4.

0 WASTE GENERATIONS

4.1 HEALTH HAZARDS Allyl chloride is a toxic, highly ammable compound that is severely irritating to the skin and mucous membranes. Allyl chloride is considered to be moderately to highly toxic (LD50 = 275 700 mg/kg body weight) via oral exposure. Amounts incidental to industrial handling are unlikely to cause injury. Large amounts, however, can cause injury, even death. Allyl chloride is toxic through liquid contact with the skin and can cause severe irritation, resulting in deep-seated pain and delayed burns. Effects may be more severe in instances where liquid is conned to the skin. Toxicity through skin absorption in rabbits is 4002200 mg/kg body weight. Contact with the eyes can cause permanent eye injury, even blindness. The vapors of allyl chloride are very irritating to the eyes, nose, and throat. Lung injury may be delayed in onset. Liver and kidney injury can result from exposure to vapors; kidney injury is expected to be most severe in acute exposures. High concentrations of vapor can be lethal. Following chronic exposures to the vapors, liver injury would be expected to occur rst.

4.2 EXPOSURE LIMITS

The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) has recommended a threshold limit value (TLV) of 1 ppm allyl chloride in air based on a timeweighted average (TWA) of an eight-hour work day, with a short-term exposure limit (STEL) of 2 ppm. OSHA has established its permissible exposure limit (PEL) at this same level (24, 50). The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommends that exposure to allyl chloride be controlled to a concentration no greater than 1 ppm of air by volume, which is the TWA for up to a 10-h workday in a 40-h work week, or a ceiling concentration of no more than 3 ppm for any 15-min period (51). Allyl chloride has a disagreeable, pungent odour. The odour threshold has been estimated at approximately 36 ppm. Olfactory detection of odour is thus not an adequate warning of overexposure.

4.3 SAFETY PRECAUTION 1. Person not wearing protective equipment and clothing should be restricted from areas of spills or leaks until cleanup has been completed. 2. If allyl chloride is spilled or leaked, the following steps should be taken: Remove all ignition sources. Ventilate area of spill or leak For small quantities, absorb on paper towels. Evaporate in a safe place (such as a fume hood), allow sufficient time for evaporating vapours to completely clear the hood ductwork. Burn the paper in a suitable location away from combustible materials. Large quantities can be reclaimed or collected and atomized in a suitable combustion chamber equipped with an appropriate effluent gas cleaning device. 3. Allyl chloride should not be allowed to enter a confined space, such as a sewer, because of the possibility of an explosion.

4.4 WASTE MINIMIZATION Waste minimization means the reduction, to the extent feasible of hazardous waste that is generated prior to treatment, storage or disposal of the waste. It has been defined to consist of two basic techniques which are reduction and recycling. Source reduction or avoiding waste generation is the most desirable goal and should be explored first. In the waste management hierarchy, source reduction is followed in order by recycling, treatment and, finally, disposal.