Treat Vapor as Loss of Control
Use the hierarchy of controls to choose a stronger response to suspected ethanol vapor exposure.
The move: move up the control hierarchy before accepting familiar exposure. A distillery has hazards people can smell, hear, feel, and sometimes stop noticing: ethanol vapor, grain dust, steam, caustic, pressure, wet floors, forklifts, and rotating equipment. The hierarchy of controls gives those hazards an order of attack. First ask whether the exposure can be removed. If not, ask whether a safer substitute or an engineered barrier can keep people away from it. Only after that should administrative rules and PPE carry the load. The mechanism is reliability. A physical barrier, locked valve, ventilation interlock, or isolated route does not…
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