DEAS/Physics Safety Committee
Wednesday, February 14, 2001
Noon-1:00PM
Team # 5 will inspect the Jefferson lab areas on March 12th at 2:00pm. Lenny will act as Chair of the team.
Inspection reports were presented by Teams 1, 2, and 4 as follows:
a) Team # 1 - McKay Labs, Floors 1-3 (Yuki Sugimura)
- Room 304 - Satellite accumulation area looks OK; refrigerator needs to be labeled "chemicals only; no food"; yellow hose drains from roughing pump to outside through window, secure hose with tape.
- 320 - Old car battery sitting in the hallway outside of 320.
- 330 - Cabinet needs organization; cabinet designated as satellite accumulation site but also used as storage for various items; old pump in a tray labeled as "hazard"; methanol and acetone should be in flammables cabinet.
- 329 - Acids and flammables need to be stored separately; refrigerators need to be labeled "chemicals only; no food".
- 329A - Cables taped down to the floor, may want to use black and yellow tape to highlight them or put a board over it.
- 303 - Flammables not in flammables cabinet; flammables and bases need to be stored separately; paper cups left on the bench (eating and drinking in the lab? trash?); one nitrogen gas cylinder tied to a chaise mount cart (wheels don't lock and therefore not appropriate place to tie gas cylinders)
- 202 - Ethernet cable needs to be taped down to the floor
- 204 - Lab? Lounge area? Storage area? Beer brewing kit found
- 208 - Clutter; empty soda cans and drink bottles and paper cups need to be cleaned up
- 212 - Light fixture hanging from ceiling in front of cabinet; vacuum pump oil left in the sink; methanol squeeze bottle left on the floor
- 214 - Open, half-empty drink bottle left on the counter; light fixture hanging from the ceiling; sink covered with cardboard (from a previous construction/renovation), need to make sure the sink functions properly (there was a hose connected to the faucet but hanging outside the sink)
- 218 - Part office, part work area; general clutter; empty soda cans and paper cups sitting around
- 220 - Beer bottle in an old sink by the door
- 222 - Did not go into the clean room Red box for sharps but labeled "infectious waste", looks old, may want to replace with a new, appropriate box for sharps; emergency information on the spill kit faded, place a new label? (spill kit looked old but the items inside looked OK)
- 229 - Clean up
- 227 - Could not go in
- 225 - Waste oil not in secondary container; waste chemicals and fresh chemicals stored very close together (need organization); the whole room looks hazy/cloudy
- 213 - Waste acids and waste flammables stored in the same area next to each other but on separate trays - is this OK? Do the waste flammables have to be in the hood or in the flammables cabinet?
- 211 - Acids and bases stored in the same area but in separate trays - OK? Clutter in the chemicals cabinet; 6 bottles of turpentine stored in the cabinet above bench (same thing was pointed out 3 years in a row); no flammables cabinet?
- 203 - Light fixture fallen off; sink full of empty soda cans; microscope was balances on two sets of books that were stacked up - not safe and damaging to the microscope
- 106 - Waste flammables and fresh acids stored in one area but in separate trays - OK? Waste oil in flammables cabinet should be in a secondary container; acetone squeeze bottles sitting on the edge of the hood
- 113 - Update emergency information on the door; light fixture hanging down; no flammables cabinet for acetone and methanol; acids stored in cabinet above counter (find a safer place for storage); one nitrogen gas cylinder not tied to anything
- Questions:
- Is it OK to sore flammables and acids in one are as long as they are in separate trays?
- Do the fresh flammables (in large quantities) have to be stored in the flammables cabinet? Couple of labs didn't seem to have flammables cabinet.
- General Comments:
- Clean up clutter and trash/recyclables (especially empty soda cans)
- Most emergency information sheets looked up to date, even if they were few years old. If information is out of date, please replace with new information.
- Four incidences of light fixtures hanging by the string. Apparently, they just fall off by themselves. Get them fixed or just get rid of them.
b) Team # 2 - McKay Labs, Floors 4-5 (Derek Stein)
- General comments: Lab info sheets seem to be accurate, but not all are the new forms. Try to download and post them.
- 501 Paul No comment
- 503 Paul More straps could be useful in the the storage cabinet for compressed gasses. Separate acids from flammable solvents in the fume hood. Extra, unused acids or solvents solvents should be discarded from the bottom of the fume hood. A "spring cleaning" would be in order.
- 507 Paul Keep doorway clear. There is a long way to go in the lab between the area containing hazardous gasses and the office area. The door in 507 was blocked and should be kept clear.
- 518/520 Paul No interlock on the laser. Apparently one was requested by the group but could not be installed.
- 528,526,530,532,534 King No comment
- 531 Weitz This Weitz lab area was generally very good. The following are intended to be suggestions rather than actual safety infractions. UV light in hood might need goggles nearby. The benches are covered with countless colourful vials that contain aqueous suspensions of colloids. These are all harmless, but there would be no way for a fireman to know. Perhaps a sign over the benches indicating the general nature of the contents would help. (Labeling each vial would be too cumbersome, and also wouldn't help emergency personnel in the event of a fire, for example.)
- 525 Weitz No comment
- 519/521 Weitz Interlocks all in place, but we did not test them.
- 517 Weitz Lasers were all encased. I think this makes them class I, and does not require interlocks. Is this the case?
- 513 Weitz UV apparatus is class II. Perhaps a nearby pair of safety goggles would be useful. Same comment as before regarding the colourful vials.
- 512/516 Aziz Class IV and class IIIb lasers need interlock light on the door. Fume hood cluttered. New chemicals and waste bottles were all mixed together. Need to keep all waste in the satellite accumulation area. They were also found in the flammables cabinet.
- 510 Spaepen No comment
- 506 Aziz Keep door clear. Stuff in front of door did not allow us in. Satellite accumulation of waste was spread out over 3 cabinets and mixed with new chemicals. An interlock light exists but was not tested. Is it connected and working for both lasers in the room?
- 406/408a Spaepen Room contains high temperature annealing ovens. The nearest fire extinguisher is down the hall. Perhaps an extinguisher should be placed in the room, or immediately outside in the hall.
- 409 Spaepen No comment
- 410 Spaepen Class IIIb laser has no interlock. Put a sign on the laser setup itself, because it was quite well concealed (this is a good thing, but we don't want someone inadvertently opening it up when the laser is on).
- 413 Spaepen No comment
- 418 Pershan Update sign on the door. PI doesn't seem to be there.
- 417/415 Spaepen - central facility Some waste was in flammables cabinet because there was no room in the satellite accumulation area under the fume hood. It was well separated from the new chemicals, but requires secondary containment units.
- 421 Spaepen No comment
- 427 Spaepen An eye wash station near the cutting tools would be a good idea. Perhaps a portable one would suffice. A vent or hood for the glass heating station would be useful, like there is over the EDM machine.
- 424 Spaepen Class IIIb laser could use an interlocked light. There is a paper sign outside warning of laser use, but I got hit in the eye by a reflected beam when I went to see what class laser was being used.
- 425 Spaepen Interlock light on the door had burnt out, but was immediately replaced.
c) Team # 4 - Lyman Labs (Steve Shepard)
- Room 31: Fire ext. last inspection Oct 99/ sign for fire ext. location. Access to eyewash blocked. Chemical cabinet- messy/cluttered, hazardous waste tags not properly filled out, chemicals not separated properly. Respirator present but no one qualified for use.
- Corridor: cylinders not secured, belts frayed/worn. Sign for spill kit showing location? It is somewhat hidden.
- Room 27:Yellow strip on floor to warn of pit? No sharps box. Fire ext. Oct 99. Messy on floor.
- Machine Shop: Fire ext Oct 99 / sign showing location.
- Room 132: Fire ext. Oct 99/ location sign. Sharps box needed. Acids & solvents stored together. VERY OLD CHEMICALS in lab (sulfuric, HCl), should these be removed if not being used? Very cluttered chemicals. Coffee cup in laboratory near chemicals. "Non portable water" sign required for sink? Clutter in front of electrical box, access blocked. No safety info on door.
- Room 132a: Sharps box required. No safety info on door.
- Room 131: No safety info on door. Should have "No Food" sign on refrigerator. No sharps box. Cylinder not secured. No goggles/eyewear handy.
- Room 130: No safety info on door. OLD acids present- inventory? Gas line along floor. Fire ext Oct 99. No sharps box. "Non Portable Water" sign on sink required? Belt guard on pump missing. No goggles/ eyewear present. Leaky pipe (with sponge attached to catch water) over electrical equipment.
- Room 128/129: Fire ext Oct 99. No safety info on doors. No sharps box. No goggles/eyewear available.
- Room 126: Fire ext Oct 99.
4. EH&S Report - Mike Labosky
Rob reported that many people continue to avoid completing the online retraining module. He handed out a list of names and asked people to contact known people on the list to have them complete the training.
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