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Abstract

The need for chemicals in our daily lives and the rapid expansion of the human population mean that chemical plants are often situated near heavily populated areas. The use, transportation and storage of these chemicals pose the constant threat of a spillage disaster. Each chemical substance has its own environment contamination potentials, which are defined by a number of criteria:

  1. 1.

    Mass (m)

  2. 2.

    Toxicity. This is defined by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) as immediate danger to life and health (ILDH)l. This value relates to the maximum concentration of the chemical substance in the air to which a healthy employee could be exposed for at least 30 min with no irreversible adverse effects.

  3. 3.

    Volatility, defined by the vapour pressure (VP) of the substance (in mm Hg) at room temperature.

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© 1995 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Rosenberg, L., Shabshin, U. (1995). Chemical Spillage — a Preventable Disaster?. In: Masellis, M., Gunn, S.W.A. (eds) The Management of Burns and Fire Disasters: Perspectives 2000. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0361-6_96

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0361-6_96

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6647-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-0361-6

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