Investment in factories running full bore.  How does this affect a reactive chemical spill?

A recent Bloomberg Business news article spoke about “investment in factories has been running full bore”. The article went on to state “there’s a manufacturing boom underway tied to the chemical industry building new plants”.

According to Bloomberg, spending on chemical plant construction in the private sector stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $48.4 billion in May, up almost 10 percent from a month earlier, according to the latest data from the Census Bureau. During the first five months of this year, an unadjusted $15.9 billion was spent on chemical plants, more than double the $7 billion for the same period in 2014.

For those manufacturing facilities that are experiencing a growth “boom”, it cannot be business as usual when it comes to a reactive chemical spill.

Let’s take a look at the reactive chemical TiCl4 in relation to a reactive chemical spill.

Titanium tetrachloride can enter the environment as air emissions from facilities that make or use it in various chemical processes or as a result of spills. If moisture is present in the air, titanium tetrachloride reacts with the moisture to form hydrochloric acid and other titanium compounds, such as titanium hydroxide and titanium oxychlorides.

The end-products produced when titanium tetrachloride reacts with water are titanium dioxide and hydrochloric acid which is the hazardous component which can quickly become a public health issue.

Releases of more than 1 pound of titanium tetrachloride must be reported to EPA. Dealing with spilled TiCl4 (tickle) is always complicated and requires rapid response and solid planning in advance of any spill.

An accepted “business as usual” method of responding to a TiCl4 reactive chemical spill is through the use of expanding foam. However, when the foam is first applied, there is often a violent reaction due to the hydrolyzing effect of the water in the foam.

There are better methods to use when dealing with this type of reactive chemical spill. These methods decrease the reactive effect of the water by treating the spill first with a proven solidifying absorbent. This type of specialized polymeric absorbent will render chemicals like Ticl4, chlorosilane and other reactive chemicals impervious to water, making the handling of the spilled chemical as a solid matrix that is safer and easier to collect.

If the Bloomberg report is correct, then now is the time to look at alternative reactive chemical spill response methods because “business as usual” will soon be a thing of the past.

Since 1992 Guardian has helped customers enhance their overall safety and productivity by providing practical and time-saving spill response and bulk solidification products.

Call us today at (860) 350-2200. Let our innovative solutions keep you safer and save you money.

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