Level of Concern Glosary

The proposed presentation is intended to help those coleagues who, although working in Safety, do not perform PHA (Process Hazard Anlysis) often.

Those dealing with Safety matters do not only face the challenge of

providing realistic, efficient, and economically acceptable solutions to reduce the risk involved in each task, but to thoroughly understand de meaning of various acronyms whose misunderstanding could very likely  add a risk when providing recomendations to improve safety. 

The burden brought by the different acronyms to PHA team members, is kind of awkward since they exist not only in their own local language but in English too, since most standards are in that language and is necessary to refer to them, as the Argentine legislation is prone to include them sooner o later, as it might be understood from a close look at it. Even if those standars have not been included so far, it will be wise to follow them as a good practice in order to demonstrate the company’s concern on doing a job properly.

Having said so, addressing properly the levels of concern related to toxic substances, when managed either as by products or as row materials,  in case an unwilling venting  occurs, appears as mandatory in order to protect own workers and neigbourgh comunities the right way.

Therefore, acronyms such as CMP, CMP-CPT, CMP-C (in Spanish) as they correlate with the TLV’s values (Threshosl Limit Value); AEGL (Acute Exposure Guideline Level); ERPC (Emergency Response Planning Guideline); IDLH (Immediate Dangerous to Life  or Health); REL (Recommended Exposure Limits); PEL (Permissible Exposure Limits); TEEL (Temporary Emergency Exposure Limits); LC₅₀ (Lethal Concentration 50); LD₅₀ (Lethal Dose 50); LDLO (Lethal Dose Low) will appear quite often when dealing with consequence analysis, as E.P.A. standards recommend, but are not rememebered precisely by those doing the job, unless they perform it  frequently. Furthermore, they should be able to recall the meaning of different levels, as ERPG 1, 2 & 3; AEGL 1,2 & 3; or TEEL 1, 2, & 3. making it difficult to have them in mind all the time in the quite long time between one PHA and the next one.

The presentation, actually, tends to provide, in a single document easy to get back to, the meaning of those acronyms, ordered alphabetically, for an easy reading when needed, saving the time of getting them through various manuals, books or papers, avoiding some time wasted when discussing the right interpretation, along with a few graphics when feasible for better understanding.