Now the user has a small definable subset of the PEAC-WMD database to work with.  The list can be reduced in size, simply by highlighting an entry and clicking on the [-] icon at the top of the screen or by selecting Remove from Working Entries List from the Tools menu selection.  By the same token, a user can easily add a chemical to the current Working Entries List.  This can be completed using one of the Lookup By methods described earlier.  When the user returns to displaying the Working Entries List, the new chemical(s) should be displayed.

The user now has access to all the information contained in the PEAC-WMD database or its computational features for this short list of selected chemicals.  An immediate and obvious advantage is now the list of hazardous materials to view and assess is very short and a lot easier to keep track of what is being viewed and dealt with at any point in time.

Now to demonstrate some other advantages using the Working Entries List, we’ll assume this is the list of chemicals potentially involved in an incident.  To assess the situation and develop a response plan, we first need to decide which chemical(s) are going to be the major concern.  A quick way to assess a group of chemicals is to display the Threat Matrix posed by the current Working Entries List.  This is really easy to do by clicking on the Threat Matrix icon [] at the top of the screen or by clicking on the Threat Matrix selection from the Tools menu drop‑down list of selections.  To display the Data Display Box in the Full Screen mode, click on the Zoom or Full Screen icon [].  A screen similar to that shown in Figure 7 will be displayed. 

The benefit of the Threat Matrix is the utilization of the NFPA 704 Hazard Classification System, which is the information displayed in the HAZMAT diamond shown on the individual Chemical Information screens, along with the IDLH value and the ERG PAD distance all on one line for the user to view.  Now the user has data and ratings that rank a substance with respect to toxicity, flammability, and stability.  The concept is to give the user a “thumbnail” hazard representation of a chemical, very much what the NFPA 704 system does, that is displayed all on one line that can be compared with the other chemicals that are involved in the incident. 

An added feature of the Threat Matrix is the user can resort the list by simply clicking on the hyperlink at the top of any column.  For instance, if there is a fire or potential for fire, then those materials that have the highest flammability rating would be of major concern.  For our fictional list of chemicals, the user can click on the Fire hyperlink on the Threat Matrix display and the list is resorted with the materials displayed with the highest rating first in descending order, Figure 8.  The column title with the *’s surrounding the name is the current sorting parameter.

If the user sorts the list and then wants to view a specific entry to display additional information on that material, the user simply clicks on the hyperlink of the name in the left column.  If the user wants to view specific information on Ethyl Methyl Ketone, a simple click on the name in the left column will display a screen as shown in Figure 9.  Once displaying the Ethyl Methyl Ketone entry, the user can elect to display different types of information indexed to this chemical by changing the Database Selection as needed.

Another benefit of the Working Entries List is the easy access to information for each of the chemicals by simply stepping through the list of entries.  An example will help to explain the idea.  If a Safety Officer needs to review information from the NIOSH Pocket Guide for each of these chemicals the user can return to the split screen display as shown in Figure 10 and select NIOSH Pocket Guide in the Database Selection field.

Now as each separate entries is highlighted, Ammonia to Bromine trifluoride to Chlorine to …, the PEAC-WMD tool will display the NIOSH Pocket Guide information screen if there is an entry in the NIOSH for the selected material.  This provides the user a quick access to a specific resource or type of information for those chemicals in the Working Entries List.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the Working Entries List is the ability to create, save, modify and recall at a later date a Working Entries List.  To save a list, simply click on the File menu selection and click on the Save As selection, Figure 11.  A standard Windows Save As screen will appear and the user provides a name to store the names for later access, Figure 12.

In this example the name “March05 newsletter example.PPC” is used.  The beauty of the PEAC‑WMD application is the user can decide on the name that meets their needs, e.g., location of an incident, location of a facility, date of an incident, the choice is up to the user.  The only limitation is the Windows naming conventions that restrict certain characters from being used.

Here are some examples of how this facility can help a user.  The user can retain the list of chemicals during an inspection at a facility or building, and quickly recall for display the list if there is an incident at that location in the future.  During an incident a user can create a Working Entries List to simplify the process of accessing information and when the incident is finished the list is saved for later retrieval to assist in report generation and debriefing.

To open a saved Working Entries List, simply click on the File menu selection and click on the Open selection, Figure 13.  A standard Windows File Open screen will appear and the user selects a file to open, navigating to the folder where the file has been saved, Figure 14.

Figure 13 - Opening a saved Working Entries List
 

Figure 14 – Selecting a saved Working Entries List

If readers have other ideas of how to use the Working Entries List or the Threat Matrix feel free to drop us an email or give us a call, and we’ll pass them along to other users in a future newsletter.