Protective Equipment Is to Reduce Employee Exposure to Hazards Essay

Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.[1] Slower oxidative processes like rustingor digestion are not included by this definition. The flame is the visible portion of the fire. If hot enough, the gases may become ionized to produce plasma.[2] Depending on the substances alight, and any impurities outside, the colorof the flame and the fire’s intensity will be different. Fire in its most common form can result in conflagration, which has the potential to cause physical damage through burning. Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems across the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include water contamination, soil erosion, atmospheric pollution and hazard to human and animal life.[3] | Fire Technology is a peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scientific research dealing with the full range of actual, possible, and potential fire hazards facing humans and the environment.[1] It publishes original contributions, both theoretical and empirical, that contribute to the solution of problems in fire safety and related fields. It is published bySpringer in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association.[2] Arson[1] is the crime of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to buildings, wildlandareas,[2] cars[3][4] or other property with the intent to cause damage. It may be distinguished from other causes such as spontaneous combustion and natural wildfires. Arson often involves fires deliberately set to the property of another or to one’s own property as to collect insurance compensation.[5] Heat In physics and chemistry, heat is energy transferred from one body to another by thermal interactions.[1][2] The transfer of energy can occur in a variety of ways, among them conduction,[3] radiation,[4] and convection. Heat is not a property of a system or body, but instead is always associated with a process of some kind, and is synonymous with heat flow and heat transfer. Heat flow from hotter to colder systems occurs spontaneously, and is always accompanied by an increase in entropy. In a heat engine, internal energy of bodies is harnessed to provide useful work. The second law of thermodynamicsprohibits heat flow directly from cold to hot systems, but with the aid of a heat pump external work can be used to transport internal energy indirectly from a cold to a hot body. Transfers of energy as heat are macroscopic processes. The origin and properties of heat can be understood through the statistical mechanics of microscopic constituents such as molecules and photons. For instance, heat flow can occur when the rapidly vibrating molecules in a high temperature body transfer some of their energy (by direct contact, radiation exchange, or other mechanisms) to the more slowly vibrating molecules in a lower temperature body. Oxygen is a chemical element with symbol O and atomic number 8. Its name derives from the Greek roots á ½â‚¬ÃŽ ¾Ã Ãâ€š (oxys) (â€Å"acid†, literally â€Å"sharp†, referring to the sour taste ofacids) and -ÃŽ ³ÃÅ'ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (-gÃŽ ¿nos) (â€Å"producer†, literally â€Å"begetter†), because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition. Atstandard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless, odorless, tasteless diatomic gas with the formula O2. This substance is an important part of the atmosphere, and is necessary to sustain most terrestrial life. A fire extinguisher, flame extinguisher, or simply an extinguisher, is an active fire protection device used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergency situations. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which has reached the ceiling, endangers the user (i.e., no escape route, smoke, explosion hazard, etc.), or otherwise requires the expertise of a fire department. Typically, a fire extinguisher consists of a hand-held cylindrical pressure vessel containing an agent which can be discharged to extinguish afire. Fire prevention is a function of many fire departments. The goal of fire prevention is to educate the public to take precautions to prevent potentially harmful fires, and be educated about surviving them. It is a proactive method of reducing emergencies and thedamage caused by them. Many fire departments have a Fire Prevention Officer.In the general sense of preventing harmful fires, many aspects are discussed in the articles Fire protect ion and Fire safety. Wildfire suppression refers to the firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts inwildland areas requires different techniques, equipment, and training from the more familiar structure firefighting found in populated areas. Working in conjunction with specially designed firefighting aircraft, these wildfire-trained crews suppress flames, construct firelines, and extinguish flames and areas of heat to protect resources and natural wilderness. Wildfire suppression also addresses the issues of the wildland-urban interface, where populated areas border with wildland areas. Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building or vehicle, designed to limit the spread of fire, heat and structural collapse * Firewall (automobile), the part of the vehicle that separates the engine from the driver and passengers * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (Physics), a blast of Hawking Radiation seen by a freely falling observer upon crossing the horizon of a black hole. Firetrap firetrap is a British clothing company, founded in 1991,[1] specialising in premium menswear and accessories. It is the main brand within the WDT company (World Design and Trade), which also owns its sister brand Fullcircle along with previous brands SC51 and Sonnetti. Firetrap is firmly established internationally and is sold in more than 30 countries[2] and 1,500 stores worldwide. There are eight stand-alone stores in the UK: a Covent Garden store in London and others in Belfast, Liverpool, Leeds, EdinburghWestfield[disambiguation needed], Sheffield & Nottingham (2010).[3] The brand is a key player worldwide with a new store in Dubai and concessions throughout Europe including Italy, Germany and France. Conflagration A conflagration or a blaze is an uncontrolled burning that threatens human life, animal life, health, or property. A conflagration can be accidentally begun, naturally caused (wildfire), or intentionally created (arson). Arson can be accomplished for the purpose of sabotage or diversion, and also can be the consequence of pyromania. During conflagration the property is damaged or destroyed by fire. Sometimes the conflagration produces a firestorm, in which the central column of rising heated air induces strong inward winds, which supply oxygen to the fire. Conflagrations can result in casualties, deaths, or injuries from smoke inhalation orburns. Combustion Combustion (pron.: /kÉ™mˈbÊÅ's.tÊÆ'É™n/) or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can produce light in the form of either glowing or aflame. Fuels of interest often include organic compounds (especially hydrocarbons) in the gas,liquid or solid phase. In a complete combustion reaction, a compound reacts with an oxidizing element, such asoxygen or fluorine, and the products are compounds of each element in the fuel with the oxidizing element. For example: CH4 + 2 O2 → CO2 + 2 H2O + energy A simple example can be seen in the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen, which is a commonly used reaction in rocket engines: 2 H2 + O2 → 2 H2O(g) + heat The result is water vapor. Complete combustion is almost impossible to achieve. In reality, as actual combustion reactions come to equilibrium, a wide variety of major and minor species will be present such as carbon monoxide and pure carbon (soot or ash). Additionally, any combustion in atmospheric air, which is 79 percent nitrogen, will also create several forms of nitrogen oxides. Fire point The fire point of a fuel is the temperature at which it will continue to burn for at least 5 seconds after ignition by an open flame. At theflash point, a lower temperature, a substance will ignite briefly, but vapor might not be produced at a rate to sustain the fire. Most tables of material properties will only list material flash points, but in general the fire points can be assumed to be about 10  °C higher than the flash points. However, this is no substitute for testing if the fire point is safety critical. Degree Celsius Celsius, also known as centigrade,[1] is a scale and unit of measurement for temperature. It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–1744), who developed a similar temperature scale. The degree Celsius ( °C) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale as well as a unit to indicate a temperature interval, a difference between two temperatures or anuncertainty. The unit was known until 1948 as â€Å"centigrade† from the Latin centum translated as 100 and gradus translated as â€Å"steps† From 1743 until 1954, 0  °C was defined as the freezing point of water and 100  °C was defined as the boiling point of water, both at a pressure of one standard atmosphere with mercury being the working material. Although these defining correlations are commonly taught in schools today, by international agreement the unit â€Å"degree Celsius† and the Celsius scale are currently defined by two different temperatures: absolute zero, and t he triple point of VSMOW (specially purified water). This definition also precisely relates the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale, which defines the SI base unit ofthermodynamic temperature with symbol K. Absolute zero, the lowest temperature possible at which matter reaches minimum entropy, is defined as being precisely 0 K and −273.15  °C. The temperature of the triple point of water is defined as precisely 273.16 K and 0.01  °C. This definition fixes the magnitude of both the degree Celsius and the kelvin as precisely 1 part in 273.16 (approximately 0.00366) of the difference between absolute zero and the triple point of water. Thus, it sets the magnitude of one degree Celsius and that of one kelvin as exactly the same. Additionally, it establishes the difference between the two scales’ null points as being precisely 273.15 degrees Celsius (−273.15  °C = 0 K and 0  °C = 273.15 K).[3] Fahrenheit Fahrenheit (symbol  °F) is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736).[1] Within this scale, the freezing of water into ice is defined at 32 degrees, while the boiling point of water is defined to be 212 degrees – on Fahrenheit’s original scale the freezing point of brine was zero degrees. The Fahrenheit scale was replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries during the mid to late 20th century, though Canada retains it as a supplementary scale that can be used alongside Celsius.[2][3][4][5] Fahrenheit remains the official scale of the United States,Cayman Islands, Palau, Bahamas and Belize.[6] The Rankine temperature scale was based upon the Fahrenheit temperature scale, with its zero representing absolute zero instead. Personal protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) refers to protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer’s body from injury. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, electrical, heat, chemicals, biohazards, and airborne particulate matter. Protective equipment may be worn for job-relatedoccupational safety and health purposes, as well as for sports and other recreational activities. â€Å"Protective clothing† is applied to traditional categories of clothing, and â€Å"protective gear† applies to items such as pads, guards, shields, or masks, and others. The purpose of personal protective equipment is to reduce employee exposure to hazards when engineering and administrative controls are not feasible or effective to reduce these risks to acceptable levels. PPE is needed when there are hazards present. PPE has the serious limitation that it does not eliminate the hazard at source and may result in emp loyees being exposed to the hazard if the equipment fails.[1]