I do a lot of work in Ammonia and Chlorine, from process safety to emergency response, and the one thing I commonly get asked is why do I write so much about ammonia accidents and not so much about chlorine accidents. Well, to be honest, the vast majority of my chlorine clients are much better at containment than are my ammonia clients and this can be seen on a grander scale by looking at OSHA and EPA accident data. Yes, we have a fair number of Chlorine incidents, but the vast majority of these are NOT from a chlorine process; most are at swimming pools or involving improper mixing of chemicals which generates chlorine gas. One reason, I believe, we have a disparity in the number of process accidents involving ammonia and chlorine (both widely used chemicals) is due to the work the Chlorine Institute, a “Partner in Safety” with SAFTENG, has done over the years with their RAGAGEPs, which they call Pamphlets. Take for example the task of opening a chlorine process; they are the only trade group that I know of that has tackled this hazardous task. In their Pamphlet 65, Personal Protective Equipment for Chlor-Alkali Chemicals, Edition 6, they have provided some very logical protection for “opening” a chlorine process for BOTH routine and non-routine openings…
(emphasis by me)