Page 90 - Environmental Control in Petroleum Engineering

The Impact of Drilling and Production Operations 77

3. List of hazardous ingredients, with exposure limits.
4. Physical and chemical characteristics, including boiling point,
melting point, density, solubility in water, appearance, odor,
vapor density, and vapor pressure,
5. Fire and explosion hazard data, including flash point, flam-
mability limits, extinguishing media, special firefighting pro-
cedures, and unusual fire and explosion hazards.
6. Reactivity data, including chemical stability, incompatibility with
other chemicals and materials, hazards of decomposition or
byproducts, and whether the material polymerizes.
7. Health hazard data, including exposure routes (inhalation, skin,
or ingestion), acute and chronic health hazards, toxicity data,
carcinogenicity, signs and symptoms of exposure, medical condi-
tions aggravated by exposure, and emergency procedures (includ-
ing first aid).
8. Precautions for safe handling and use, including steps to be taken
if the material is spilled or released, first-aid procedures for
exposure, method for disposal, and precautions for handling
and storage.
One limitation to MSDS data is that it is often incomplete; normally,
it only summarizes existing information from the literature. The
manufacturer, in many cases, is not required to conduct additional
research on the material. Such research is generally very costly and
time-consuming. Because of this, the quality of MSDS data can vary
considerably from chemical to chemical and from vendor to vendor.
Even though manufacturers may not be required to conduct bioassays
on the materials they offer for sale, bioassays are often required before
a permit to discharge a material to the environment can be obtained,

3.2 HYDROCARBONS

Crude oil contains thousands of different types of hydrocar-
bon molecules. The toxicities and potential environmental impacts
of the different molecules vary considerably. Numerous studies
have been conducted on the environmental impact of hydrocarbon
exposure. In this section, the major types (families) of hydrocarbons
and their toxicities are discussed, and related environmental impact
studies are reviewed.