Page 64 - PCMI December 2017 Journal

Safe Handling of Obliga on of a Chlorine Facility
Marcus Heather | Technical Director | Precision Micro | UK
Peter Je eries| Innova on Technology Leader | Heatric | UK
12/13/17
The importance of chlorine in the PCM manufacturing process
To reduce ferric chloride changeovers and process variation, chlorine gas can be added to introduce a regeneration process.
2FeCl2 + Cl2 → 2FeCl3
The regeneration of the ferric chloride helps to continue the etching process at optimum condition. As a further benefit, the etchant life is significantly extended.
Environmental, Health and Safety Obligations of a Chlorine Facility
Meggitt proprietary and confidential | no unauthorised copying or disclosure
Management of chlorine use
In the UK there is guidance from the “Safe Handling of chlorine from drums and cylinders” published by the Health and Safety Executive
The guidance is aimed primarily at management and outlines support for management to adopt best practice in installing, managing and verifying safe working practices of chlorine installations
As an industry, I believe we need to demonstrate that we share good practice and continue to find tools and techniques that help minimise the risks associated with our business
There are two key observations from the guidance that support the above
1. “update your risk assessment at least every 3 years, and before making any significant modifications”
2. Checking the integrity of the system with respect to the pressure regulations
Environmental, Health and Safety Obligations of a Chlorine Facility
Meggitt proprietary and confidential | no unauthorised copying or disclosure
Issue 130 December 2017 PCMI Journal Page 63
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