As facilities prepare for fall maintenance, shutdowns, and turnarounds, crews may be working around equipment and processes that have contained hazardous chemicals. Opening tanks, vessels, piping, and other equipment can release residual chemicals into the air—even after a process has been shut down.
For maintenance teams and contractors, knowing what chemicals may be present is only part of the equation. Having a simple way to monitor for potential exposure can add another layer of protection.
Why Chemical Detection Matters During Turnarounds
Maintenance activities can disturb chemicals that are normally contained within closed systems. Cleaning, draining, breaking connections, entering confined spaces, and performing repairs can all change the conditions workers encounter.
OSHA’s Process Safety Management standard specifically addresses safe work practices for activities such as opening process equipment and piping, confined-space entry, and turnaround work at covered facilities.
Workers also cannot always rely on their senses to identify a hazardous atmosphere. Some chemicals may be difficult to detect by smell, while others can cause serious health effects before workers recognize a problem.
Badges Provide Personal Exposure Awareness
Personal chemical detection badges can provide workers with a simple, visual indication when exposure to a specific chemical reaches the badge’s detection threshold.
Unlike fixed monitors, wearable badges travel with the worker. This can be especially useful when employees move between work areas or when exposure conditions may vary throughout a turnaround.
Morphix Technologies offers SafeAir® and ChromAir® chemical detection badges for a range of workplace hazards. SafeAir badges are available for chemicals including diisocyanates, phosgene, PFIB, and more. ChromAir badges provide visual, quantifiable detection for various toxic gases, such as formaldehyde, carbon monoxide, and ammonia.
Before selecting a badge, facilities should understand the chemicals involved and their potential exposure limits. The NIOSH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards provides information on hundreds of workplace chemicals, including recommended exposure limits, OSHA permissible exposure limits, IDLH values, physical and chemical properties, symptoms, and measurement methods. NIOSH identifies the Pocket Guide as a resource to help workers and employers recognize and control workplace chemical hazards.
Add Detection to Your Turnaround Checklist
Before maintenance begins, consider:
- What chemicals were previously present in the equipment?
- Where could residual chemicals remain?
- Which workers or contractors could encounter them?
- Are appropriate detection methods available?
- Are badges within their shelf life and properly stored?
- Do workers understand what a badge’s color change means and what action to take?
Chemical detection badges should be used as one component of a comprehensive safety program, alongside appropriate engineering controls, work practices, atmospheric monitoring, and personal protective equipment.
Turnarounds are already complex. Chemical exposure shouldn’t be an unexpected part of the job.
By identifying potential chemical hazards and equipping workers with appropriate detection tools before maintenance begins, facilities can improve awareness of changing conditions and help workers recognize potential exposures sooner.
Planning a Shutdown or Turnaround? Let Us Know.
For current Morphix customers, advance notice of upcoming shutdowns, turnarounds, and other projects with increased badge requirements can help us plan accordingly.
If you anticipate a larger-than-usual order, let Morphix—or any pertinent vendors—know as early as possible. Advance notice allows us to adjust inventory levels and production planning as needed, helping ensure the badges you need are available when your maintenance work begins.
Before your next fall turnaround, make chemical detection part of the plan.
Explore Morphix Technologies’ chemical detection badges to find a detection solution for your application.
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