The wrong Isopropyl Wipes can reduce your safety compliance
It sounds strange, doesn’t it? That something like ISO Wipes, which you use every single day, can affect your compliance?
Well, it’s true. This article shows you how.
Welding safety compliance requirements in Australia
Your industry and your accreditation’s enforce a huge range of compliance requirements. Managing and maintaining any kind of pipeline—from mining to irrigation—means that your minimum requirements might include:
- Occupational health and safety systems
- Environmental management systems
- Quality assurance systems.
And that’s before you get into specific requirements for skill-based competencies, like welding; or for whatever your pipeline carries, like dangerous goods.
However, no matter where you are working in Australia, or what type of pipeline you’re on, you are required to maintain Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all hazardous substances. You also need to have a register of the hazardous substances you have on-site.
This means that to comply with the law, you need an MSDS for your ISO Wipes.
Why would I need an MSDS for my ISO Wipes?
You need an MSDS for your ISO Wipes because isopropyl alcohol is a hazardous substance.[1], [2]
Also known as 2-propanol, dimethyl carbonyl, IPA, isopropanol, or rubbing alcohol, the substance in ISO Wipes can affect your central nervous system.
Not only is it a flammable skin and eye irritant, it is easily absorbed by your skin.
It can:
- affect your breathing
- cause drowsiness, dizziness, and headaches
- make your skin itch, get red, break out in a rash, or crack, if you are in contact with it repeatedly.
Isopropyl alcohol is also highly flammable. Given you are most likely to use ISO Wipes preparatory to welding, you need to know that if it forms vapours (which it does when exposed to oxygen), it can travel to a source of ignition and flash back.
If you, or a colleague, are injured or experience symptoms as a result of using your ISO Wipes, your First Aid Officer needs immediate access to an MSDS to find out what to do. Not only is this good safety sense, but having one means that your Health and Safety Officer will have his or her documents whenever they’re needed.
Make sure your ISO Wipes come with an MSDS
Not all ISO Wipes suppliers provide an MSDS with them. We do, because the ISO Wipes that you’ll get from us are 90% isopropanol. Every tub comes with an MSDS.
Some ISO Wipes contain less isopropyl alcohol, but in our experience they tend to leave behind residual moisture. This is especially the case in northern Australia and in the tropics. You already know that if you get moisture trapped in the joint, it will turn into steam—especially during electrofusion—and you won’t get a bonded weld as a result. You need at least 90% isopropanol to guarantee a bonded weld.
If you don’t have time to wait for your ISO Wipes to arrive, you can download our MSDS here.
Need to top up on your ISO Wipes? Get yours with an MSDS. Call our sales team now on 1300 216 706
The safety of the workers on your pipeline is critical to preventing unnecessary injuries and, ultimately, shutdowns. At Advanced Piping Systems, we don’t just want to keep your pipeline moving: We want your team to stay safe while they work. Buy your ISO Wipes now.
