FEATURE BOILERS, PUMPS & VALVES
SEALED PUMP SYSTEMS ensure safe chemical transfer
Transferring potentially dangerous chemicals at point of use can pose a serious hazard to workers. GoatThroat has developed a sealed pump system which maintains containment
ransferring hazardous chemicals at the point of use can have serious consequences when manual ‘tip-and- pour’ techniques or poorly designed pumps are used. The danger of accidental contact, even for short periods, can pose a severe hazard to workers. In addition to the potential for injury there can be serious financial ramifications for the facility. The risks include cost to treat injuries or perform cleanup, workers’ compensation claims, potential liability, OSHA fines, loss of expensive chemicals and even facility/production shutdown. “It can be catastrophic to a company if
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toxic or highly flammable material is accidentally released at point of use,” says Deborah Grubbe, founder of Operations and Safety Solutions.
SPIRALING COSTS OF LOSS OF CONTAINMENT “Any time you lose containment you have an issue that can spiral out of control. The indirect costs like supervisors’ time and temporary shutdown can be as much as 2-4 times the direct costs not to mention potential liability, workers’ compensation issues, regulatory fines or potential actions from OSHA or the EPA.”
CHEMICAL TRANSFER TECHNIQUES Manual techniques including the tip-and- pour method are still common. Tipping heavy barrels however, can lead to overpouring or the barrel toppling. While several pump types exist for chemical transfer (rotary, siphon, lever-action, piston and electric) most are not engineered as a sealed, contained system. “A sealed, contained system is ideal
when dealing with a toxic, flammable or corrosive liquid,” says Grubbe. “With sealed devices like GoatThroat
pumps you can maintain a controlled containment from one vessel to another.” Because such small, hand-operated pressure pumps use very low pressure (<6 PSI) to transfer fluids through the line and contain automatic pressure relief valves, they are safe to use with most containers from 2-gallon jugs to 55-gallon drums.
ADOPTION OF SEALED PUMP SYSTEMS Although Design Mark Industries keeps its chemicals in a vented, explosion-proof
20 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2017 | FACTORY EQUIPMENT
room, the supplier of membrane switches, keypads and touchscreens sought to further improve the safety and efficiency of transferring acetone and acetate-based chemicals from 55-gallon drums into quart and 5-gallon containers. These chemicals are used to screen print circuitry and graphic overlays. Production supervisor Vincent Francisco
ruled out manual pouring because of the potential of injury and lack of control in dispensing. Instead, he utilised a variety of traditional pumps including rotary, siphon and lever-action but found them all unsatisfactory. “I was replacing the pumps once or twice a year because they kept breaking down, delivered imprecise amounts and were not designed as completely self-contained, sealed systems,” says Francisco. After considerable research online he
decided to utilise a sealed chemical pump system from GoatThroat. “I consider using these pumps a ‘best practice’ technique because the barrels
A self-contained system, there is no spillage, splatter, overpouring, leaking or VOCs
remain upright and the entire system is sealed so there is never an issue with exposure or VOCs when transferring chemicals,” says Francisco. “Just pump the plunger a few times, open the spigot and dispense. You have full control over how much is dispensed, even the tiniest amounts or you can leave it open for a continuous flow. It delivers the precise amount needed.” Over the past 11 years Francisco estimates that his company has saved thousands of dollars by eliminating the cost of replacement pumps. Allergy Laboratories, a FDA licensed pharmaceutical manufacturer of biological extracts for the diagnostic testing and therapeutic treatment of allergies uses a sealed pump system to transfer acetone from 55 gallon drums to 1 gallon containers for a variety of processes. According to facility manager Charles Cheek the pharmaceutical chemical delivery process must be very clean and no foreign material can be introduced into the acetone. Because acetone is highly flammable he was concerned about using an electric pump that could potentially create a spark and decided to purchase a pump that had no electrical or moving parts that could create a hazard.
MUCH SAFER WAY TO TRANSPORT CHEMICAL LIQUIDS “We’ve found GoatThroat pumps to be a much safer way to transport chemical liquids,” says Cheek who utilises a pneumatic adaptor accessory to supply pressure via in-house compressed air. “There is no spillage, splatter, overpouring, leaking or VOCs because the system is self-contained. There is no sprayback and we do not get chemicals on our hands. It is a nice, clean delivery system.” Besides enhancing safety Cheek says a sealed system can prevent loss of expensive chemicals like acetone. “I haven’t lost any product due to the
pumps,” concludes Cheek. “They eliminate evaporation, do not leak or drip and I can adjust the flow to get the exact amount I need without spilling or overflow.”
GoatThroat Pumps T: +1-866-639-4628
www.goatthroat.com
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