Working with Hazardous Chemicals: How Safety Showers Can Save Lives

During a chemical emergency, easy access to safety showers is vital. 

In 2013, as a maintenance technician at a California wastewater treatment facility attached a bypass line to a 10,500-gallon sodium hypochlorite tank, he heard a cracking noise. A valve and all the fittings attached had broken off the tank. It began spraying bleach, splashing on the worker. Immediately he ran toward the exit stairs and into the restroom in the nearby Chemical and Dewatering building. The technician needed to wash the chemicals off his body and rinse his eyes. Unfortunately, the restroom in this building did not have a safety shower or eye wash.  He rinsed off as well as he could in the restroom sink, but knew it wasn’t enough to get all the chemicals off his body. He headed toward the lab, located in another building on the grounds, to use its safety shower station. Before he could make it to the building, pain overwhelmed him. Ripping off his shirt he screamed, “Help me, I feel like I’m on fire!”

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The whitepaper will explore:

• The dangers of chemical burns and splashes in industrial settings

• OSHA and ANSI standards for emergency safety equipment

• Key requirements for safety shower location, operation, flow rate, and water temperature

• Challenges in implementing safety showers in remote locations and extreme environments

• Innovative solutions like temperature-controlled showers, self-draining systems, and mobile units

• Best practices for maintaining and servicing emergency safety equipment