More than 50,000 people in the U.S. die each year as a result of exposure to chemical hazards. Further, 190,000 health conditions caused by chemicals are registered in U.S. hospitals every year (Osha, 2020). Although some of these illnesses are minor such as stomach ache, skin, and eye irritation, others are major conditions such as heart, brain, lung, kidney, and nerve abnormalities as well as cancers. Chemical hazards also cause considerable harm to the environment. Beyond the obvious harm and injuries caused by chemicals, health complications cost the economies billions of dollars every year in terms of care and treatment of patients. In the least, these effects point to the need to control chemical hazards. Efforts to enhance control and regulation of chemicals are faced with the challenge of a lack of adequate literature. As such, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to the existing literature by analyzing literature on the nature of chemical hazards, safety standards, and effects of chemical hazards on both humans and the environment. It also explores the current deterrent measures by the government and makes appropriate recommendations.

Nature of Chemical Hazards

Chemical hazards are substances that are known to cause health hazards such as sensitization, irritation, and carcinogenicity upon exposure to human beings (Carson, 2002). Chemical hazards exist in various forms. These include:

Physical hazards

Physical hazards are chemicals that can support fire or burn. Chemicals that have the ability to explode or emit high-pressure materials leading to bodily injury are also classified as chemical hazards (Foulke n.d). Spontaneously reactive chemicals upon exposure to water are also referred to as physical hazards. Physical hazards can be flammable, reactive, organic peroxide, unstable reactive, or explosive.

Toxic agents

These are chemicals that have been associated with a high number of deaths, even with minimum exposure. According to the HCS, toxic chemicals are substances with a medium lethal dose (LD50) exceeding 50 milligrams per kilogram but below 500 milligrams per kilogram of weight of the body when ingested by albino rats weighing from 200 to 300 grams. This category of chemical hazards also includes chemical with a medium lethal concentration of (LC50) in air containing above 200 parts per million but below 2000 parts per million by gas volume (Foulke n.d).

Corrosive chemicals

Corrosive chemicals are defined as substances that cause irreversible or visible destruction of living tissues as a result of chemical action during contact (Diallo et al., 2012). According to HCS, a chemical that causes irreversible destruction of an intact skin of an albino rat after a four-hour exposure is classified in this category (Bhusnure & Omprakash, 2018). Corrosive chemical hazards may cause ulcers, the formation of scars, or cell death at the point of contact.

Sensitizer

Chemicals that result in the development of allergic ration when exposed to normal tissue recurrently are known as a sensitizer (Foulke n.d). Sensitizer may not have any effects on the human skin or animals upon first exposure. However, when exposure occurs

Due to their poisonous nature, a very precise system of classifying and naming them has been developed. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) are responsible for the identification and naming of the chemical hazards (Foulke n.d). Once identified, the Chemical Abstract Service assigns each with a unique number.

How Do Chemical Hazards Affect Human and the Environment?

Chemical hazards are known to cause multiple harms to both human beings and the environment upon exposure. To cause internal harm, the chemical hazards may enter the body through injection, ingestion, absorption, or inhalation, especially when in gaseous form. The human body may experience effects such as skin burn, anthrax, ache, cancer, and ulcer of the nose or hand, windpipe irritation (Foulke n.d). These effects mostly arise from the severe burns that chemicals cause when in contact with living tissues, which make the human body. Once the chemical hazard is in contact with living tissues, one or several reactions such as oxidation, digestion, or dehydration depending on whether the hazard is a strong oxidizing, dehydrating, or base/acid.

Chemical hazards also affect the environment in several ways. First, they might cause fire and destroy huge chunks of natural vegetation such as forests or grass. Secondly, the chemical hazards may react or explode, destroying plants, animals, and even creating large depression on the surface of the earth. Thirdly, some chemicals such as acids corrode objects, especially when they are metallic such as iron sheets (Kant, 2011). Fourthly, gaseous chemicals may render the air or atmosphere irritating when human eyes are exposed to it.

The Current Safety Standards in the U.S.

Worker training and education

The U.S. has set up the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) through OSHA. The purpose of the standard is to efficient dissemination of information about hazardous chemicals in the workplace. It also provides guidelines on various protective measures.

First, the standard requires all chemicals used in the workplace to be properly labeled to reveal their identity and hazards associated with them (Foulke, 2007). OSHA requires firms to avail clear and understandable information about the hazardous nature and safety precautions of chemicals in use to their employees. Secondly, the standard requires all the manufacturers of the chemicals to assess their chemical products for hazards and develop safety labels and data sheets containing hazard information that should be passed to customers of the products (Foulke n.d).

Companies dealing with hazardous chemicals are also required to keep safety labels and data sheets and avail the information to exposed workers whenever the need arises (Foulke n.d). The companies are also required to train the workers on the various safety measures to handle the chemical hazards. Such training must also contain personal protective measures.

Regulation on airborne concentrations

OSHA protects employees against excessive exposure to airborne hazards. This protection is achieved by requiring employers to assess and identify possible respiratory hazards at their premises. The organization has developed various Occupational Exposure Limits (OELs) and availed them to various organizations to act as a guideline to the maximum safe exposure to various chemicals. The information on the exposure limits is also available on the agent’s website pages. For instance, OSHA has established enforceable permissible exposure limits (PELs) that outline the maximum permitted exposure to hazardous expressed in 8-hour time-weighted average (TWA) and Ceiling and Peak limits(OSHA, 2020). Close to 500 PELs are now available.

Control Methods in the U.S.

The U.S. government uses a variety of control measures to protect workers from exposure. The control is conducted through a hierarchy of control methods to ensure only effective and feasible measures are put in place (American Chemical Society, 2020). For a long time, OSHA’s policy is that the basic means of implementing control measures is during the engineering stage and work practice controls. Other control methods such as respiratory protection are only used when engineering and workplace control measures cannot guarantee the safety of products.

Figure 1: Hierarchy of controls

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy

According to OSHA, the best control measure is substitution or elimination of products whenever possible. Once this measure is not feasible, the next control measures, such as engineering, can be used (American Chemical Society, 2020). Once all these control measures cannot be used, personal protection equipment can be used. Although this is the least recommended measure, it can be as effective as the other control measures.

As the first stage, OSHA recommends substituting products that may cause chemical hazards with safer alternatives. Safer chemicals may also be used in place of the hazardous ones. When substitution is not possible, the product or chemical be eliminated. Once all the two controls are not feasible, engineering controls can be implemented. This implementation can be done in such ways as changing the process in a way that limits exposure to the chemical, enclosing or isolating the process, installation of wet devices to minimize the production of the chemical waste, or diluting the ventilation (American Chemical Society, 2020). Engineering control can also be implemented through the use of fume hoods.

The next control, which is work practice or administrative control, can be implemented through practices such as job assignment rotations and work schedule rotation. These practices are recommended as a way of minimizing exposure of hazardous chemicals to the same workers for a long time.

The final method of control, which is conducted through the use of personal protective equipment, can be implemented in several ways. First, workers should wear protective clothing and gear whenever possible. Secondly, workers can wear respiratory protection for the protection of chemical hazards that can be inhaled. Thirdly, workers can wear gloves to protect their hands from coming into contact with the hazards (American Chemical Society, 2020). Finally, personal protection can be achieved through the use of eye protective gear, such as safety goggles or shields.

Real-Life Industry Examples with Dates and Reference in the U.S.

The various examples of chemical control methods have been applied in real-life industrial processes. The use of benzene as a solvent for example, undergoes the stages of controls. Benzene poses a physical or health hazard. As a physical hazard, the chemical can easily cause fire. As a health hazard, it is known to cause cancer (Lombardi, 2014). Companies and manufacturers that use the solvent have attempted to substitute it with another liquid of similar performance. Whenever substitution is not viable, workplace controls are put in place to avoid health and flammability risks caused by the reagent. These measures include keeping the liquid away from any ignition source. This control can be achieved through engineering where the flammable liquid is separated from ignition sources when used in the same machine through proper design. Absorbent materials can also be put in place to minimize the risks. Employees are also requiring adhering to the lab SOP guidelines when handling the liquid to minimize chances of exposure or initiation of fire. This measure can be achieved through the administrative control.

Although benzene is still widely used in industrial applications in the U.S., it has long been known to be a dangerous chemical. In 1928, medical experts established a connection between exposure to benzene and leukemia. Another study conducted in 1938 established that industrial workers exposed to benzene for a long time in the printing industry had developed several blood abnormalities. The study concluded that the only way to observe safety with benzene is to allow zero exposure to the chemical (Stewart, n.d.). Through the control measures, the federal government prohibited the use of pure benzene more than two decades ago. Unfortunately, the solvent is still being used today to make several substances such as detergents, glues, dyes, rubber products, pesticides, and resins.

The Consequences of Failing to Follow Safety Standards in the U.S.

There are various penalties of the application when organizations or individuals are found guilty of violating safety guidelines on the use and handling of hazardous chemical materials. Chapter 6 of the Field Operations Manual outlines the penalty amounts that are applicable for violation offenses depending on the nature of the violation.

In 2015, President Barack Obama ascended the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvement Act of 2015. The new legislation would allow adjustments of penalties in line with inflation and cost-of-living at the time of application of the penalty. The Act aimed at improving the efficiency of the penalties in their deterrent effects. The Act required agencies to adjust the penalties and make subsequent annual adjustments each year. The table below outlines the penalties applicable for violation of the safety guidelines based on the 2020 OSHA adjustment.

Table 1: Minimum and Maximum Civil penalities

Violation	Minimum penalty per violation ($)	Maximum per violation ($)
Serious	964	13,494
Other-Than-Serious	0	13,494
Willful/ Recurrent	9,639	134,937
Posting requirements	0	13,494
Failure to abate	N/A	13,494/day past the abatement date usually less than 30 days