DEAS/Physics Safety Committee

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Noon-1:00PM

1. Video - "Using Hand & Power Tools" (16 minutes)

2. Lab Inspection Follow-Up Reports 2003:

A. McKay Floors 2 & 3:

• Steve Cronin (Tinkham) - no one was present to give a follow-up
• Jeff Miller (Marcus):
  • Room 213 - No fire extinguisher - There is a fire extinguisher in the hall.
  • Room 219 - Squeeze bottle not labeled - Could not find the bottle--not a problem.
• Parisa Fallahi (Westervelt) - there were no problems.
• Roberto Martinez (Narayanamurti) - Roberto was not present to give follow-up report.
• Kyle Alvine (Pershan)
  • Room 312 - Locked - This room needs to be inspected. Kyle will look at it to see if there are any issues.
  • Room 318 - Fume hood cluttered, used for storage - This issue will be addressed.
• Iva Maxwell (Mazur) - she was not present to give report.

B. ESL 205-216 (Weitz):

• ESL 205c (Weitz) - use of cardboard box as a table. Chemicals on cardboard box - The box has been removed.
• ESL 213 (Weitz) - laser in use sign with light needed. There was a “Caution Laser in Use” sign but nothing indicating whether or not the laser was on or not. Double check to see if needed or not. Not sure if cardboard is the best method for enclosing the laser - The laser is Class IIIa and the sign that is there is sufficient. The cardboard is not there to prevent stray laser beams from escaping. It is there to block light from getting into the laser. The laser is practically harmless.
• ESL 214 (Weitz) - electrical cords on the floor - The cords do not present a trip hazard because they are in an are that is not a walkway.
• ESL 215 (Weitz) - a saturated KOH in ethanol bottle stored in the hood. Should be placed in a secondary container under or outside the hood - The KOH has been removed.
• ESL 216A (Weitz) - BNC cable on the floor - The cable has been removed.

3. Accident - Chris Slowe

Chris Slowe talked about a recent accident in his lab that injured him. A small glass window in a vacuum chamber blew out and threw shattered glass throughout the room; Chris's arm was cut and required a number of stitches.

There was a leak in the vacuum chamber, so he decided to pressurize it to find the leak. Although the glass was designed to withstand external pressure, it was not intended to withstand internal pressure. Chris wanted to explain this to the committee so that others would not pressurize their vacuum chambers and potentially cause serious physical harm. After the accident, he has installed a safety release valve on the gas line to prevent over-pressurization. The moral of the story is: do not pressurize vacuum chambers!

Lenny said he would add an item to the lab inspection check list to remind inspectors to look for safety valves on vacuum chambers. This would be one way of getting the message out to lab workers about the safe use of vacuum chambers.

Chris mentioned that the HUPD did not have a key to get into Lyman when they were called at the time of his accident. Apparently they were waiting outside the building until someone could let them in! Ed Jackson said that the HUPD has keys to the main entrances of all the DEAS/Physics buildings. He said he would look into why they supposedly have no key.

Mike Labosky reminded people that in cases of an emergency you should first call 911 (or 9-911, both work) and HUPD. If you have time, you could also call the Operations Center at 5-5560. Lenny said that people who work late into the night are often alone in their labs which becomes a safety concern. People who work late should not do any hazardous work until other people are around who can help them in case of an emergency.

4. EH&S report - Mike Labosky

• Mike Labosky said EH&S will be streamlining its fume hood inspection procedures. EH&S will be letting us know more in the future.
• Howard Herman-Haase said there will be summer lab inspections. EH&S will be contacting safety officers to set up appointments for lab inspections. This will be starting in late May or early June.
• Cathy Thomas announced that she will be offering her monthly Lab Safety training at 1:30pm today in MD 323. Lenny will send a quick reminder to everyone after this meeting is over.

5. RSI training

Lenny said he will be giving a training talk on Repetitive Strain Injury tomorrow in MD 221 at 12:00pm.

6. Old Business

• Deluge Showers - Ed Jackson and Lenny are still discussing whether curtains should be installed on all safety deluge showers.
• Andrea del Vecchio mentioned that the pull-handle on the deluge shower in her lab area is very high, perhaps too high. She said many people might not be able to reach it when there is an emergency.

7. New Business

• Ed Jackson said there will be an upcoming informational meeting regarding the construction that will be taking place near McKay over the next 3 years. It will be a good opportunity for people to present there concerns, especially regarding the issue of vibration affecting lab experiments. He will be notifying us by email when the meeting date is.
• Prof. Pershan said there is a website at Harvard which maintains current information on all the construction sites at Harvard. Go to: http://www.construction.fas.harvard.edu/
• The Main Accumulation Area in McKay is being removed. We will need to find a solution for this. Ed Jackson is working on it.
• Lenny mentioned that we should not call Hazardous Waste pick-up to have biohazard materials removed. If you have anything that is biohazard, such as materials used in blood spills, you should call Sid Paula at 5-2345. This number is listed on the home page of our website.
• In Physics, the fire alarm has been activated repeatedly during the day--so much so, that most people have come to ignore it and simply stay in the building despite the alarm. Some people asked whether there was a way to limit the number of false alarms. Lenny and Stuart said that everyone MUST leave the building EVERY time the alarm goes off regardless of whether it may be a false alarm or not. This occurs often during times of construction; however, it is imperative that everyone leave the building. The Fire Dept. will fine any individual who does not leave. It was also mentioned that many people do not know where to assemble once they are outside the building. Lenny said evacuation plans are listed on our website and safety officers should print them out and distribute them to members of their lab/group. If a group is new, the safety officer will need to create an evacuation plan and submit it to Lenny.
• The next meeting will be at Legal Sea Foods Restaurant, either in Kendall Square or at the new location near Charles Hotel in Harvard Square. Lenny will email everyone with the info--you will need to RSVP at that time.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, June 11, 2003 @ 12:00 noon, Legal Sea Foods Restaurant