Table 1 Occupational preventive measures against chemical exposures released from transport containers and concerns of their use in practice
From: Regulation and practice of workers’ protection from chemical exposures during container handling
Preventive measure | Method | Concerns of application |
|---|---|---|
Identification of contaminated containers | Review of documentation for previous chemical treatment | Chemical treatment of containers is rarely documented (less than 5% are labelled) |
Suspicion generated by the odour, type of goods and country of origin | Suspicion is subjective, some of the hazardous chemicals have no perceivable odour | |
Air monitoring | Devices used in practice can measure only methyl bromide but no other fumigants and typical industrial pollutants | |
Ventilation | Passive ventilation (aeration) | Aeration time varies (2 to 48 hours) and may not be enough to reduce chemical concentration to a safe level |
Active ventilation (extraction or inflation) | Not used in practice | |
Personal protective equipment | Respiratory protection | Filter masks are rarely used |
Dust masks do not provide adequate protection | ||
Limited use due to discomfort of wearing | ||
Gloves | Limited use due to discomfort of wearing | |
Protective clothing | Limited use due to discomfort of wearing |