They are designed to protect the general population including vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. Three levels are derived for a range of exposure times called AEGL1, AEGL2 and AEGL3 representing the level of the chemical in air, at or above which the general population could experience discomfort, serious long-lasting effects and life-threatening health effects respectively.Emergency Response Planning Guideline (ERPG) Values [14]. Three levels are defined ERPG1, 2 and 3 as being the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed that nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to 1 hour without experiencing other than mild transient adverse health effects, experiencing serious health effects/symptoms which could impair an individual’s ability to take protective action and developing life-threatening health effects respectively.There is no acute exposure guideline for particulate matter contained within AEGL or ERPG; furthermore there is no safe threshold that has been identified beneath which there are no health effects for exposure to particulate matter. In the UK there is an Air Quality Strategy objective for PM10 of 50 µg/m3 that should not occur more than 35 times per year (concentration measured as a 24-hour mean) in any one location and 40 µg/m3 (concentration measured as an annual mean). The UK target objective for PM2.5 is 25 µg/m3 (concentration measured as an annual mean) [15]. The World Health Organization (WHO) have set a series of 24-hour average interim targets for developing countries around the world that experience higher levels of particulate matter. The highest target on their list is 150 µg/m3 measured as a 24-hour average. This is described as ‘relating roughly to a 5 per cent increase in mortality, an impact that would be of significant concern and one for which immediate mitigation actions would be recommended’ [16].
Human physiology, hazards and health risks
Published in Stephen Battersby, Clay's Handbook of Environmental Health, 2023
Revati Phalkey, Naima Bradley, Alec Dobney, Virginia Murray, John O’Hagan, Mutahir Ahmad, Darren Addison, Tracy Gooding, Timothy W Gant, Emma L Marczylo, Caryn L Cox
For chemical incidents the most common guidelines are: The Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) [11] are based primarily on acute toxicology and derived for risks to humans resulting from once-in-a-lifetime, or rare, exposure to airborne single chemicals. They are designed to protect the general population including vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly. Three levels are derived for a range of exposure times called AEGL1, AEGL2 and AEGL3 representing the level of the chemical in air, at or above which the general population could experience discomfort, serious long-lasting effects and life-threatening health effects respectively.Emergency Response Planning Guideline (ERPG) Values [12]. Three levels are defined ERPG1, 2 and 3 as being the maximum airborne concentration below which it is believed that nearly all individuals could be exposed for up to 1 hour without experiencing other than mild transient adverse health effects, experiencing serious health effects/symptoms which could impair an individual’s ability to take protective action and developing life-threatening health effects respectively.There is no acute exposure guideline for particulate matter contained within AEGL or ERPGs; furthermore, there is no safe threshold that has been identified beneath which there are no health effects for exposure to particulate matter. In the UK there is an Air Quality Strategy objective for PM10 of 50 µg/m3 that should not occur more than 35 times per year (concentration measured as a 24 hour mean) in any one location and 40 µg/m3 (concentration measured as an annual mean). The UK target objective for PM2.5 is 25 µg/m3 (concentration measured as an annual mean) [13] although the UK has set out new policies in their Clean Air Strategy 2019 to reduce concentrations further [14]. The World Health Organization (WHO) have set a series of 24-hour average interim targets for developing countries around the world that experience higher levels of particulate matter. The highest target on their list is 150 µg/m3 measured as a 24-hour average. This is described as relating roughly to a 5% increase in mortality, an impact that would be of significant concern and one for which immediate mitigation actions would be recommended [15].
Intra-workday fluctuations of airborne contaminant concentration and the time-weighted average
Published in Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2022
The American Industrial Hygiene Association Emergency Response Committee was formed in 1987 to develop Emergency Response Planning Guidelines which assume a single-event exposure to a specified airborne stressor for up to 1 hr. The first such guideline was published in 1988 (Cavender et al. 2008). The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains a listing of Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for public exposure to an airborne chemical release (National Research Council 2001, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2022). The AEGL values similarly assume a once-in-a-lifetime exposure, with values for several exposure periods, ranging from 10 to 480 min. The process by which AEGL values are determined uses Equation (5), with empirical values for n obtained from reputable sources when the effects and duration of reported exposures apply to a particular AEGL exposure duration. Alternatively, n may be derived following a standardized approach when effects based on exposure duration data that do not match a specific AEGL exposure duration are to be considered.
Acute and two-week inhalation toxicity studies in rats for Polyalphaolefin (PAO) fluid
Published in Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, Part A, 2021
David R. Mattie, Matthew D. Wegner, Brian A. Wong, R. Arden James, Karen L. Mumy, Shawn M. McInturf, Barry J. Marcel, Teresa R. Sterner
Military exposures to PAO fluids do not span 8 hr a day for 5 days a week, as is assumed for a civilian industrial setting. Shorter-term OpELs are needed to cover times that are more consistent with Air Force operations where there are exposures that are acute, intermittent or infrequent. Acute Exposure Guideline Level (AEGL) guidelines provide a potential way to propose OpELs for military exposures that are not expected to occur daily or for a more than a day. AEGLs are calculated for emergency exposure periods of 10 and 30 min and one, 4, and 8 hr. These times correspond to potential exposures for personnel especially the maintainers. Although we do not have exposure data for pilots due to the limitations in placing dosimeters in military aircraft cockpits, there is a source of PAO in the system providing breathing air to the pilot that has the potential for exposure. There are three AEGL levels based upon the severity of response to a chemical. AEGL-1 is an airborne concentration of a substance to which the general public, including susceptible individuals, might experience “notable discomfort, irritation, or certain asymptomatic non-sensory effects [that] are not disabling and are transient and reversible upon cessation of exposure” (NRC 2001). Only this first level (AEGL-1) applies to the tested PAO fluid due to the transient neurobehavioral effects and irritation-based inhalation effects observed in the study herein.
Management of acute exposure to toxic gases in the oil & gas industry -a practical approach
Published in Archives of Environmental & Occupational Health, 2021
Cesar G. Lizarazo Salcedo, Lawrence Whitehead, Jimmy L. Perkins, Sildrey Upegui-Rincón, Juliana Guarguati-Ariza, Rigoberto Quinchía, Carlos Jaime Espinosa-Guerra
In cases of acute or short-time exposures of temporary workers to chemical substances of acute effect, the limit values for chronic exposure, OELs, do not apply by definition. Therefore, it is important to know the criteria established to deal with these cases, based on developments made originally to manage emergencies caused by the release of toxic chemicals of acute effect on the neighboring communities of chemical plants. These criteria have been put forward by various governmental and private agencies, which have defined several levels of protective action criteria (PAC), based on the health effects of recognized and universally accepted substances of acute effect. The following are the main criteria: Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs): refers to the maximum concentration levels in the air established by the EPA as a guide to emergency management of acute or short-term exposure to certain critical substances. The objective is to protect the general public, including the sick, children and the elderly. They are updated on an annual basis and they are the values based on which some health effects are expected. There are criteria for 89 critical chemicals and they are defined for 3 levels, AEGL1, AEGL2 and, AEGL3, from lowest to highest level of severity of the effect.3–5,12,16–21Emergency Response Planning Guides (ERPGs): correspond to the ceiling limits established by the AIHA as a guide for planning responses to emergencies caused by the release of chemicals in the air. They are used for the protection of almost all individuals in occupational environments. There are three levels (according to the severity of their health effect of exposed persons), and the values are updated on an annual basis. They are the values of environmental concentration based on which it is expected that almost all individuals can be exposed for an hour without some kind of adverse effects on health. There are three levels in accordance with the expected health effects, ERPG-1, 2 and 3, in order of severity.18