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Chemistry Forums for Students => Undergraduate General Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Dusty23 on May 29, 2008, 09:02:48 PM

Title: grouping chemicals as volatile?
Post by: Dusty23 on May 29, 2008, 09:02:48 PM
Hi,

just wondering if there is a criteria (simple) for defining chemicals as being volatile (i.e. ? vapour pressure).

reason being that our workers (ground remediation) are readily exposed to volatile chemicals rather than non-volatile (or not so volatile) chemicals, and I was hoping to classify the chemicals that are an inhalation risk.

Thanks in advance.

Dusty
Title: Re: grouping chemicals as volatile?
Post by: macman104 on May 29, 2008, 09:48:46 PM
You should have the MSDS sheets for all the chemicals, and those should indicate what dangers, if any the vapors will have
Title: Re: grouping chemicals as volatile?
Post by: enahs on May 29, 2008, 09:51:19 PM
Quote
just wondering if there is a criteria (simple) for defining chemicals as being volatile (i.e. ? vapour pressure).

Your idea is vapor pressure.

Read the first two sentences:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatility_%28chemistry%29




Quote
reason being that our workers (ground remediation) are readily exposed to volatile chemicals rather than non-volatile (or not so volatile) chemicals, and I was hoping to classify the chemicals that are an inhalation risk.

You question makes no sense. You already know they are exposed to volatile chemicals, but you want to classify them as volatile. But if you already know they are volatile, they are already classified as volatile?

Huh?
Title: Re: grouping chemicals as volatile?
Post by: Dusty23 on May 30, 2008, 04:37:14 AM
at what vapor pressure (value) are chemicals classified as volatile?

I have a large list of chemicals that workers are exposed to, where i know some are volitile as you can smell them (hence exposed). Looking at the msds how can i tell that they will readily flash off.

is it as black and white as > x value= volatile?