DEAS/Physics Safety Committee
Wednesday, January 14, 2004
Noon-1:00PM
Team chairs reported the following lab inspection schedules:
- Team # 1 -- Kristen Bearce (McKay 1-3) - January 20, 2004
- Team # 2 -- Roberto Martinez (McKay 4-5) - January 23, 2004
- Team # 3 -- Matt Eisaman (Cruft/Pierce) - January 28, 2004
- Team # 4 -- Andrew Howard (Lyman) - January 20, 2004
- Team # 5 -- Steve Cronin (Jefferson) - unscheduled
- Team # 6 -- Ben Peirce (ESL/HEPL) - January 7, 2004 (completed)
- Team # 7 -- Iva Maxwell (Link) - January 13, 2004 (completed)
- Team # 8 -- Jennifer Sage (Maxwell/Dworkin) - January 7, 2004 (completed)
- Team # 9 -- Lenny Solomon (ART Shop) - January 27, 2004
- Team # 10 -- Marc Durand (McKay Clean Rooms) - January 26, 2004
A. ESL and HEPL - Ben Peirce, Team 6
- ESL 115, 117, 118 - trip hazard (compressed air tubes running between rooms)
- ESL 213 - trip hazard (tape coming off a taped-down cord)
- ESL 205 - blue rack obstructing the view of a laser sign
- ESL 215 - empty containers (~20) need to be removed
- HEPL 104 - mark chemical fridge as such
- HEPL 105 - need interlock for laser, emergency contacts
- HEPL 106 - power cords hung from ceiling
- HEPL 309 - trip hazard (hallway between 309 and "Electronics Test Lab", tape is coming off)
B. Maxwell/Dworkin - Jennifer Sage, Team 8
- MD 338:
- Small unlabelled squirt bottle on shelf above sink
- Silicone precursors stored in unlabelled cabinet - need to list hazards
- Silicone precursors not listed on door sign
- Door sign missing on the second door to the lab
- Small (Class IIIA) laser no longer in use. Can it be boxed up and taken off the door sign?
- MD 311 – VLSI lab:
- Need door signs on 311 and 313
- Need to list radiation sources on door signs
- MD 321:
- Small fridge needs a “Food Only” sign
- MD 133:
- Hood mentioned on last year’s report appears to be empty and unused.
C. Link Building (Anderson Group) - Iva Maxwell, Team 7
- Basement area - lots of clutter; dripping oil
- Machine Shop - there are no goggles available in room
- Fume hoods - need to be inspected
- The Wofsy labs in Hoffman Building were not inspected.
4. Eyewash Stations
Lenny handed out eyewash inspection tags to everyone. He said that monitoring eyewash stations is part of the responsibility of the safety officers.
- Safety officers must flush out their eyewash stations EVERY WEEK. They should let the water flow for 3-5 minutes, then tag the eyewash stations with the inspection tags.
- Ed Jackson said Facilities Management is responsible for the design and maintenance of the eyewash stations. Safety officers should not be concerned with the physical upkeep of the stations, but they should perform the weekly flushing of the eyewashes.
- Drench Hoses are not eyewash stations. If you have one in your lab, you should contact Facilities Management and have a proper eyewash station installed.
- Ed Jackson reported that the plummer is working on fixing several eyewashes. He provided a list of issues in the McKay Building that are being dealt with, such as:
- McKay 312A - replace eyewash valve.
- McKay 312B - eyewash valve not connected to eyewash system--has to be re-piped
- McKay 318 - eyewash valve not connected to eyewash system--has to be re-piped
- McKay 501 - new eyewash basin has been ordered
- Work in progress to correct safety showers and eyewash system
- Meanwhile, David Iannuzzi reported that the Cruft labs still do not have any eyewash stations. Ed Jackson said he will look into it.
A student of Charles Lieber accidentally broke a glass bottle of photoresist waste in the Clean Room (Steve Shepard said they will now being using plastic bottles as much as possible). The spill created a bad odor. As is the procedure, the Clean Room was shut down and the Operations Center and Steve Shepard were called in. A respirator was used during clean-up and the broken glass was disposed of properly. Apparently the student had some difficulty reporting the spill, because the student was not able to speak English well. Ed Jackson said he was called at home and was told "there was a spill in the Clean Room," but he had little information as to how bad it was or what was being done. He suggested that a staff person should be present at all times while the Clean Room is in use. Steve Shepard said the Clean Room needs to be available for use 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, which would mean we would need to hire additional staff to work around the clock. Mike Labosky (EH&S) added that anyone involved in a spill should inform the Operations Center as to what exactly happened and what is being done about it--do not simply notify internal staff only.
Lenny said we need to develop a procedure to deal with problems in the Clean Room. This will be reported at the next meeting.
Fume Hoods -- EH&S has changed its procedure for testing fume hoods. In the past they have not failed fume hood tests based on high velocity. Now, however, high velocity will be a possible factor in failed tests. They will also provide new blue tags which will contain more information on the hoods. Contact Bill Irwin at 5-0777 if you have questions on fume hoods.
Rob read a list of names that need retraining.
10. Post Meeting
After the meeting was over, Ed Jackson gave Rob Stanhope a printed list entitled "Safety Committee Issues and Results, January 13, 2004." The list is intended to show outstanding issues and how they were resolved or how they are being worked on. The list is as follows
- McKay 513 - "No Food" label placed on refrigerator 1/13/04
- McKay 410 - Placed a larger "Eye Wash" sign over sink 1/14/04
- McKay 329 - Placed "Eye Wash" sign next to sink 1/14/04
- McKay 221 - Fire extinguisher already exists. Located behind door. Will place a large sign above door. 1/19/04
- McKay 222 - Electrician will replace burned out lamps above both doors.
- McKay 1st floor hall - Exit sign on south side of door need new lamps (burned out). A new sign will be added on the inside so it is visible from hall.
- Pierce Hall B4 - CO2 fire extinguisher has been removed.
- Pierce Hall B6 & B7 - a "No Exit" sign will be made and placed on door in machine shop.
- Pierce Hall B7 - Fire extinguisher has been hung.
- ESL - Evacuation routes have been updated and just returned. They are being checked for accuracy, and should be posted sometime next week (1/19/04).
- ESL 303 - Sign for microwave oven "No Food" installed 1/14
- ESL 215 - Sign for "Eye Wash & Safety Shower" installed 1/14/04
- ESL 3rd floor - Emergency showers meet the 10-second travel time. Should you get a chemical spill on clothing, you would run to the nearest shower, not walk.