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My Mobile Briefcase: Real Apps for Real EHS Work

Melanie Powers-Schanbacher, CPEA, Principal, Bridgewater, NJ

 

Like most EHS professionals, my job requires traveling away from the office. As airlines impose more stringent carry on luggage rules, packing for business trips has become an exercise in space management. Safety equipment, audit tools, regulatory references and project materials compete for space with clothing and travel accessories. And frankly, I no longer want to lug all this stuff around an airport - especially since it seems that the time intervals between connecting flights are also getting tighter.


Luckily, I love Apps! I frequently search App stores to find tools that will let my smartphone and tablet replace another device or pile of paper. Many of my colleagues do the same and we make it a point to share our latest-greatest App finds. In this article, I would like to share some of the recent Apps we have found useful when conducting our EHS consulting tasks. This article focuses on Apps to evaluate chemical/material compatibility. Future articles will focus on tools for use with other typical EHS compliance and regulatory reference tasks.
 

Disclaimer: This article is presented for informational use only. STC does not develop mobile Apps, nor do we endorse, sell, or commercially benefit from the sale of any of the Apps discussed in this article.

Cole Palmer's Chemical Compatibility Application

 

Cole Palmer is a leading global source of laboratory and industrial fluid handling products, instrumentation, equipment, and supplies. The Chemical Compatibility Application can be used as a guide for evaluating the chemical compatibility of various types of building and construction materials with specific chemicals. It is mobile version of the Chemical Compatibility Database that is available on the company's website (http://www.coleparmer.com/Chemical-Resistance). Cole Palmer clearly states that the compatibility assessment information is provided by a variety of technical resources and warns that this information is to be used only as a guide and that additional compatibility testing may be required. The application is currently available for use on the iPhone or iPad and can be downloaded from the Apple iTunes store. 
 

To use the app, you select the material of interest and the chemical to be evaluated from the available menu lists. Selecting "See Results" provides a compatibility assessment as well as potential hazards - as shown in the two examples provided below. 


The Chemical Compatibility Application can be used to assess the compatibility of a material with a specific chemical, or it can be used to identify all chemicals in the available inventory listing that meet certain compatibility parameters. The example below shows how the App was used to identify the list of all chemicals in the inventory which are extremely incompatible with neoprene, the material of interest.

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The Chemical Compatibility Application is very easy to use. The chemical listing is quite comprehensive and Cole Palmer offers online support if a chemical being evaluated is not included. While the list of materials for compatibility assessment seemed limited at first glance, after scrolling through the tool I was confident that it included the majority of material categories I typically see used in process/storage/transfer equipment, as well as in PPE.


D-Waste's Hazardous Waste Chemical Compatibility (HazWasteCom)

D-Waste Hellas Ltd. (http://d-waste.com/) provides waste management services through a global network of experts that are available to support clients worldwide. The company has also developed several mobile waste management guides and tools. As described on their website, Hazardous Waste Chemical Compatibility is an application that enables users to quickly determine the possible hazards that can be expected when different hazardous waste materials are stored together, based on the chemicals contained in these wastes. The App can be used to assess the potential for chemical reaction of these materials. HazWasteCom is based on EPA's Chemical Compatibility Chart (EPA-600/2-80-076 April 1980). The App is available for use on iOS and Android devices.

To use the App, select the hazardous waste category group for each of the materials being compared from the menu list and then select "Results". As illustrated below, the "Results" screen will show the potential chemical reaction hazards that will result if these materials come into contact. If there are no known adverse reactions, a "No predefined interaction" message will be displayed

This is a good tool for doing quick compatibility checks on the fly. The user does, however, need to know the chemical category group for the materials being reviewed; the App does not have an option for referencing specific chemical names or other identifiers with category groups. Similarly, since the "Results" reflect the chemical reaction output for the two material categories and not the interaction of any two specific hazardous waste constituents, there could be some variability in the degree of likelihood and severity. However as a waste management planning tool, this App seems to do the job.

 
 
Melanie Powers-Schanbacher, CPEA, is a Principal with STC and has over 20 years of experience in EHS auditing and compliance management systems and tools. Her experience includes developing EHS training programs, regulatory and legal requirements analysis, legislative tracking processes, and permit compliance and regulatory reporting procedures and work instructions. Melanie currently oversees STC's regulatory information services, including the regulatory monitoring services STC provides its clients and managing STC's authoring efforts for a number of EHS auditing, training and management systems guides published by Specialty Technical Publishers of Vancouver, B.C. She is a member of the Auditing Roundtable and a Certified Professional Environmental Auditor (CPEA) in Environmental Compliance and in Environmental, Health and Safety Management Systems. She currently serves as the Chairman for BEAC's Examination Committee and the Auditing Roundtable's Auditor Resources Interest Group.

For more information about STC's Regulatory Information and Tools services, or to share your favorite EHS Apps, contact Melanie at (908)707-4001 or mpowers@stcenv.com.

Questions about this Article?

Melanie Powers-Schanbacher

Telephone: 908.707.4001