Developed and maintained by the NFCC Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 9 Section 1: Science ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Basic chemistry ................................................................................................................................... 11 Organic substances ............................................................................................................................ 18 Aliphatic hydrocarbons ............................................................................................................ 19 Aromatic hydrocarbons ........................................................................................................... 20 Alcohols ................................................................................................................................................ 20 Polymers ............................................................................................................................................... 21 Monomers ............................................................................................................................................ 21 Physical properties of matter ........................................................................................................... 22 Heat and temperature ....................................................................................................................... 24 Flammable limit range ...................................................................................................................... 28 Density .................................................................................................................................................. 29 Solubility and miscibility ................................................................................................................... 32 Energy, work and power .................................................................................................................... 33 Motion .................................................................................................................................................. 34 Chemical properties ........................................................................................................................... 36 Chemical reactivity .................................................................................................................... 43 Toxic products of combustion .......................................................................................................... 47 Heat, temperature and combustion ................................................................................................ 52 Measuring temperature .......................................................................................................... 52 Thermometric scales ................................................................................................................ 53 Units of heat ............................................................................................................................... 54 Specific heat ................................................................................................................................ 54 Change of state and latent heat ............................................................................................ 55 Effect of change of pressure on boiling point and latent heat ..................................... 55 Latent heat of fusion ................................................................................................................ 56 Cooling by evaporation ........................................................................................................... 56 Thermal expansion of solids .................................................................................................. 56 Thermal expansion of liquids (cubical expansion) ........................................................... 57 The effect of expansion on density ...................................................................................... 57 The expansion of gases ........................................................................................................... 58 The gas laws ........................................................................................................................................ 58 The liquefaction of gases ........................................................................................................ 59 Critical temperature and pressure ....................................................................................... 59 This content is only valid at the time of download - 5-10-2021 09:23 2 of 455 Liquefied gases in cylinders ................................................................................................... 60 Sublimation ................................................................................................................................. 60 Heat transmission .............................................................................................................................. 61 Combustion ......................................................................................................................................... 61 Oxidation ..................................................................................................................................... 62 What makes a flame a flame? ................................................................................................ 63 Laminar flow and turbulent flow .......................................................................................... 63 Premixed and diffusion flames ............................................................................................. 64 Flashpoint, firepoint and sustained fires ............................................................................ 66 Vapour cloud fires (flash fires and fireballs) ...................................................................... 66 Vapour cloud explosions ......................................................................................................... 67 Ignition ......................................................................................................................................... 67 Section 2: General hazards .................................................................................................................... 69 Legislation ............................................................................................................................................ 69 Pre-planning ........................................................................................................................................ 71 Gathering and use of risk information ........................................................................................... 72 Information sources ........................................................................................................................... 73 Scientific advisers ...................................................................................................................... 74 Chemsafe .................................................................................................................................... 74 Generic information resources ............................................................................................. 76 Site emergency plans ............................................................................................................... 78 Risk assessments ...................................................................................................................... 78 Incident Observations .............................................................................................................. 79 Information available at the incident scene .................................................................................. 80 Product specialists .................................................................................................................... 82 Safety data sheets (SDS) .......................................................................................................... 82 Interpreting safety data sheets ............................................................................................. 83 Physical and chemical properties and reactivity .............................................................. 86 Detection, identification and monitoring (DIM) equipment .......................................... 86 Electronic information sources ........................................................................................................ 87 Printed information sources ............................................................................................................. 90 Product-specific aid schemes ........................................................................................................... 91 Acrylonitrile / medical .............................................................................................................. 92 Bromaid ......................................................................................................................................