Hazard evaluation of chemicals for bulk marine shipment

Abstract

For economic reasons most chemicals used in large quantities by industry are transported in tank vessels. These chemicals range in properties from essentially harmless to highly dangerous. Although the United States and IMCO require certain minimum data before classifying a new chemical to be transported in bulk, no formal system exists to correlate these data with specific shipboard requirements such as the location of the tank within the vessel, gauging and venting systems, or cargo overfill protection. Developing guidelines for the evaluation of chemicals is a two part problem. First, the inherent hazards of a chemical (the hazards of a product when it is released, without regard to its cargo containment system) must be investigated. In the second part of the evaluation, these hazards are then correlated with specific shipboards requirements as mentioned above. This paper outlines the essential elements for developing a comprehensive system of hazard evaluation for bulk liquid chemicals.