Lesson 4 - Health and Safety
In this lesson we will discuss key health and safety issues within breweries. It will enable you to understand the primary legislation and how it impacts on management standards, along with occupational hazards and risks.
Key Risks – Chemicals
Managing chemicals safely on-site is essentially no different to managing any other risks – the same four steps of risk assessment should be carried out.
Fortunately, the key stage of hazard identification is largely done by the suppliers of the chemicals. All suppliers of ingredients and chemicals have an obligation to provide a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for each product. This document contains detailed information on potentially hazardous substances (e.g. toxicity and combustibility) along with guidance on how to handle them safely. There is a global standard to which an MSDS must comply, the ISO 11014:2009: “Consistency in providing information on safety, health and environmental matters for chemical products.”
You will remember WELs from our discussion of the hazards posed by atmospheric dust. WELs also apply to exposure to gas or chemical vapour. In Europe WELs are listed in the Indicative Occupational Exposure Limit Values (IOELV) Directive, which the U.S. refers to as PELs or Permissible Exposure Limits.
The WEL value is expressed as a time-weighted average (TWA), and there are two variations, the Long Term Exposure Limit (LTEL) which is the maximum exposure permitted over an 8-hour period and the Short Term Exposure Limit (STEL) which is the maximum exposure permitted over a 15-minute reference period. The LTEL is designed to protect the workforce from concentrations of contaminant, which over a large period of time could cause long term chronic ill health effects. The MSDS will also include details on the WELs.
There are many potentially hazardous substances used in a brewery, particularly in cleaning (CIP – cleaning in place), water treatment, effluent treatment and the laboratories. Some of the most common examples include acids (hydrochloric, nitric and phosphoric), caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), bleach, chlorine gas, and chlorine dioxide.
Once the hazards associated with any chemical are understood, then adequate controls need to be put in place to use them safely. Again, the MSDS will assist in this regard and will provide some indication of what PPE (e.g. rubber gloves) needs to be worn when handling specific chemicals.
Consideration also needs to be given to how a chemical can change and potentially become more hazardous. For example, if some liquids like ethanol are heated above their flashpoints, they may become explosive.
Flashpoint is the temperature at which a particular organic compound gives off sufficient vapour to ignite in air.
Chemicals may also react with other chemicals, sometimes producing large amounts of heat, or even releasing harmful gases. Not surprisingly, the storage of chemicals is important. Precautions such as the use of bund areas around bulk tanks, are required to prevent inadvertent mixing of incompatible substances and also contain leaks. Another example of dangerous chemical reactions in a brewery is the reaction of caustic soda with aluminium metal which will release hydrogen gas. As this gas is highly flammable, it is important not to use any aluminium parts in the brewhouse if caustic will be used for cleaning.
Finally, as mentioned in the section on risk assessment, monitoring is required to ensure the effectiveness of the implemented controls. A specific example of this is the requirement (often legal) for routine health screening for those working with certain chemicals.
Most countries will have detailed regulations on the handling of chemicals. In the UK, these regulations are called COSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. More details about the safe handling of chemicals and the local regulations in other countries can be found on the ILO website: