Are you a fire chief, emergency responder, or environmental health and safety manager?

Since so many reactive chemicals are transported by rail or truck, what would happen in the case of an accidental spill or roll over?  The potential acute health hazards to responders and surrounding neighborhoods could be catastrophic.

Let’s use chlorosilanes as an example of one of those reactive chemicals.

Chlorosilanes can liberate hydrogen as well as hydrogen chloride if spilled.  This makes for dangerous and complicated handling for our emergency responders.

All chlorosilanes, as well as other reactive chemicals such as titanium tetrachloride, respond violently to moisture in the air or water.  If that violent response were to happen during a spill or spill clean-up of a rail car or truck, toxic and corrosive vapors would be produced and could spread to surrounding neighborhoods. One of the most vital potential health hazards from accidental spills of these types of chemicals are severe corrosive burns to the skin, eyes and respiratory tract from both physical contact and vapors.

As a professional, you know most reactive chemical spill response procedures call for the use of foam and/or dry chemical.  You also know that foam can have severe consequences if used as an extinguishing agent for fires and spills associated with reactive chemicals if water is present in the chemical makeup of the extinguishing agents.

For example, using standard fire-fighting foam on a reactive chemical may create an outcome where the water in the foam causes the release toxic and corrosive hydrogen chloride vapors.  Also the foam might trap additional hydrogen vapors under the foam blanket.  And the use of dry chemical fire suppressors on reactive chemical might be ineffective.

So what’s the solution?

The solution is to use a specialty hyper immobilizing solidifying absorbent like PetroGuard

PetroGuard is recommended by the SEHSC and CES-Silicones Europe trade associations.  It will quickly absorb and solidify the liquid chemical, thereby reducing or eliminating vapor production.  More importantly, once absorbed and solidified, the solidified matrix will no longer be affected by air or water making it safer to handle.

Using an absorbent like PetroGuard first, allows for a reaction-free application to the foam and will suppress any incidental vapor production.

Having PetroGuard available during transportation, when responding to spills or even taking samples and servicing feed lines is like having extra insurance against accidents.

What does your company use as it’s extra insurance against possible accidents?

Since 1992 Guardian Environmental Technologies, Inc. has been helping customers enhance their overall productivity by providing practical and time-saving spill response and bulk solidification products.  For more information you can contact us at (860) 350-2200 or [email protected].