Hazardous materials database

Handling and disposal of a retired object can be a major component of its Life Cycle Cost. Often, during dismantling of a retired object many hazardous materials are released. Disposal of hazardous materials also need to comply with various federal regulations. Agencies like Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set these safety regulations. It is possible to apply generic exposure and release controls to protect workers from hazardous materials. For the most cost effective hazard controls it is necessary first to identify the materials and their properties of primary concern. There is a need to have an integrated database for properties of Hazardous Materials.;This project developed a database for properties of hazardous materials. The database was implemented in Microsoft Access. Thirty-four chemicals and their categories were identified. These chemicals are encountered during dismantling of a retired object. The database currently contains 60 main fields, which also contain subfields. Information such as its physical properties, chemical properties, health hazards, releases from demolition or various other industrial processes and references to safety, health and environmental regulations can be obtained from this database. A decision support system was developed as a front end to Access. The decision support system was implemented in Visual Basic.;In the future, this database can be expanded to include non-hazardous materials. The database capabilities were demonstrated on the hazardous materials occurring in the ship dismantling industry. It is expected that the database will save significant time and cost in data retrieval. Information retrieval from the database is through an intuitive graphical interface, and suitable for use by a non-computer person.