Marine chemist
A marine chemist is an environmental, occupational safety and health professional who is a trained professional who is responsible for ensuring that repair and construction of marine vessels can be made in safety whenever those repairs might result in fire, explosion, or exposure toxic vapors or chemicals. By virtue of his or her training, experience, and education, the Marine Chemist is uniquely qualified as a specialist in confined space safety and atmospheric sampling or monitoring.
Why do we need Marine Chemist? Lets take a moment to examine that question. Basic ship design... open decks and enclosed spaces for cargoes... has remained basically unchanged for decades. Structural materials and methods have changed, but in principle, the basic design concept has been the same for centuries. Today's cargoes, however, have shifted to a greater number of toxic substances. That has added the health concern of toxicity to the existing safety concerns of fire and explosion, not just during a voyage, but even when a vessel is in a shipyard for routine maintenance and repair.
In 1963, the National Fire Protection Association National Fire Protection Association assumed jurisdiction over the Marine Chemist program. The NFPA continues to oversee the profession which is based on the NFPA Standard 306: Standard for Control of Gas Hazards on Vessels.
References
- BHR Group Ltd (16 January 2006). Management and Engineering of Fire Safety and Loss Prevention: Onshore and Offshore. Routledge. pp. 123–. ISBN 978-1-135-37893-6.