Assessing the health risks of chemicals in a company supplying chemicals to drilling rigs in Southern Iran using COSHH, SHEM-SAM, and SQRA methods

Chemical industries are among the process industries and cause many risks. The present research aimed to analyze the health risks of a chemical warehouse of drilling rigs chemical Supply Company based on COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health), CHEM-SAM (Chemical Risk Management Self-Assessment Model), and SQRA (Subjective Quantified Risk Assessment) methods in 2021. The information was collected based on document review, MSDS of chemicals, processes, employees, and chemical exposure. Flammability, toxicity, allergy-causing, corrosivity, reactivity, LD50, and permissible thresholds of chemicals were also collected. The present research results showed that out of 59 main chemicals in the operational processes of the chemical warehouse of drilling rigs, 14 chemicals are flammable, 22 cause allergy responses, and three can cause death if inhaled. According to the results of the CHEM-SAM method, the employees and people outside the organization are at medium and low chemical risk based on the current management of the chemical warehouse, respectively. The results of the COSHH health assessment showed that chemicals had low, medium, high, and very high risk in 31, 13, 12, and 3 cases, respectively. The high-risk cases consisted of Ammonium Nitrate، Caustic Soda, and Poly.Aluminum.Chloride. Health risk assessment was also performed using the SQRA method, and results showed that chemicals have a very low, low, medium, high, and very high risk in 27, 12, 8, 9, and 3 cases, respectively. The results showed that the adverse health effects of chemical exposure in the drilling industry are alarming. Employees of different sectors of oil and gas industries are exposed to chemicals.