Tons Of Chlorine Research Articles

Establishing Population Values for Chlorine Exposure in the United States (2015-2016) Using 2 Chlorine Biomarkers, 3-Chlorotyrosine and 3,5-Dichlorotyrosine.

In the United States, 12 million short tons of chlorine are manufactured and transported each year. Due to the volume of this volatile chemical, large- and small-scale chemical exposures occur frequently. To diagnose and treat potentially exposed individuals, reference range values for confirmatory biomarkers are required to differentiate between normal and abnormal exposure levels. Serum surplus samples (n = 1780) from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016 were measured for 2 chlorine biomarkers, 3-chlorotyrosine (Cl-Tyr) and 3,5-dichlorotyrosine (Cl2-Tyr), by liquid chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. We evaluated demographic factors associated with elevated biomarker levels. Participant samples were analyzed for the chlorine biomarkers Cl-Tyr and Cl2-Tyr. In the unweighted analysis of these samples, 1349 (75.8%) were under the limit of detection (< LOD) of 2.50 ng/mL for Cl-Tyr and 1773 (99.6%) were < LOD for Cl2-Tyr. Samples within the method reportable range were 2.50 to 35.6 ng/mL for Cl-Tyr and 2.69 to 11.2 ng/mL for Cl2-Tyr. Since only 7 of the 1780 participants had detectable Cl2-Tyr, statistical analysis was limited to Cl-Tyr. Of the demographic characteristics examined, age, body mass index (BMI), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), and sex exhibited statistically significant differences in the weighted prevalence of detectable Cl-Tyr. This is the first reported set of Cl-Tyr and Cl2-Tyr population values for the United States. This population range coupled with NHANES demographic information could help healthcare professionals distinguish between normal and abnormal chlorine biomarker levels in an emergency. With this information, an inference could be made when determining acute chlorine exposure in individuals.

О целесообразности внедрения цикла специальной подготовки врачей-токсикологов по теме «Химикаты двойного назначения — потенциал для создания современного химического оружия»

Актуальность. Химикаты двойного назначения и их потенциальное воздействие являются постоянным объектом наблюдения со стороны многих международных организаций, однако данная информация до сих пор не нашла должного отражения в учебных программах подготовки военных токсикологов. Цель. Подтверждение актуальности расширения спектра знаний по токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и разработки цикла тематического усовершенствования по этому вопросу. Материалы и методы. Проанализированы материалы Организации по запрещению химического оружия, Австралийской группы, Организации по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе по вопросам международного регулирования химического и токсичного оружия. Результаты. Автором обобщены ключевые компоненты системы международного наблюдения за химическими веществами — компонентами химического оружия, дана характеристика химикатов двойного назначения. Представленные списки химикатов подразделяются в зависимости от степени потенциального риска и масштаба коммерческого применения. Подчеркивается, что в учебных программах последипломной подготовки военных врачей преимущественно уделяется внимание изучению оружия массового поражения на основе методологии, разработанной еще во времена Второй мировой войны. Учитывая вышеизложенное, существует необходимость пересмотра учебных программ последипломной подготовки военных врачей с целью создания возможности приобретения слушателями знаний по токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и современных международных норм их наблюдения и регулирования. Выводы. В современных условиях существует необходимость совершенствования учебных программ последипломной подготовки военных врачей в аспекте изучения токсикологии химикатов двойного назначения и международных норм их контроля.

Ultra-High Efficient, Autonomous, Solar-Powered Chlorine Generators

Chlorine is a chemical commodity widely used; it is estimated to be employed in half of the goods used and consumed on a daily basis. One of the main sector is water treatment, where chlorine and other chlorinated compounds are employed as powerful disinfectant agents to remove waterborne pathogens from reservoirs or effluents. Chlorine is most commonly produced via electrochemical routes (the so-called chlor-alkali process), in a membrane-based reactor. Concentrated sodium chloride brines (20-26% in weight) are utilized as anolytes; chloride ions undergo oxidation to generate molecular chlorine, which is later separated. The common catholyte of choice is sodium hydroxide (30% in weight); the counter reaction – water reduction – allows to concentrate the sodium hydroxide brines and generate hydrogen. The process accounts for three useful products as opposed to water-splitting which produces hydrogen and oxygen, but the latter is often considered a waste. The chlor-alkali process produces 60 million tons of chlorine each year, accounting for 1% of the overall global energy consumption. Currently, the process involves an electrochemical apparatus fed by almost exclusively grid electricity. Here we present a stand-alone, solar-powered chlor-alkali device potentially able: (i) to be deployed in remote locations, where accessing the grid is unfeasible or unpractical, and where waterborne diseases are generally a great threat; (ii) to decrease the external energy demand of centralized chlor-alkali facilities by using cheap photovoltaic electricity during daytime. Our prototype comprised three key elements: (i) an innovative planar solar concentrator working at high efficiencies (>80%) over a broad angular acceptance (±40°) illuminating (ii) multi-junction, gallium-arsenide solar cells, illuminated by the solar concentrator; (iii) an electrochemical reactor fabricated via additive manufacturing. The electrolyzer is constituted by a nickel-based cathode and a dimensionally-stable-anode (DSA), separated by a cation exchange membrane. The device showed a continuously stable operation when exposed to natural sunlight illumination, with performances that closely match the predictions based on the nearest weather station. Under the tested experimental conditions, 25.1% sun-to-chlorine efficiencies (SCE) were recorded over 2 hours at mid day. A full summer 12 hour-day was reproduced indoor in terms of illumination direction and intensity for each hour of the day; results show the capability of employing the innovative tracking strategy without strict angular limitations over an entire typical day. Our analysis demonstrated that the technology could be scaled to meet the chlorine demands of a real case scenario, e.g. a small size hospital accommodating forty patients. Preliminary techno-economical evaluations revealed that the levelized cost of solar chlorine could be competitive with the current market. Despite the relatively small input area of the device tested (5 cm2), we demonstrated that it holds the potential to be scaled up and practically implemented. We believe our technology could trigger the deployment of solar-chlorine generators to communities suffering access to poor quality water reservoirs; moreover, our approach could spur further penetration of renewable energy in industrial processes.

Energy Saving Chlorine Electrolysis with Gas Diffusion Electrodes

Chlorine is needed for some two-thirds of all chemical products, including plastics. And that comes at a cost. The production of this important basic chemical is one of the most energy-intensive processes in the chemical industry. In Germany the annual production of around 4.5 million tons of chlorine accounts to about 3% of the overall German electricity consumption. Thus, process innovation in chlorine manufacturing provides an important lever for tremendous savings of energy and their related carbon dioxide emissions. The existing state-of-the-art chlorine processes of brine or hydrochloric acid electrolysis are already highly developed. A significant improvement is only possible by a major technology change. For conventional chlor-alkali electrolysis the reactions can be described as: Anode: 2 NaCl = Cl2 + 2 e- + 2 Na+ (E0 = +1.36 V) Cathode: 2 H2O + 2 Na+ + 2 e- = H2 + 2 NaOH (E0 = -0.83 V) Replacing the cathode reaction of hydrogen evolution reaction by oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) would bring a drastic decrease of the overall electrolysis voltage due to thermodynamics. Cathode: ½ O2 + H2O + 2 Na+ + 2 e- = 2 NaOH (E0 = +0.4 V) Electrodes for efficient ORR are well known from fuel cell technology in form of gas diffusion electrodes. However, the implementation of gas diffusion electrodes in a chlorine evolving electrolysis is a challenge when it comes to industrial scale. By interdisciplinary cooperation of industry partners and research institutes, significantly supported by public funding, the development of suited gas diffusion electrodes for chlorine electrolysis - also known as oxygen depolarized cathodes (ODC) - was successfully realized. The process has been operating on an industrial scale at Covestro’s plant in Krefeld-Uerdingen in Germany since 2011 and has been commercialized worldwide since 2013. As a result, up to 30 percent less electricity than for the conventional process is required. The talk will highlight the technical requirements and the corresponding developments as well as the ecological and economic aspects of the use of gas diffusion electrodes for chlorine production. Furthermore, the developed gas diffusion electrodes are the platform for future applications in the field of power generation, energy storage, water purification/disinfection and electrosynthesis. Figure 1

Observed chlorine concentrations during Jack Rabbit I and Lyme Bay field experiments

Abstract As part of planning for a series of field experiments where large quantities (up to 20 tons) of pressurized liquefied chlorine will be released, observations from previous chlorine field experiments are analyzed to estimate the ranges of chlorine concentrations expected at various downwind distances. In five field experiment days during the summer 2010 Jack Rabbit I (JR I) field trials, up to two tons of chlorine were released and concentrations were observed at distances, x, from 25 to 500 m. In the 1927 Lyme Bay (LB) experiments, there were four days of trials, where 3–10 tons of chlorine were released in about 15 min from the back of a ship. Concentrations were sampled at LB from four ships sailing across the cloud path at downwind distances in the range from about 350 to 3000 m. Thus, the distances from which JR I concentrations were available slightly overlapped the LB distances. One-minute arc-maximum chlorine concentrations, C (g/m3), were analyzed from four JR I trials and two LB trials. Normalized concentrations (Cu/Q) were plotted versus x (m), where u (m/s) is measured wind speed at heights of 2–10 m and Q (g/s) is continuous mass release rate. It is found that the JR I and LB Cu/Q observations smoothly merge with each other and fall along a line with approximate slope of −2 at distances beyond about 200 m (i.e., Cu/Q is proportional to x−2). At x

Gleaning data from disaster: A hospital-based data mining method to study all-hazard triage after a chemical disaster

To describe the methods of evaluating currently available triage models for their efficacy in appropriately triaging the surge of patients after an all-hazards disaster. A method was developed for evaluating currently available triage models using extracted data from medical records of the victims from the Graniteville chlorine disaster. On January 6, 2005, a freight train carrying three tanker cars of liquid chlorine was inadvertently switched onto an industrial spur in central Graniteville, SC. The train then crashed into a parked locomotive and derailed. This caused one of the chlorine tankers to rupture and immediately release ~60 tons of chlorine. Chlorine gas infiltrated the town with a population of 7,000. This research focuses on the victims who received emergency care in South Carolina. With our data mapping and decision tree logic, the authors were successful in using the available extracted clinical data to estimate triage categories for use in our study. The methodology outlined in this article shows the potential use of well-designed secondary analysis methods to improve mass casualty research. The steps are reliable and repeatable and can easily be extended or applied to other disaster datasets.

A case study of chlorine transport and fate following a large accidental release

A train derailment that occurred in Graniteville, South Carolina during the early morning hours of 06 January, 2005 resulted in the prompt release of approximately 60 tons of chlorine to the environment. Comprehensive modeling of the transport and fate of this release was performed including the characterization of the initial three-phased chlorine release, a detailed determination of the local atmospheric conditions acting to generate, disperse, and deplete the chlorine vapor cloud, the establishment of physical exchange mechanisms between the airborne vapor and local surface waters, and local aquatic dilution and mixing.Previous studies of large chlorine releases have concluded that depletion of the resulting vapor cloud through physical and chemical reactions with sunlight, atmospheric constituents, and local surfaces can significantly reduce the areal extent over which the vapor poses a toxicological hazard. For Graniteville, modeling results were the most consistent with available data on human health effects, animal and fish mortality, and vegetation damage when an effective deposition velocity in the lower end of a range of values commonly cited in other studies (1 cm s−1) was applied. This relatively small deposition is attributed to a lack of sunlight, a limited uptake in vegetation due to rapid stomatal damage, and the limited presence of nearby man-made structures. Explicit simulations of chlorine deposition into adjacent surface waters were based on a modified Henry's Law approach and resulted in the transfer of an estimated 21 kg of chlorine into these waters.

Chlorine Truck Attack Consequences and Mitigation

We develop and apply an integrated modeling system to estimate fatalities from intentional release of 17 tons of chlorine from a tank truck in a generic urban area. A public response model specifies locations and actions of the populace. A chemical source term model predicts initial characteristics of the chlorine vapor and aerosol cloud. An atmospheric dispersion model predicts cloud spreading and movement. A building air exchange model simulates movement of chlorine from outdoors into buildings at each location. A dose-response model translates chlorine exposures into predicted fatalities. Important parameters outside defender control include wind speed, atmospheric stability class, amount of chlorine released, and dose-response model parameters. Without fast and effective defense response, with 2.5 m/sec wind and stability class F, we estimate approximately 4,000 (half within ∼10 minutes) to 30,000 fatalities (half within ∼20 minutes), depending on dose-response model. Although we assume 7% of the population was outdoors, they represent 60-90% of fatalities. Changing weather conditions result in approximately 50-90% lower total fatalities. Measures such as sheltering in place, evacuation, and use of security barriers and cryogenic storage can reduce fatalities, sometimes by 50% or more, depending on response speed and other factors.

Valero–McKee refinery propane release and fire

AbstractOn February 16, 2007 a massive propane release occurred at the Propane Deasphalting Unit (PDA) of the Valero–McKee Refinery near Sunray, Texas. The resulting vapor cloud ignited, burning four workers, destroying the PDA, and causing significant knock‐on damage to adjacent pipe racks and equipment.The US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) investigation determined that water trapped in a piping dead‐leg froze during cold weather, cracking a 10″ diameter liquid propane line, and causing the initial release when warmer weather returned. The CSB identified dead‐leg identification and management, freeze protection, emergency isolation capability, and structural steel fire protection as key issues contributing to the incident.Two near‐misses were associated with this incident; the release of over 2.5 tons of chlorine from containers adjacent to the PDA, and the inability of workers to access manual deluge valves protecting a nearby LPG storage sphere, which was impacted by the fire.The CSB made recommendations to Valero, the American Petroleum Institute, the McKee Refinery, and the United Steelworkers and their local. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog 2010

SHINTECH INVESTS IN LOUISIANA

SHINTECH, the U.S. polyvinyl chloride arm of Japan’s Shin-Etsu, will spend $1.1 billion to build plants for the PVC raw materials vinyl chloride and chlorine at a site in Plaquemine, La. The company says it has already begun construction of a complex that will have annual capacity of about 800,000 metric tons of vinyl chloride, 485,000 metric tons of chlorine, and 530,000 metric tons of chlorine coproduct caustic soda. The company expects to complete the project by the end of 2011. In recent years, companies have shied away from making capital investments in basic chemicals in the U.S., but Shintech has been an exception. Later this year, the company expects to complete another $1 billion round of investments in Plaquemine that will add chlor-alkali and vinyl chloride facilities and a 600,000-metric-ton-per-year PVC plant. With the two projects, Shintech will have more than enough vinyl chloride capacity to supply its PVC plants in Louisiana. ...

Review and Assessment of Chlorine Mammalian Lethality Data and the Development of a Human Estimate

Abstract : New human estimates for chlorine inhalation lethality as a function of exposure duration were derived via a review and statistical analysis of existing mammalian lethality data. Such estimates are needed to support risk assessments and casualty predictions involving airborne releases of chlorine. At present, casualty predictions for such releases are at odds with what has been observed historically; the predicted downwind hazard area has often been much larger than what was actually observed. Either the present estimates for median lethal dosages (LCT50) are too low, the currently popular atmospheric transport and dispersion (ATD) models cannot adequately model chlorine releases, or both.LCT50 and quantal response data were analyzed for eight species (mouse, rat, guinea pig, rabbit, cat, dog, goat and sheep), for exposure durations from 8 to 235 minutes. The base 10 probit slope (concentration) was estimated via the weighted average of experimentally measured slopes in mammalian lethality studies. Resulting human lethality (military) estimates as a function of exposure duration were expressed via the toxic load model. General population estimates were derived from the military estimates using the mathematical method of Crosier (2007). Previous human estimates were reviewed and compared to the new general population estimate. The impact of the new estimate was evaluated through a series of transport and dispersion modeling runs for the catastrophic accidental release of 50 tons of chlorine from a tanker car. The sensitivity of downwind hazard distances was also investigated as a function of median lethal toxic load (TL), toxic load exponent and probit slope values.

Comparison of six widely‐used dense gas dispersion models for three recent chlorine railcar accidents

AbstractSix widely‐used dense gas dispersion models (ALOHA, HGSYSTEM, SLAB, SCIPUFF, PHAST, and TRACE) were used to calculated downwind chlorine gas concentrations following three railcar accidents. The accidents, where as much as 60 tons of chlorine were released, were located at Festus, MO (release from a ruptured 1‐in. line while offloading), and Macdona, TX, and Graniteville, SC (release from a large hole due to an accident). Public sources such as National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports were used to develop input data. Source emissions rates were refined based on source modeling with PHAST and TRACE and derivations using fundamental thermodynamic equations. No chlorine removal mechanisms, such as photolysis, chemical reactions, or deposition were accounted for. Given the same source emissions rates, the models' simulations of 10‐min averaged cloud centerline concentration, at downwind distances ranging from 0.1 to 10 km, agree with each other within plus and minus a factor of two most of the time. For a very large release (Graniteville), the 2,000, 400, and 20 ppm contours are predicted to extend downwind about 1.3, 3.1, and 14 km, respectively, from the source. There is also agreement among the models simulations of the plume widths and heights to the 2,000, 400, and 20 ppm contours. A major conclusion of the study is that estimation of the source or release term is important for reliable results, since the calculated chlorine concentrations are approximately proportional to the mass release rate. It must also be stressed that observed concentrations would be expected to be less than those calculated here, because removal by dry deposition at the surface and by chemical reactions in the plume have not been accounted for. © 2008 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2008

Rapid Assessment of Exposure to Chlorine Released from a Train Derailment and Resulting Health Impact

After a train derailment released approximately 60 tons of chlorine from a ruptured tanker car, a multiagency team performed a rapid assessment of the health impact to determine morbidity caused by the chlorine and evaluate the effect of this mass-casualty event on health-care facilities. A case was defined as death or illness related to chlorine exposure. Investigators gathered information on exposure, treatment received, and outcome through patient questionnaires and medical record review. An exposure severity rating was assigned to each patient based on description of exposure, distance from derailment, and duration of exposure. A case involving death or hospitalization > or = 3 nights was classified as a severe medical outcome. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with severe medical outcomes. Nine people died, 72 were hospitalized in nine hospitals, and 525 were examined as outpatients. Fifty-one people (8%) had a severe medical outcome. Of 263 emergency department visits within 24 hours of the incident, 146 (56%) were in Augusta, Georgia; at least 95 patients arrived at facilities in privately owned vehicles. Patients with moderate-to-extreme exposure were more likely to experience a severe medical outcome (relative risk: 15.2; 95% confidence interval 4.8, 47.8) than those with a lower rating. The rapid investigation revealed significant morbidity and mortality associated with an accidental release of chlorine gas. Key findings that should be addressed during facility, community, state, and regional mass-casualty planning include self-transport of symptomatic people for medical care and impact on health-care facilities over a wide geographic area.

Stratospheric Chlorine: Blaming It on Nature

Much of the bitter public debate over ozone depletion has centered on the claim that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) pale into insignificance alongside natural sources of chlorine in the stratosphere. If so, goes the argument, chlorine could not be depleting ozone as atmospheric scientists claim, because the natural sources have been around since time immemorial, and the ozone layer is still there. The claim, put forward in a book by Rogelio Maduro and Ralf Schauerhammer, has since been touted by former Atomic Energy Commissioner Dixy Lee Ray and talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, and it forms the basis of much of the backlash now being felt by atmospheric scientists. The argument is simple: Maduro and Schauerhammer calculate that 600 million tons of chlorine enters the atmosphere annually from seawater, 36 million tons from volcanoes, 8.4 million tons from biomass burning, and 5 million tons from ocean biota. In contrast, CFCs account for a mere 750,000 tons of atmospheric chlorine a year. Besides disputing the numbers, scientists have both theoretical and observational bases for doubting that much of this chlorine is getting into the stratosphere, where it could affect the ozone layer. Linwood Callis of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Langley Researchmore » Center points out one crucial problem with the argument: Chlorine from natural sources is soluble, and so it gets rained out of the lower atmosphere. CFCs, in contrast, are insoluble and inert and thus make it to the stratosphere to release their chlorine. What's more, observations of stratospheric chemistry don't support the idea that natural sources are contributing much to the chlorine there.« less

El Chichon: Stratospheric chlorine

Two atmospheric scientists have discovered that about 40,000 metric tons of chlorine were injected into the stratosphere during the eruption of the El Chichón volcano in Mexico in March and April 1982. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), never before had chlorine in the stratosphere been conclusively traced to volcanic sources.The NCAR scientists who made the discovery, William G. Mankin and M.T. Coffey, said the principle source of stratospheric chlorine was previously believed to be manmade fluorocarbons from activities at the Earth's surface. The presence of natural sources of stratospheric chlorine may change the overall view of the chemistry of the ozone layer.

Monitoring a Chlorine Spill from a Train Derailment

As a result of a train derailment at Mississauga, Ontario, during November 1979, 90 tons of chlorine, 225 tons of styrene, 67 tons of toluol, 742 tons of propane, 366 tons of caustic soda, and 135 tons of toluene were spilled. Citizens in the immediate vicinity of the derailment were evacuated, and a program to measure the concentrations of chlorine and other compounds in the air was initiated. The operation of two mobile mass spectrometer systems to perform the air monitoring tasks is discussed. Both systems were in nearly constant operation for eight days. (4 graphs, 1 map, 3 references, 1 table)

Identification of Organic Halogen Products

Approximately two million tons of chlorine are used annually in this country for processing pulp and paper materials and for treating potable waters, cooling waters, waste waters, and other waters of environmental concern (White 1976). Organic halogen products are formed in these processes (Bellar et al. 1974; Brownlee and Strachan 1976; Glaze et al. 1973; Glaze and Henderson 1975; Glaze et al. 1976; Jolley 1973, 1975, 1976; Jolley et al. 1976; Keith 1976; Rogers and Keith 1976; Stevens et al. 1976). Thus there is considerable potential for adverse environmental effects to occur

Effects of stable chlorine-containing organics on aquatic environments.

DURING 1962, approximately 60,000 tons of chlorine were added to the effluents of sewage treatment plants in the United States1 and subsequently released to surface waters. By 1970, it was estimated that 100,000 tons of chlorine were added annually, and the quantity will continue to increase as municipalities are required2 to provide at least secondary treatment for sewage by July 1, 1977 (ref. 3). Principal reactions of chlorine in natural waters, besides hydrolysis, are with ammonia and organic amines4,5. Reactive chlorine residuals, for example, hypochlorites, inorganic and organic chloramines, are characterised by reactive chlorine which would decompose or be consumed in various chemical reactions5. Jolley3 has identified seventeen stable chlorine-containing organic compounds at low μg 1−1 concentrations in chlorine-treated sewage effluent. The persistent nature of these compounds, which are characterised by chemically stable or inert C–Cl bonds, suggests potential for their accumulation in receiving surface waters6,7.

Inspecting and Testing Stationary Chlorine Storage Facilities

thickness of 47/64 in. It has a circular steel housing which contains two liquid chlorine withdrawal valves located on the longitudinal axis and two gas withdrawal valves on the transverse axis, with a safety valve in the center of the housing. Approximately 300 tons of chlorine passed through the tank in almost 3 years without any major operational difficulties. In preparing for the first inspection and test, a tank car of chlorine was spotted on the siding parallel to the stationary tank. When the tank was empty, the tank car was put on the line to feed the chlorinators while the

Another million tons of chlorine . . .

another million tons of chlorine . . .