DEAS/Physics Safety Committee
Wednesday, March 8, 2000
Noon-1:00PM
The following issues were noted:
McKay Laboratory - 1/26/2000 (Team 1 - Aldo Apponi)
- 501A (Paul) - Mixed chemicals in the flammables cabinet. Metals and possible oxidizers should be removed.
- 506 (Aziz) - Needs fire extinguisher.
- 510A (Spaepen) - Update sign, HF was no longer present in the laboratory. Tank that floats the laser table should be permanently mounted to the wall or table. 4% H2 in Ar tank should be permanently mounted. Phone cord running across the floor--consider a second extension.
- 513 (Weitz) - Sign on the door should specifically list the chemicals and hazards in the room.
- 512 (Aziz) - No laser safety interlocks or indicator lights. No secondary container for waste. Waste improperly stored in the flammables cabinet (Green satellite accumulation sign is missing).
- 517 (Weitz) - No hazards in this laboratory are indicated on the door. Several solvent bottles were on the counters. Indicate that solvents are used in this laboratory if appropriate.
- 518 (Paul) - No comments.
- 519 (Weitz) - Sign on the door does not indicate class of laser--update sign.
- 422 - Closet is booby trapped. Heavy piece of metal falls when the door to this room is opened.
- 525 (Weitz) - Sign does not specify hazards in the room. Acids and solvents are stored together. Waste tags are not properly labeled.
- 534 - Machine shop and desks all OK.
- 431 (Spaepen) - Dark Room: No comments.
- 427 (Spaepen) - 2 Argon tanks should be permanently mounted.
- 426 (Spaepen) - Sign indicated laser, but no laser present in this area. Waste tags not properly filled out.
- 424 (Spaepen, Aziz) - No Comment.
- 421 (Proost) - No Comment.
- 417 - No Secondary containment on waste in Satellite Accum. Area. Labels not filled out correctly.
- 418 (Pershan) - No Comment.
- 413 (Spaepen) - No Comment.
- 410, 409, 406 (Spaepen) - No Comment.
- 304 - No Sign on the door indicating hazards. Sat. Accum. Area not clearly marked. No secondary containment. Labels are not filled out correctly.
- 303 - No Sign. Sat. Accum. Area sign not displayed--lying in a broken hood. Cylinder cart running over wires and gas lines. Cylinder should be permanently mounted to experiment. N2 tank is a permanent part of the experiment and should be permanently fixed to the wall or bench. Bases stored with the waste in same secondary container. Hood is broken.
- 312, 314, 318 (Pershan) - No Comment.
- 320 (Shen) - No Comment.
- 326AB, 322 (Ashcom) - Benches are very cluttered, but no specific problems.
- 330 (Roeser) - Could not enter room.
- 329 (Mazur) - Hazards not specifically indicated on the door. Waste improperly labeled. Food used for research should be labeled. as such
- 232 - Could not get in.
- 227 (Tinkham) - Random Compressed gases on carts with regulators affix. Hood was found in a hazardous state. Very cluttered, drinking mug in with the chemicals. Shards of glass and other sharps strewn about. No fire extinguisher. BLOCKED FIRE EXIT! The main exit to the room is blocked with junk.
- 220 (Tinkham) - Sign does not PROPERLY indicate hazards in the room.
- 117 - Waste is locked in the closet and no one has the key.
- 217 (Tinkham) - Update signs. Random tank in the hall on a portable cart with the regulator affix.
- 213 (Tinkham) - Hazards are not indicated on the door.
- 214 (Westervelt) - No Comment.
- 212 (Tinkham) - More gas cylinders on portable carts.
- 211 (Westervelt) - HF antidote is clearly outdated. Antidote is stored with the HF itself and is not clearly explained as to how to use it. 6 liters of turpentine, the same 6 liters as last year, should be stored in the flammables cabinet. Solvent container used to store used-sharps. Cylinder cart with high pressure N2 blocking the doorway--at least put the carts in a place where they are not likely to be bumped or knocked over, or less likely to be moved and the regulator knocked off of the tank. More tanks in the hall with regulators.
- 204 (Westervelt) - No waste water alert sign. Cords in the isles.
- 203 (Westervelt) - No waste water alert sign. Coke in the sink. Electrical cords running through the sink. Empty beer bottles in the laboratory should not be displayed as trophies (...come on, this is Harvard, not MIT).
- 106 (LU) - No EH&S approved sign listing the hazards is presented. Waste is improperly stored in the flammables cabinet. MISSING HF antidote--HF present in the lab.
- 106B - N2 that is clearly attached to the experiment permanently.
- 106I is on a portable cart.
- 113 (Golovchenko) Labels are not filled out properly on waste. More tanks clutter in the hood.
- Machine shop - No comment.
Cruft & Pierce Laboratories - 2/23/2000 (Team 2 - Nan Shen)
Cruft Lab:
- Cruft was in the middle of renovation when we did the inspection.
- Equipment was moved and many rooms were used as storage space.
- Rm B10 - The room was largely storage. We found an old compressed gas tank on wheels with pressure regulator on, but apparently not in use.
Pierce Hall:
- Pierce was in good shape in general.
- 1st Floor - The right-to-know station needs refill. Information brochures were out.
- Rm G-14 - An old machine was blocking the narrow walkway.
- Rm B7 - Unmarked bottle with liquid on the shelf. Wire running across the floor.
- Rm B7b - Wooden platform on the floor. Needs safety tape around.
- Rm B7d - There were 24 lecture bottles dated "1976" under the vent hood. Some were flammable. Should get rid of. A compress gas tank not tightened down. Old chemicals (under fume hood), containers were all rusty. 20-30 little compressed gas tanks on the floor right in front of the emergency power shut-off switch. In one of the little rooms, there was a compressed gas tank tightened down to a table by tape.
- B12 - Underground water tank open and exposed--dangerous!
Jefferson & Lyman Laboratories - 2/11/2000 (Team 3 - John Chervinsky)
General Comments:
- From a safety perspective, all of the laboratories looked very good with but a few minor transgressions listed below.
- It seemed that all of the laboratories that had HF acid antidotes had expiration dates of February 2000.
- Machine Shop - Inspection Team members wondered whether it was appropriate to have an emergency eyewash station in the shop. Currently there is none.
- Wood Shop - Fire Extinguisher out of certification.
- Jefferson 150c [Prentiss] - Electrical cord lying across the floor is a trip hazard. Although there are LASER warning signs that proclaimed "Laser Hazard when Light is on," there is no warning light.
- Jefferson 164 [Golovchenko] - An SEM has a roughing pump whose exhaust is fed directly into the room.
- X-ray lab has box blocking emergency exit.
- Lyman 31 and 27 [Doyle] - No chemical spill kit.
- Small gas cylinder in hallway was untied. Weak radioactive source of 0.1 mREM 113Sn; Inspection Team members wondered what requirements there are for weak sources. Need satellite accumulation area sign.
- Note to safety committee: Jefferson 123 is no longer a Silvera Lab
- Lyman 229 and 230 are no longer Golovchenko labs but now belong to Lena Hau.
ESL & HEPL Laboratories - 2/17/2000 (Team 4 - Mark Topinka)
No report given. Mark Topinka was not at meeting. Will hear report at next month's meeting.
Link Building [Anderson Group] - (Lenny Solomon)
- Rotary pump exhaust - will check for leak.
- Acetone jugs removed.
- Fume hood - size is not a problem. It is cleaned out when HF is used.
Wofsy Group - (Lenny Solomon): No problems, inspection was perfect.
Lenny drew attention to the upcoming Safety Seminars and stressed that people needing training should make every effort to attend. He asked whether Physics staff should attend the Custodial Training seminar? This will be discussed at a later time with Stuart McNeil.
Lenny reminded everyone that ALL safety committee reps act as "fire marshalls" whenever a fire alarm is activated. During fire drills and emergencies, fire marshalls should walk through their area and make sure sure doors are closed and all people are outside.
Rob Stanhope reported a few names needing retraining.
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