Presentations on various interesting topics related to the safety aspects, global regulatory scenarios, medical treatment and toxicology profiling.

1. Report on
“International Phosgene Conference”
Date: 27th August, 2013 Venue: Vadodara
Organized by Knowledge Partner Supported By

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Contents
Summary ................................................................................................................................................................ 3
Session I – Speaker Profiles .................................................................................................................................... 4
Session I - Details ................................................................................................................................................... 4
Welcome Address & Introduction to the Conference ....................................................................................... 4
Medical Emergency Response, Medical Badges (PPE) ....................................................................................... 4
Industry’s Phosgene Concept & Phosgene Regulatory Developments in Other Countries, Impact on India ................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Incident & Near Incident Management, RCA’s, Tri/Di – Phosgene Safety & Logistics ...................................... 5
Toxic Mechanisms of Phosgene and Congeners & Impact on Global Workplace/Emergency Response Standards ........................................................................................................................................................... 6
Session II – Speaker Profiles ................................................................................................................................... 6
Session II - Details .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Phosgene Derivatives & Their Applications ....................................................................................................... 7
Safety Features of Phosgene Plant At GNFC ...................................................................................................... 7
Interactive Workshop ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Team Formation ................................................................................................................................................. 7
Team Presentations ........................................................................................................................................... 8
Feedback from Dr. Kurt Meurer ......................................................................................................................... 8
Feedback from Mr. Ravi Kapoor ........................................................................................................................ 8
Vote of Thanks ....................................................................................................................................................... 8
Way Forward .......................................................................................................................................................... 9

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Summary
The second International Phosgene Conference was held on 27th August 2013 at the Welcome Hotel in Vadodara. The conference saw excellent participation from the national and international industry members. Around 75 delegates from 15 different organizations took part in the conference. There were presentations on various interesting topics related to the safety aspects, global regulatory scenarios, medical treatment and toxicology profiling. Indian companies also showcased their strengths in terms of phosgene related products and safety aspects followed.
An interactive workshop provided as an excellent forum for all, to discuss the topics covered during the day and to understand it’s relevant to the Indian industry. It also paved way for topics that can be discussed during the next such event.
The session was concluded with a promise of more collaboration between the various players and help India take a centre stage in the global scenario. ICC suggested formation on a Phosgene Safety Council to help the Indian industry.
National Speakers
3
International Speakers
4
Participants
~100

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Session I – Speaker Profiles
Name Organization Designation Mr. Ravi Kapoor ICC, Heubach India Additional VP, ICC MD, Heubach India
Dr. Stefan Weberndorfer
BASF SE
Chairman, Phosgene Medical Expert Group, III Dr. Kurt Meurer Bayer Material Science AG, Germany Chairman, Global Production Safety Exchange Advisory Group
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Mackenroth
BASF Polyurethanes, Brussels
Director – TDI, MDI Prof. Dr. Jurgen Pauluhn Bayer Pharma, Germany Chief Expert Toxicology
Session I - Details
Welcome Address & Introduction to the Conference
Mr. Ravi Kapoor, ICC welcomed the dignitaries and the audience. He gave a gist of the last conference held and the positive outcomes from the same. Also, he briefed the audience about the expectations from this conference and emphasized on sessions being more interactive and discussion oriented. He also thanked iNDEXTb and government of Gujarat for its help and support for conducting this conference.
The event was commenced by the auspicious lamp lighting ceremony. The foreign speakers, Mr. Ravi Kapoor and Mr. Kirtan Vyas each took turn for the same.
Mr. Kapoor then introduced each speaker and gave a brief profile about them. He mentioned their education and professional experiences and how they have contributed to the Phosgene industry.
Medical Emergency Response, Medical Badges (PPE)
Dr. med. Stefan Weberndorfer – BASF SE, provided a high-level view of the Phosgene handling sites at BASF and indicated how the company has adopted the Responsible Care framework as a part of its values and principles.
He gave an overview of the document of BASF, created from III-report, regarding first aid and medical treatment for Phosgene exposed workers. He explained few important and relevant sections in detail. He explained how the decision tree is used in his organization by medical people to understand what type of treatment is required for various levels of Phosgene exposures. The topic of ‘How Phosgene enters the human body and causes lung edema’ was covered by him in detail. He explained different levels of Phosgene exposure and what sort of treatment can be given to these people. He stressed on

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the fact that medical staff needs to be well educated and trained in order to take quick and relevant treatment decisions.
He also deliberated on the importance on Phosgene indicator badges, how these badges must be used and interpreted by workers, plant managers and medical staff. He stated that these badges should not be used by plant managers for taking decisions but by medical staff for providing first aid treatment.
He finally concluded by giving insights on how various other treatments like, decontamination, rest and use of oxygen for treating the affected people.
Industry’s Phosgene Concept & Phosgene Regulatory Developments in Other Countries, Impact on India
Dr. Kurt Meurer – Bayer Material Science AG, began his presentation by thanking all for conduction the second conference. He gave the big picture about the Phosgene industry and the changes since 2012. He mentioned about the ever increasing applications. He highlighted the potential in industry and contribution by various regions of the globe.
Dr. Meurer sensitized the audience on key areas that companies should look into for better management of safety related to Phosgene. He added that a comprehensive and focused strategy is required by every company. He threw light on how the processes have been significantly improved in the industry over time.
He discussed key statistics about the various accidents related to Phosgene industry across the globe and detailed the safety approaches into primary and secondary measures, pertaining to protective and mitigation measures. He also discussed about various international manuals which could be used as a benchmark for safety. He also introduced www.phosgenesafety.info which is a good repository for safety related information.
He then briefed the audience about various Phosgene conferences held across the globe and expressed his pleasure on how various regulatory bodies across the globe have aligned medical, toxicological and regulatory data. He emphasized the importance of India in the global Phosgene market and was glad that India has joined the global network. He concluded wishing luck to Indian companies and extending his support for future.
Incident & Near Incident Management, RCA’s, Tri/Di – Phosgene Safety & Logistics
Dr. W. Mackenroth – BASF SE, Germany initiated the presentation indicating the key practices to be followed for Incident Management Reporting. He explained how every incident is reported and maintained at BASF and how the global Incident database is updated. He explained how a Root Cause analysis can be done to identify the exact reason due to which the incident occurred. He also shared an indicative list of categories for Phosgene service.
Dr. Mackenroth introduced the audience with the manufacturing process of triphosgene. He also sensitized the participants on physical and chemical properties of the chemical, pointing out its stability at various temperatures, toxicity, decomposition and safety implications at high temperature.

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He further discussed about various packaging materials used to store triphosgene and added that triphosgene diffuses through PE bags and can be harmful. He stated that currently there are no analyzers to detect presence of triphosgene. He suggested that the chemical should not be stored in ambient temperature for a long time.
Dr. Mackenroth concluded that triphosgene is relatively a safe chemical provided that it is re-tested for its purity, stored appropriately and packaged in prescribed, safe materials.
Toxic Mechanisms of Phosgene and Congeners & Impact on Global Workplace/Emergency Response Standards
Prof. Dr. Jurgen Pauluhn – Bayer Material Science AG initiated the presentation by explaining the importance of toxicology. He stated that it acts as a risk management tool for plant managers and regulators to determine safety standards at plant at an optimal cost level.
He explained how various toxicology studies are used to determine workplace standards. He further added how these studies are used to close the data gaps which help in setting optimum exposure levels. In absence of these tests regulatory bodies might take incorrect decisions which might lead to problem for the industries.
He explained in detail one of the inhalation tests conducted on rats and dogs and how results for these tests are used to extrapolate numbers for humans. He also explained the various factors and data points used in calculation of these numbers and analytical methods like Real Time FT-IR technique. These numbers then help to determine the actual limits for exposure and what kind of treatment is required. He stated that the tests also indicated chronic toxicity does not exist only acute toxicity exists because of phosgene inhalation.
He explained how AEGL-1, AEGL-2 and AEGL-3 levels are determined using these tests which can be used for land use planning, factory planning and emergency response. These limits have been harmonized across regions due to these tests. The tests showed that corticoids and diuresis should not be done in case of phosgene inhalation.
He concluded his presentation by stating that toxic potency of triphosgene is similar to phosgene but its mode of action is different and so are its treatment requirements.
Session II – Speaker Profiles
Name Organization Designation Mr. Shiv Kumar Agarwal Atul Limited President, R&D
Mr. K.K. Srivastava
GNFC
Senior Manager

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Session II - Details
Phosgene Derivatives & Their Applications
Dr. S.K. Agarwal, Atul Ltd, thanked the dignitaries and ICC for organizing the conference and giving a chance to showcase Atul’s Products. He began by providing a brief overview of phosgene, mentioning about its discovery, early production, physical and chemical properties and applications. He added that interestingly, phosgene is only a raw material or an intermediate, the end product does not have phosgene content.
He then provided a view on Atul’s manufacturing facilities and indicated that Atul has a production capacity of 10 MM tons which they plan to double by 2025. He then spoke about the various categories of products produced at Atul. For each of the category he mentioned various processes available in literature, patented processes developed by Atul, the yields, quality, purity, storage conditions, applications and production capacities.
At the end he suggested that such knowledge transfer sessions and transparent communication are a way forward for the industry. He concluded by stating that Atul has planted 1 million trees which shows its commitment to the society.
Safety Features of Phosgene Plant At GNFC
Mr. K.K. Srivastava – GNFC, started by giving a brief company profile about GNFC and mentioned that the current turnover is about USD 600 million. He then gave an introduction on the Aniline/TDI complex, its inception, milestones and facilities.
He then explained in detail about the safety measures which have been installed at GNFC for the phosgene plant including the instrument designs, sensors, power systems and maintenance procedures. He concluded by stating that GNFC also a dedicated medical personnel and fire and safety departments to handle any emergencies.
Interactive Workshop
Team Formation
A workshop was conducted to make the session more interactive. Mr. Ravi organized it in an innovative way, where the entire group was divided into two teams; “Team Responsible” & “Team Safety”; to ensure maximum participation. Each team had a mix of doctors and engineers representing different companies. The groups were given a time of 25 minutes to discuss and present on what was their perception about the presentations, relate it to Indian context, identify any gaps if present, lessons to be learnt from prior incidents.

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Team Presentations
The teams then presented their findings individually. Both teams were very satisfied with the morning presentations and had a lot to learn from it. They suggested that there is a lot of knowledge gap in the industry in terms of equipment designs, phosgene badges, workplace standards, R&D & medical treatments. They urged ICC and the industry to take concrete steps to close these gaps. The teams also stressed the need to include community awareness programs for better disaster management cases. They asked the panel to share their views on better equipments like scrubbers, analyzers, badges, batch processes and curtain techniques.
Feedback from Dr. Kurt Meurer
Dr. Meurer was very impressed with the progress made by the Indian companies in such a short span of time. He also stressed on the need of more quality research and suggested ICC to play a pivotal role. He discussed a few points raised by the teams, like an excellent discussion between him and Mr. Srivastava regarding the water/ammonia curtain techniques. He urged the participants to refer to www.phosgenesafety.org for more information. He suggested that some of the questions could not be answered in short and needed more time. He suggested these could be some of the sessions for next conference:
 Details about plant and equipment designs and maintenance procedures
 Phosgene Badge manufacturers
 Training for medical staff
 Emergency disaster plans and community awareness
He concluded that both the teams had done an excellent job and both were winners in his mind.
Feedback from Mr. Ravi Kapoor
Mr. Kapoor shared his feedback stating that he was very pleased with the way the conference went and some of the discussions that took place. He stressed on the importance of Responsible Care certification and asked more companies to adopt it. He also suggested the importance of a Safety Officer in an organization and that none of the teams brought up that point. He ended by emphasizing that the most important factor for safety to increase was an attitude change to value human life.
Vote of Thanks
Dr. Sairam Potaraju, Bayer MaterialScience Pvt. Ltd, thanked everyone for making the conference a huge success. He specially thanked Mr. Ravi Kapoor and Dr. Kurt Meurer for their efforts to organize this conference and give their valuable time. Mementos were given to all speakers and certificates were distributed to all participants.
Dr. Sairam hoped that more such sessions are conducted in future to reduce the knowledge gap in the country which will help the players to reach international standards. He stated that there is a clear writing on the wall that companies to be world class to sustain in today’s business environment. He

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suggested formation of a special body or committee related to Phosgene industry which can take up the cause at an international level. Mr. Ravi vowed to put this plan to action as soon as possible and asked all companies to nominate two representatives each to form the “Phosgene Safety Council (PSC)”.
Way Forward
 There is a need of increased focus in the phosgene safety related processes in Indian companies. A regulatory authority needs to be created to set-up regulations and key requirements for safety in Phosgene producing plants.
 Need for training in first-aid treatment that needs to be given to workers exposed to safety.
 Investment needs to be done by companies in getting Phosgene badges, which are an excellent indicator for Phosgene exposure. The badge discoloration gives doctors a good indication on what type of treatment is required.