How to protect yourself when you are exposed to hazardous chemicals?

The most ideal way to control and prevent chemical hazards is not to use toxic, harmful, flammable, and explosive chemicals, but this is difficult to do. The usual practice is to use non-toxic or low-toxic chemicals to replace toxic and harmful chemicals, and to use combustible chemicals to replace flammable chemicals. For example, toluene replaces benzene used in spraying and paint removal, and aliphatic hydrocarbons replace aromatic hydrocarbons in glue or adhesives.
Changing the process
Although substitution is the preferred option for controlling chemical hazards, the available alternatives are very limited, especially due to technical and economic reasons, it is inevitable to produce and use harmful chemicals. At this time, chemical hazards can be eliminated or reduced by changing the process. For example, in the past, acetaldehyde was produced from acetylene, using mercury as a catalyst, until it developed into using ethylene as a raw material, and acetaldehyde was produced by oxidation or chlorination, without the need for mercury as a catalyst. By changing the process, mercury hazards were completely eliminated.
Isolation
Isolation is to prevent workers from being directly exposed to harmful environments through measures such as sealing and setting up barriers. The most commonly used isolation method is to completely seal the equipment produced or used so that workers do not come into contact with chemicals during operation.
Isolation operation is another commonly used isolation method. Simply put, it is to isolate the production equipment from the operating room. The simplest form is to place the pipeline valves and electric control switches of the production equipment in an operating room that is completely separated from the production site.
Ventilation
Ventilation is the most effective measure to control harmful gases, vapors or dust in the workplace. With the help of effective ventilation, the concentration of harmful gases, vapors or dust in the air of the workplace is lower than the safe concentration, ensuring the health of workers and preventing fire and explosion accidents.
Ventilation is divided into local exhaust and comprehensive ventilation. Local exhaust is to cover the pollution source and extract the polluted air. The required air volume is small, economical and effective, and easy to purify and recycle. Comprehensive ventilation is also called dilution ventilation. Its principle is to provide fresh air to the workplace, extract polluted air, and reduce the concentration of harmful gases, vapors or dust in the workplace. Comprehensive ventilation requires a large air volume and cannot be purified and recycled.
For point diffusion sources, local exhaust can be used. When using local exhaust, the pollution source should be within the control range of the ventilation hood. In order to ensure the high efficiency of the ventilation system, the rationality of the ventilation system design is very important. For installed ventilation systems, regular maintenance and care should be carried out to make them work effectively.
For surface diffusion sources, full ventilation should be used. When using full ventilation, factors such as air flow direction should be considered during the plant design stage. Because the purpose of full ventilation is not to eliminate pollutants, but to disperse and dilute pollutants, full ventilation is only suitable for low-toxic workplaces, not for corrosive workplaces with large amounts of pollutants.
Movable ventilation pipes and ducts such as fume hoods in laboratories, welding rooms or spray booths are local exhaust equipment. In metallurgical plants, molten materials emit toxic smoke and gas when flowing from one end to the other, and both ventilation systems need to be used.
Personal protection
When the concentration of harmful chemicals in the workplace exceeds the standard, workers must use appropriate personal protective equipment. Personal protective equipment can neither reduce the concentration of harmful chemicals in the workplace nor eliminate harmful chemicals in the workplace, but is only a barrier to prevent harmful substances from entering the human body. The failure of the protective equipment itself means the disappearance of the protective barrier, so personal protection cannot be regarded as the main means of controlling hazards, but can only be used as an auxiliary measure.
Protective equipment mainly includes head protection equipment, respiratory protection equipment, eye protection equipment, body protection equipment, hand and foot protection equipment, etc.
Maintain hygiene
Hygiene includes keeping the workplace clean and the personal hygiene of workers. Cleaning the workplace regularly, properly disposing of waste and spills, and keeping the workplace clean can also effectively prevent and control chemical hazards. Workers should develop good hygiene habits to prevent harmful substances from attaching to the skin and prevent harmful substances from penetrating into the body through the skin.