Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Chemicals - Safety measures'

Thesis (MBA.) --University of Limpopo, 2008
Chemicals are found to be enormously dangerous on the health and safety criteria. In academic laboratories, chemical safety has always been a major concern. Safety risks are either not perceived at all, or perceived to be less dangerous than what they actually are. The climate of safety in any organization consists of employees’ attitudes towards, and perceptions of safety behaviour. In academic departments, safety is influenced by factors such as the organisational environment, management attitude and commitment, the nature of the job or task, and the personal attributes of the individual. This study is concerned with safety climate and chemical management practices in academic departments. More specifically, it investigates the safety perceptions, attitudes, and chemical management behaviours of university employees. It represents the empirical results of a questionnaire survey administered in a university department and direct observations of safe and unsafe chemical management behaviours, targeting employees who work with chemicals. Based upon the survey analysis results, this study demonstrates that employees in the academic departments under study have a good degree of risk awareness and a relatively high degree of safety consciousness. The results also reveal employees’ intentional unsafe chemical management behaviours. Further, it was found, empirically, that overall employees’ intentional unsafe behaviours seem to be best explained by employees’ perceptions of management attitude and commitment to safety, social and physical work environment, priority for safety, as well as their perception of the risk they are generally exposed to in their work environment. The study, thus, establishes that perceptions of management attitudes and actions have a direct effect on employees’ behaviour. There is a positive correlation between workers’ safety climate and chemical management safe behaviour in academic departments.

The Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995, Regulation,Compliance Standards and Advisory Standards provide a framework for improving levels of workplace health and safety. The Act outlines particular health and safety obligations placed on all members of the workforce. In 1995, the Workplace Health and Safety (Hazardous Substances) Compliance Standard was released. This compliance standard was based on National Model Regulations for Hazardous Substances. This legally binding compliance standard has prompted the Department of Education, Queensland to begin appraising its position in light of new regulations. The aim of this study was to examine the most appropriate method for achieving compliance with Hazardous Substances legislation in the Educational Environment. The population of the study was drawn from the Department of Education, Queensland which is diverse in both educational environment and geographical location. The study consisted of the distribution and analysis of a survey to two sample populations of school Principals (n=90) and regional Occupational Health and Safety Advisers (n=11) of which 77 and 11 surveys were completed and returned respectively. The results highlighted the fact that although 87% of school Principals sampled were aware of Hazardous Substances Legislation only 62% had altered their practices in order to comply with the law. Major barriers were identified to achieving compliance including insufficient resources, insufficient time and the complexity of the legislation. The literature highlighted the nature of hazardous substances in the educational setting as opposed to that in heavy industry. The differences emphasising the probable time, resources and interpretation of law when numerous substances in small controlled amounts are in use as opposed to large volumes of a few substances. Principals and Regional Occupational Health and Safety Advisers identified methods of assistance that would be of most benefit to educational facilities. They were eager to receive assistance that would minimise time and resource expenditure such as generic assessments of risk, a state wide systems approach in the form of a support document and access to training. Access to disposal assistance and advice was another form of assistance sought . Although disposal is not specifically addressed in the Workplace Health and Safety (Hazardous Substances) Compliance Standard, 1995, the ultimate outcome of compliance requires the disposal of excess quantities of substances not in current use.It was concluded that although the hazardous substances legislation is mandatory, many schools in Queensland are currently unable to comply without a statewide strategy of assistance. The use of the theory of Participative Management in the collection of information was useful in obtaining relevant and meaningful data. Recommendations drawn from this study based on the requirements for legislative compliance and the requirements of educational locations within the Department of Education (Queensland) were as follows: • Development of a support document providing a clear process for the management of hazardous substances in schools. • Provision of a coordinated, statewide approach to purchasing and disposal of hazardous substances. • Development of generic strategies through the shared use of knowledge and expertise available. • Development of policy reflecting the response of the Department of Education to the requirements of school locations. The effectiveness of the implementation of these recommendations and the benefits of participative management in the development of policy may provide topics for further research within this area.

This is a qualitative study that seeks to explore the workers’ perceptions towards the occupational safety and health administration (OSHA) system at the petrochemical industrial plant Sasol Infrachem in Sasolburg. It provides a platform for shop floor workers to express their subjective perceptions of the company’s OSHA measures by answering open ended questions. The study advances the notion that notwithstanding the safety managers’ efforts towards ensuring a safety regime in the workplace, however lucrative these might be, to really ensure a safe working environment in the workplace will always depend on the individual workers’ motivation to participate safely at work at any given time to ensure his/her safety and that of others. The study explores this subject by considering how they perceive these safety strategies, their vigilance, attitudes, their ownership of these and their inclination to comply with the occupational safety and health administration measures of Sasol. This study follows a Postmodernist theoretical framework emphasizing differences. Difference is a first and foremost identity feature of human beings. This goes for both their external and internal qualities. How workers perceive and relate to safety concepts will always be shaped by the differences among them. The study also makes use of the Environmental Justice Theory as a central theme, that holds that one life lost is one too many. At the forefront of industries are shop floor workers who are most vulnerable to workplace incident.The study assumes this premise with regard to their safety and health in the workplace

Thesis (MTech (Nursing))--Cape Technikon, 2003.
The developed countries of the world utilise 80% of the agricultural chemicals that are used in the agricultural sector. A total of 99% of all agricultural chemical poisoning occurs in developing countries. South Africa is classified as a developing country. During the five-year period from 1996 - 2000, 36.2% (50 cases) of the average number of cases of agricultural chemical poisoning that were reported in South Africa were in the Western Cape. Three out of four (75%) deaths as a result of agricultural chemicals during the same period were in the Western Cape. The agricultural activities that are undertaken in the Western Cape are labour intensive and various agricultural chemicals are applied continuously to meet the quality requirements of the export market. The purposes of this study were: i) to determine which factors contributed to the reported cases of agricultural chemical poisoning in the Winelands, Overberg and Breede River District Councils during the five-year period from 1January 1996 until31 December 2000, ii) to determine what procedure was followed to report these cases of poisoning, iii) to determine whether a biological monitoring programme was in place at the time of the reported poisonings, and iv) to group and to analyse the recommendations that were made during the investigation. The research methodology included a literature study to establish a theoretical framework. A descriptive retrospective quantitative research design was applied.

Exposure to air contaminants is significantly associated with both short-term and long-term health effects. However, the precise mechanisms that derive such effects are not always understood. While an extensive background database from in vivo toxicological studies have been developed, most toxicity data is from oral and dermal chemical exposures rather than inhalation exposure. There is a need to explore new alternative approaches to provide toxicity information particularly on this technically demanding area. This research explores the potential of in vitro methods for toxicity assessment of workplace air contaminants. A tiered approach for in vitro toxicity testing of workplace contaminants was designed in which appropriate air sampling and exposure techniques were developed. A diversified battery of in vitro assays including the MTS (tetrazolium salt, Promega), NRU (neutral red uptake, Sigma) and ATP (adenosine triphosphate, Promega) and a multiple human cell system including: A549- lung derived cells; HepG2-liver derived cells, and skin fibroblasts were used. Primarily the application and merits of in vitro methods for prediction of toxicity of selected workplace contaminants including Ammonium hydroxide, Cadmium chloride, Cobalt chloride, Formaldehyde, Glutaraldehyde, Manganese chloride, Mercuric chloride, Sodium dichromate, Sulphureous acid and Zinc chloride was confirmed. To study the toxicity of airborne contaminants an indirect exposure method was established using air sampling techniques followed by static and dynamic direct exposure methods by culturing cells on porous membranes to reveal representative data relating to human airborne exposures. The static method enabled the measurement of an airborne IC50 (50% inhibitory concentration) value for selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including: Xylene (IC50 = 5,350-8,200 ppm) and Toluene (IC50 = 10,500- 16,600 ppm) after 1 hr exposure. By implementing the dynamic method, airborne IC50 values were calculated for gaseous contaminants including: NO2 (IC50 = 11 ?? 3.54 ppm; NRU), SO2 (IC50 = 48 ?? 2.83 ppm; ATP) and NH3 (IC50 = 199 ?? 1.41 ppm; MTS). A higher sensitivity of in vitro methods was observed compared to in vivo published data. A range of in vitro bioassays in conjunction with exposure techniques developed in this thesis may provide an advanced technology for a comprehensive risk assessment of workplace air contaminants.

This work seeks to develop new solvents for environmentally benign chemical synthesis. Switchable solvents are a new class of compounds that change properties upon the application of some stimulus such as heat, UV light, or pH. We have developed the use of a new solvent, thiirane oxide, that has chemical properties similar to DMSO. Thiirane oxide, however, undergoes facile decomposition to two gases at temperatures above 100 C, which is much lower than the temperature required for removing DMSO. Thus we have a solvent with excellent solvation properties, but with a built-in switch for easier removal. However, thiirane oxide leaves behind sulfurous products which make the reverse reaction to reform the solvent unfeasible. We are also developing the use of another solvent, piperylene sulfone, which is expected to have good solvent properties, yet with decomposition products that can be reacted to reform the solvent. This thesis also details the work to date on piperylene sulfone. Gas-expanded liquids (GXLs) also show promise as a new reaction medium. In order to design solvent systems that take full advantage of this medium, we desire to understand the microstructure of these fluids. To that end, we are using cage reactions to probe solute-solvent and solvent-solvent interactions at the molecular level. This thesis discusses the current research on using cage reactions to probe the structure of GXLs.

Le travail de recherche présenté dans ce manuscrit fait partie intégrante d’un projet de recherche collaborative financé par l’Union-Européenne (Il s’agit d’un projet H2020 de type « Marie-Curie Action »), dénommé HUGS (pour « HUmins as Green and Sustainable precursors for eco-friendly building-blocks and materials »). Ce projet de recherche implique 5 partenaires (INERIS/UTC, France, Avantium, Pays-Bas, Université de Sophia Antipolis/CNRS, France, l’université de Cordoue, Espagne et le LIKAT de l’université de Rostock en Allemagne). La recherche menée dans ce projet est essentiellement structurée via la mise en place de 5 programmes sous-jacents de doctorat (intitulé « Doctorat industriel européen » dans l’appel d’offre H2020 (H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015) auquel a répondu le consortium de recherche), mis en place lors du lancement du projet « HUGS » en 2016. L’objectif premier du projet HUGS concerne l’étude de divers chemins de valorisation à haute valeur ajoutée des humines. Ces résidus de biomasse, à l’instar des lignines se présentent comme des sources de carbone renouvelable à faible coût, en émergence dans nombre de bioraffineries modernes. Les humines sont des résidus complexes résultant du procédé de déshydratation par catalyse acide des polysaccharides (sucres en C5 et C6) contenus dans la biomasse lignocellulosique, ayant des cycles furaniques dans sa structure polymère. Le travail présenté ici est centré essentiellement sur les questionnements de sécurité soulevés par la phase de développement du projet. De manière plus ciblée, des actions prioritaires ont été définies, à savoir l’obtention d’un premier profilage des risques à caractère physicochimique des humines, ainsi qu’une première évaluation des risques des composés furaniques, lesquels constituent une famille de composés potentiellement très grande et représentent une voie encourageante vers le développement de nouveaux synthons au service d’une économie biosourcée. Les humines étant des résidus fatals, leur réutilisation sure et durable constitue aussi une étape stratégique dans le contexte de l’économie circulaire. De manière opérationnelle, le travail a compris les principaux axes de recherche suivants : • Revue bibliographique continue tout au long du travail de thèse concernant les humines, les composés furaniques et les matériaux associés (polymères) en termes de données relatives à la sécurité et ayant conduit aux principales informations suivantes: o Rareté /absence d’études sur les dangers physiques des humines et nombres de composés furaniques, car ces produits sont souvent au premier stade de leur développement o Malgré une la disponibilité très limitée de données pertinentes sur la sécurité, le constat est fait que les aspects de toxicité (par ingestion) sont le plus souvent le point focal des études, au détriment de l’examen des dangers physiques.o Seuls quelques composés furaniques (ethers, esters) ont spécifiquement fait l’objet de l’étude de certaines caractérisations en lien avec la sécurité (par exemple en termes de stabilité thermique), dans le cas d’application comme composants biosourcés de carburants innovants o De nombreuses variables influent sur les caractéristiques des humines et notamment leur méthode de production : ce qui signifie que les résultats obtenus sur les humines dans le cadre de ce projet (une seule source d’approvisionnement) mériteraient des travaux de consolidation dans le futur • Développements analytiques intégrant un premier examen de la distribution des points d’éclair en fonction des chaleurs de combustion des composés furaniques et une analyse des chaleurs de combustion de ces mêmes composés furaniques
The present research work was integrated as part of the EU-funded project named HUGS (HUmins as Green and Sustainable precursors for eco-friendly building blocks and materials), involving 5 main partners (Institut national de l'environnement industriel et des risques - France, Avantium - the Netherlands, Institut de Chimie de Nice - France, Universidad De Cordoba- Spain and Leibniz - Institut Fur Katalyse Ev An Der Universitat Rostock- Germany). The project is essentially supported through five European Industrial Doctorate fellowships put in place when the HUGS-MSCA-ITN-2015 program was launched in 2016. The primary objective of the HUGS project was to explore several valorization pathways of so-called “humins” in order to add value and create better business cases. Humins (and similarly lignins) are the side products that may become low-cost feedstock resulting from a number of future biorefineries and sugar conversion processes. Humins are complex residues resulting from the Acid-Catalyzed Dehydration and condensation of sugars, having furan-rings in their polymeric structures. The work presented in this specific part of the HUGS project is essentially focusing on safety-related topics of all components and subsequent applications related to sugar dehydration technology. Priority actions were devoted to a first insight on the characterization of physicochemical safety profiles of the side-product humins and main (parent) furanic products. Some members of this large family of compounds (e.g. RMF and FDCA) have high volume potential which results in opening new doors towards the development of furanbased building blocks and a bio-based economy. Humins are residues or side products which can be burnt for energy. However, its safe and sustainable use in high-value applications could also become a key milestone in the so-called circular economy. In practice, the work has been developed in two main locations: primarily at the INERIS lab, located in Verneuil-en-Halatte and at Avantium, located in Amsterdam. Nearly all experimental research after the production of the components at Avantium was performed at INERIS. This involved the evaluation of physicochemical hazards of both humins (crude industrial humins and humin foams obtained by thermal curing) and a series of furanic compounds. Avantium is involved in the commercialization of humins, furanics and furanic polymers/materials as novel chemicals and materials. The work has encompassed: An extensive bibliographical review of humins, furanics, and their related products (polymers, composites) resulted in the following main conclusions o A lack of physicochemical safety-oriented studies for many furanic compounds and for humins was observed as these products are still in the early stage of development and only a few may be commercialized in the next 5 years.o Despite the limited availability of safety-related data, more studies on toxicity aspects have been conducted for a selected number of furanics than physicochemical safety-related aspects. o A few furanic family members that have been evaluated as biofuel components were found to have given better emphasis on addressing some physicochemical safety attributes. o Every modification of the process for acid-catalyzed sugar dehydration (such as solvent, temperature, residence time and sugar concentration) will result in different humins, which would certainly demand further characterization and safety profiling of the resulting humins. • Analytical development integrating the first examination of flash point distribution versus the Net Heating Values, and analysis of total heats of combustion of furanic compounds. • Design and development of experimental plan addressing the safety-related key parameters such as thermal stability, self-heating risks, fire-risk-assessment and flammability limits depending on the need for specific tests and availability of the test samples

Thesis (MBA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2011.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Many organisations have reached plateaus in their safety performance and are constantly exploring new methods to improve. Traditional safety practices e.g. engineering solutions, safety management systems, and other administrative controls do not enable organisations to make the required step change in safety performance. Safety culture is a new safety “buzz word” and is promoted as a phenomenon that could assist organisations in improving safety performance in their endeavour to safety excellence. It is however, a relatively new concept and research in this field was completed during the past two decades only. Safety culture is a multi-dimensional, dynamic and complex concept. An improved understanding of the safety culture concept is required to enable organisations to determine the value of pursuing safety culture enhancement in their quest for superior safety performance.

Petroleum products, which are required to keep the 'wheels' of industry and commerce turning, are distributed from the various refineries to their destinations throughout the country on a daily basis and the mode and extent of transportation or conveyance of these products is varied. This distribution activity predominantly takes place by means of road tanker, pipeline as well as rail tanker and quantities during transit could vary from a few hundred litres to many thousands of litres per trip. Road tanker transportation is considered to be the most vulnerable form of distribution means and this poses a high risk in terms of the potential for being involved in an accident. The risk potential associated with the road transportation of these fuels, from an environmental point of view, is aggravated due to: *The conveyance of bulk loads, *non-roadworthiness of many vehicles, *inconsistency in vehicle condition checking systems and in the application of *safety systems, *poor road conditions, *driver fatigue, *hi-jacking threats, *the level of incompetence or unsuitability of drivers, *the inconsistency in driver training programs, *the vulnerability of the tankers being subject to collision and accidents. The potential exists for road tankers involved in accidents to leak or spill large quantities of petroleum products which in turn could result in catastrophic environmental consequences (such as leaking large quantities of fuel into sewers, plantations, rivers and streams thus causing much ground and water pollution). Also, during an accident the fuel leaking from a road tanker may ignite causing it to burn for several hours before it is finally brought under control and extinguished. This may result in much air pollution as well as damage to the surrounding ecological systems. Subsequent explosions could further result in severe loss of life and associated fires which in turn could cause more environmental degradation and damage. For the purpose of this dissertation, focus was specifically placed on the introduction of internal company control measures that a "supplier” company (such as Natref (Pty) Ltd) could implement to check whether petroleum product distributors are complying with predetermined criteria aimed at reducing the potential for accidents involving road tankers. The measuring of how these controls have an effect in the bigger scheme of things in terms of reducing accidents and environmental degradation was very difficult to determine because it was not possible to extract from the distributors how many of their vehicles were actually involved in incidents during the study period. As a result it was not possible to determine whether the improved control measures had an effect on the number of accidents incurred by the vehicles that were effected by the improved application of the standards. The study thus focused primarily on the effect that the implementation of an inspection system could have in progressively reducing the number of defects found on road tankers wanting to gain access to Natrefs site as well as measuring whether an improvement in compliance to standards actually took place. This study was conducted over a period of 22 months and involved the development and implementation of a new procedure and training course, implementation of an inspection checklist, improved reporting methods as well as improved the overall environmental awareness of the employees involved in the checking and inspection process. It is however assumed that the implementation and ongoing enforcement of the company standards has assisted in contributing towards minimising the potential for pollution exposures arising from accidents and in so doing minimising environmental degradation to a larger or lesser extent.
Thesis (M. Environmental Management)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

The study dwells on one of the few companies making animal and public health chemicals in Zimbabwe. It is fairly a new company and the industry is old globally even in Zimbabwe. Chemplex has a varied product range covering grain protection, insecticides, pesticides in addition to the animal chemicals. However, Chemplex's viability is under serious threat because the existing strategies are not competitive enough for global participation. The manufacturing of products has been scaled down due to critical shortage of foreign currency. The intent of this paper is to suggest that the use of a quantitative research methodology can inform today's decision-making managers in the animal and public health chemicals manufacturing company. While not claiming to be predictive, the research seeks to develop intelligent forecasts and strategic inclinations concerning what is possible while indicating strategies for working toward desired goals. In a time of accelerating change and globalization of markets, the methodology can help in revealing to managers how to cope successfully with uncertainty and move confidently into tomorrow. In that regard, a quantitative and case study approach will be implemented. The research has proposed ISO certification, strategic alliances, outsourcing and licensing agreements as recommendations that Chemplex should seriously consider. These have been identified as highly necessary given the global trends and Chemplex's competitive potential since manpower and facilities are greatly underutilized. Chemplex does not have all the necessary resources to embark on meaningful growth and expansion on its own at the moment. The foreign currency generation will be expected to improve under such strategies as well toenable Chemplex to compete independently in future.
Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the use and management of hazardous chemical substances (HCS) at a chemistry department in a selected Higher Education Institution in Gauteng province. Method: A quantitative, baseline descriptive study was conducted using a structured survey checklist. The population consisted of the chemistry department. Other than purposive observation by the researcher, employees present during data collection were approached for further clarifying comment to survey questions. Results: It emerged that physical-, health- and environmental hazard classes of HCS were present; and that hazard types included flammable liquids, HCS with acute toxicity and carcinogenicity. Selected exposure control measures were lacking which created risks of fire and explosion. Conclusion: The study reflected the use and management of HCS, the actual and potential human exposure and the exposure control measures. Varying degrees of compliance were found, which, if attended to, should mitigate risks to health and safety.
Health Studies

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Heat generation is a major safety concern in the design and development of Li ion batteries (LIBs) for large scale applications, such as electric vehicles. The total heat generation in LIBs includes entropic heat, enthalpy, reaction heat, and heat of mixing. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of heat of mixing on the LIBs and to understand whether it is necessary to consider the heat of mixing during the design and development of LIBs. In the previous research, Thomas and Newman derived methods to compute heat of mixing in LIB cells. Their results show that the heat of mixing cannot be neglected in comparison with the other heat sources at 2 C rate. In this study, the heat of mixing in different materials, porosity, particle sizes, and charging/discharging rate was investigated. A COMSOL mathematical model was built to simulate the heat generation of LIBs. The LIB model was based on Newman’s model. LiMn2O4 and LiCoO2 were applied as the cathode materials, and LiC6 was applied as the anode material. The results of heat of mixing were compared with the other heat sources to investigate the weight of heat of mixing in the total heat generation. The heat of mixing in cathode is smaller than the heat of mixing in anode, because of the diffusivity of LiCoO2 is 1 ×10-13 m2/s, which is larger than LiC6's diffusivity 2.52 × 10-14 m2/s. In the comparison, the heat of mixing is not as much as the irreversible heat and reversible heat, but it still cannot be neglected. Finally, a special situation will be discussed, which is the heat of mixing under the relaxation status. For instance, after the drivers turn off their vehicles, the entropy, ix enthalpy and reaction heat in LIBs will stop generating, but the heat will still be generated due to the release of heat of mixing. Therefore, it is meaningful to investigate to see if this process has significant influence on the safety and cycle life of LIBs.

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Technology: Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2007.
Unsafe incidents are a regular occurrence in the chemical industries, which have resulted, in some cases in the catastrophic destruction to the environment and loss of life. Major global organizations have shut down after experiencing fatal unsafe incidents as in the case of Union Carbide. This organization was closed after the Bhopal incident in India, in 1984, which claimed the lives of a-bout three thousand residents (see appendix d). In this study, the safety and operational risks at a selected chemical company in Durban are researched. This study looks at the huge number of unsafe incidents in a three year period, from (2003) to year (2005), that occurred at this organization. The objective of this study is to identify the variables that contribute to the high number of unsafe incidents within the organisation. The study will focus on the relationship between staff perceptions and management's assumptions of these contributory variables. The sub-objectives of the study are: o To ascertain staff perceptions of the contributors to the incidents and unsafe working conditions; o To determine if management is accurate in their assumptions of the causes for the incidents; and o To determine relationships between staff perceptions and actual causes of the incidents. The contributors were themed in the study in the following manner: o Behaviour and attitude; e Communications; e Plant and equipment; e Training and development; o Planning and workload; o Safety aspects; and e Other related aspects. Implementing the recommendations made will assist in reducing the number of unsafe incidents and make the organization a safer place for all stakeholders.
M

South Africa is among those countries that have the highest rate of road accidents in the world. Road accidents have a negative impact on a country's development; therefore reduction of road accidents is a priority for the South African government in general, and road transporters in particular. Unitrans Fuel and Chemical (UFC) is one of the major road transporters of dangerous goods in South Africa; this study was undertaken to explore the impact of negative attitudes on safety compliance at UFC by its truck drivers. The focus of the study was informed by the element of human failures, and the role played by such failures in road accidents. In light of driver behaviour being a product of non-tangible elements such as attitudes, feelings and beliefs, the quantitative study undertaken, sets out to explore the impact of negative attitudes on safety compliance. A sample was taken from the UFC's Clairwood depot, and data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics. Other non­ parametric tools were also used to analyse data. The findings are presented in Chapter Four. The researcher used a Likert Scale instrument to measure elements of attitude amongst UFC drivers. The results clearly indicate attitude plays a major role in the lack of safety compliance by drivers. The study also provides recommendations to address issues of driver attitude that are clearly illustrated by the figures in Chapter Four. Recommendations will allow UFC to address areas of negative driver attitude displayed by respondents to the questionnaire. The study recognizes that changing driver behaviour is not an easy task, and commends UFC for the effort applied in addressing this problem.
MBA. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2012.

The utilization of in vitro tests with a tiered testing strategy for detection of mild ocular irritants can reduce the use of animals for testing, provide mechanistic data on toxic effects, and reduce the uncertainty associated with dose selection for clinical trials. The first section of this thesis describes how in vitro methods can be used to improve the prediction of the toxicity of chemicals and ophthalmic products. The proper utilization of in vitro methods can accurately predict toxic threshold levels and reduce animal use in product development. Sections two, three and four describe the development of new sensitive in vitro methods for predicting ocular toxicity. Maintaining the barrier function of the cornea is critical for the prevention of the penetration of infections microorganisms and irritating chemicals into the eye. Chapter 2 describes the development of a method for assessing the effects of chemicals on tight junctions using a human corneal epithelial and canine kidney epithelial cell line. In Chapter 3 a method that uses a primary organ culture for assessing single instillation and multiple instillation toxic effects is described. The ScanTox system was shown to be an ideal system to monitor the toxic effects over time as multiple readings can be taken of treated bovine lenses using the nondestructive method of assessing for the lens optical quality. Confirmations of toxic effects were made with the utilization of the viability dye alamarBlue. Chapter 4 describes the development of sensitive in vitro assays for detecting ocular toxicity by measuring the effects of chemicals on the mitochondrial integrity of bovine cornea, bovine lens epithelium and corneal epithelial cells, using fluorescent dyes. The goal of this research was to develop an in vitro test battery that can be used to accurately predict the ocular toxicity of new chemicals and ophthalmic formulations. By comparing the toxicity seen in vivo animals and humans with the toxicity response in these new in vitro methods, it was demonstrated that these in vitro methods can be utilized in a tiered testing strategy in the development of new chemicals and ophthalmic formulations.

The occurrence of catastrophic incidents in the process industry leave a marked legacy of resulting in staggering economic and societal losses incurred by the company, the government and the society. The work described herein is a novel approach proposed to help predict and mitigate potential catastrophes from occurring and for understanding the stakes at risk for better risk informed decision making. The methodology includes societal impact as risk measures along with tangible asset damage monetization. Predicting incidents as leading metrics is pivotal to improving plant processes and, for individual and societal safety in the vicinity of the plant (portfolio). From this study it can be concluded that the comprehensive judgments of all the risks and losses should entail the analysis of the overall results of all possible incident scenarios. Value-at-Risk (VaR) is most suitable as an overall measure for many scenarios and for large number of portfolio assets. FN-curves and F$-curves can be correlated and this is very beneficial for understanding the trends of historical incidents in the U.S. chemical process industry. Analyzing historical databases can provide valuable information on the incident occurrences and their consequences as lagging metrics (or lagging indicators) for the mitigation of the portfolio risks. From this study it can be concluded that there is a strong statistical relationship between the different consequence tiers of the safety pyramid and Heinrich‘s safety pyramid is comparable to data mined from the HSEES database. Furthermore, any chemical plant operation is robust only when a strategic balance is struck between optimal plant operations and, maintaining health, safety and sustaining environment. The balance emerges from choosing the best option amidst several conflicting parameters. Strategies for normative decision making should be utilized for making choices under uncertainty. Hence, decision theory is utilized here for laying the framework for choice making of optimum portfolio option among several competing portfolios. For understanding the strategic interactions of the different contributing representative sets that play a key role in determining the most preferred action for optimum production and safety, the concepts of game theory are utilized and framework has been provided as novel application to chemical process industry.

M.Phil.
In modern society, professional engineers, technologists and technical managers are responsible for the planning, design, manufacture, maintenance and operation of the processes and systems ranging from simple processes to complex systems. The failure of these can often cause effects that range from inconvenience and irritation to severe impact on the society and its environment. Users, customers and society in general expect that products be reliable and safe at all times (Allan & Ballinton 1992). The biggest investment in any plant is, arguably, on individual plant equipment. It is therefore reasonable to give the greatest attention possible to the health and integrity of equipment that form part of the chemical process plant.Most of plant failures occur without warning and this result in equipment breakdowns, huge production losses and expensive maintenance. The reaction to plant failures has, in most cases, been a reactive maintenance which means that the plant equipment must fail before the cause of fault is investigated and the equipment is repaired. Reactive maintenance has shortcomings in that it is successful in solving problems temporarily but does not guarantee prevention of fault recurrence. Equipment and process failures waste money on unreliability problems. The question that arises is. ‘How reliable and safe is the plant during its operating life?’ This question can be answered, in part, by the use of quantitative reliability evaluation. The growing need to achieve high availability for large integrated chemical process systems demands higher levels of reliability at the operational stage. Reliability is the probability of equipment or processes to function without failure when operated correctly for a given interval of time under stated conditions. This research dissertation is aimed at developing equipment optimisation program for the chemical process plant by introducing a logical approach to managing the maintenance of plant equipment. Some relevant reliability theory is discussed and applied to the Short – Path Distillation (SPD) plant of SASOL WAX. An analysis of the failure modes and criticality helps to identify plant equipment that needs special focus during inspection.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Technology in Business Administration, Entrepreneurial Studies & Management Department, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2015.