Chemicals

You may not have heard of toluene, but you’ve almost certainly encountered household products that contain this potentially harmful chemical. Toluene & Its Chemical Uses Toluene is a colorless, water-insoluble liquid with a sweet, pungent odor. This chemical (previously known as toluol) can be produced industrially or in a laboratory, and it also appears in […]

What Exactly is Hydrochloric Acid & Where is it Found? Hydrochloric acid hazards are serious. However, you may be surprised to learn that hydrochloric acid is commonly used in many types of industrial processes. Approximately 20 million tons of hydrochloric acid are produced globally each year, and you can even find it in your own […]

Here are 5 stories, with 5 lessons, that illustrate why chemicals in the workplace, no matter the size of the company or the number of employees, are serious business. As demonstrated below, how chemicals are used, stored, labeled, and disposed of, and how employees are trained on chemical hazards, affects workers, customers, and in some […]

Methanol is a natural by-product of wood alcohol, natural gas and coal. It has also recently garnered attention for being used in biofuel. But don’t let the “green” of this chemical fool you. Methanol is very dangerous and can cause death when mishandled. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how to handle methanol in a […]

Where and How Sulfuric Acid Can Be Found Sulfuric acid is one of the most hazardous and common chemicals you may encounter. It’s actually an international commodity chemical produced in large quantities all around the world. While sulfuric acid has primarily industrial uses, it’s also found in common household products such as drain cleaner and […]

Used many years ago in soaps, sodium hydroxide – also known as lye – is still a widely used chemical today. Its uses range from food processing to petroleum refining, but it can be a very dangerous chemical. Here we’ll examine its usual uses, and the specific properties that make sodium hydroxide a threat to […]

We have all heard of ethanol, somehow, somewhere. But what is it, exactly? How is it used? And most importantly – how can ethanol be dangerous in the workplace and beyond? (Photo: Corn and Cornier by Seth Anderson) In this information post from the experts at VelocityEHS, we’ll take a look at what ethanol is, […]

Today sustainability is not just a buzzword. Captains of commerce, like Wal-Mart, Target, Virgin, and Apple are championing the drive to improve the chemical footprints of entire supply chains. In the past, the word “sustainability” conjured images of extreme environmentalism at the cost of all else; today it encompasses a wide-angled view of the relationships […]

This second post in a series on the NAEM Report, “Planning for a Sustainable Future,” focuses on the growing challenge of enforcing supply chain compliance in a tangled and constantly fluctuating regulatory environment. Supply chain compliance is an ever-evolving global issue. Unless all materials right down to chemical makeup or raw minerals are sourced locally, […]

Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach) Safety Information It whitens your whites, cleans your floors and acts as a great sanitizer. But bleach, (also known as its chemical name, sodium hypochlorite) can be quite hazardous when not handled properly. What Is Bleach AKA Sodium Hypochlorite? Sodium hypochlorite is a green/yellow liquid that smells like chlorine. It is a […]