Vinyl chloride Leakage in Ohio Calls Attention on Hazardous Gas Securi

16 Feb

Vinyl chloride Leakage in Ohio Calls Attention on Hazardous Gas Security

On February 3rd, five of the tankers on the train that overturned in Ohio that were carrying liquid vinyl chloride, which is extremely combustible and lead to the big fire lasting whole night to the next morning, accompanying heavy smoke covering the sky of the town.

Source:CNN, Courtesy Kevin Csernik

The cleanup and monitoring of the site, Ohio EPA is going to remain involved through our other divisions that oversee the long-term cleanup of these kinds of spills according to CNN news.

Vinyl chloride, which is used to make PVC pipes, can cause dizziness, sleepiness and headaches. It has also been linked to an increased risk of cancer in the liver, brain, lungs and blood, and may cause death with mass volume contact in short time. These are often very toxic and often very persistent in the environment.

Due to the hazards of vinyl chloride, the US Environmental Protection Agency deployed real-time air monitoring instruments at 12 locations around the fire and adjacent communities, and also collected air samples in the center of the town for laboratory analysis. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including vinyl chloride and butyl acrylate, as well as carbon monoxide, oxygen, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen cyanide, phosgene, and hydrogen chloride are monitored, and the flammability of surrounding gases is measured.

In addition to fixed air monitoring stations, the EPA also uses hand-held monitoring instruments to monitor areas with significant odors.

Leak risks are happening occasionally during the production and operation of dangerous chemicals. To prevent leakage is essential to the security running of the enterprises involved in the hazardous chemicals.

In the industrial toxic gas detection, electro-chemical sensors are the most widely used in portable detectors and online monitoring instruments to detect hazardous or dangerous gases of vinyl chloride C2H3Cl, formaldehyde HCHO, mono dioxide CO, ammonia NH3, Hydrogen sulfide dioxide H2S, sulfur dioxide SO2, nitrogen dioxide NO2, oxygen O2, etc.