SEAS/Physics/EPS Safety Committee

Meeting Minutes

Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Noon-1:00PM

1. Video - no video this month

2. Lab Safety Training update:

Lenny handed out a list of lab workers who have never taken the Lab Safety Training seminar which is offered every month by EH&S. He asked everyone to look at this list and indicate the people who no longer work at Harvard. Rob will take the lists and remove the names from our training database. Only a few people returned the lists to Rob after the meeting was over.

3. First Aid & CPR

Linn Eichler reported that the First Aid & CPR classes have been offered again this year. Adult CPR was held on May 5th. Only 8 people came to the CPR Review class. Adult First Aid will be offered on Monday, May 19th, at 9:00am in Pierce 100F.

4. Eye Wash Stations

Don had the eye wash stations tested in mid-April. The McKay tempering tank was drained and refilled. The Cruft tempering tank has not been checked yet.

5. Lab Inspection Reports:

A. A.R.T. Scene Shop - Lenny inspected the scene shop and said it looked pretty safe. He thinks the workers should wear steel-toed shoes and the saws should be fitted with safety guards.

B. Hoffman Basement-2nd Floor - Ernst van Nierop

• a few labs were locked, and we could not reach anyone to let us in. What are we supposed to do in such cases?
• are we supposed to inspect clean rooms too?
• in many of the labs we inspected, there were electric outlets very near sinks, with obvious risk of shorting the outlets. In most cases it was not clear if these outlets had a ground fault interruptor (GFI) installed. What is the deal; are they all GFI, or are none of them GFI?

1. BASEMENT: B017:
   • electric outlets above sink are covered with black tape; something more permanent needs to be done here.
   • cylinders: multiple tanks with one chain, needs individual chains to minimize risk of falling over when switching tanks.
   • do all oil containing pumps require secondary containment? Is that a safety issue, or just a cleanliness issue? What is it is only a milliliter per year?
   • walk-in freezer: this fridge has make up air, but you can enter without switching that air supply on. Also, there is no refrigerant leak detection in the fridge, despite this being heavier than air and having the potential to make someone in the fridge pass out / suffocate. I.e. need leak detection and interlock system, and/or CO2 detection.
   • what are you supposed to do with full sharps containers if you are not a BL registered lab, and don't have a biowaste box?
2. GROUND:
   • G28A/B Wofsy labs: locked, no response to ringing the bell.
3. FIRST FLOOR:
   • 132: Anderson lab; old sign (i.e. not Chemtracker), locked so did not inspect.
   • 112: Langmuir lab: this room is not labeled as a lab space, despite having some conspicuous "lab-like" elements such as equipment and chemicals. I.e. need sign. This room connects to rooms
   • 120: had a strange smell => is there enough ventilation?
   • 114B: 8 N HNO3 tank sitting on ledge of sink, waiting to fall off and cause an acid spill. This tank needs to be secured, and perhaps it requires secondary containment too. There are also some pumps that may need containment.
   • 115: one hood is broken, they are getting it fixed, the other hood was recently inspected but the inspection tag has not been updated. Again, another 8N nitric acid tank needs to be secured and/or placed in secondary containment.
   • 117: clean room, we did not inspect.
4. SECOND FLOOR:
   Jacobsen group:
   
   • 211: old sign on door
     
     • need better sign showing where HF antidote is, for visitors who do not know.
       
     • door to the actual lab space of 211 needs a proper sign, not 4 pieces of sticky tape labeled HCl, HF, etc.
       
     • one fume hood that has not worked for the last ten years... does that need a sign or something?
       
     • two fume hoods have no sashes.... why not? aren't they costing a household of energy each to run all the time?
       
     • no SAA in 211, because they always use small quantities of acids, which they dilute and then drain to the tanks. Is that standard practice?
       
     • safety shower needs new chain, previous chain broke when it was yanked (and shower did not work). Also, there is no inspection tag on the shower, also not on the slightly rusty eyewash
       
     • fire extinguisher needs to be inspected (it was new on July '06)
       
     • the fridge in 211 needs a "no food" sign
   • 236B, 222: old sign
     
   • 233: Class IV laser, but no interlock when laser is on, also the sign is very poorly visible... this can and should probably be improved.
     • cylinders in hallway outside of 233 need individual chains
       
   • 228: 3 small gas cylinders need to be secured properly, and one large cylinder too. Again the question about oil dripping out of pumps.

Lenny said he will talk to Paul Kelley about them draining diluted acid into tanks.

6. Follow-Up Reports (responses to previous lab inspections)

• Lukin Lab - Safety goggles have been moved to a more visible location, door signs have been updated. Sharps container taken care of. Lenny said the coffee maker should not be in the lab.
• Horowitz Lab - Curtis Mead said they have removed the inflammables.
• Howe Lab - Door sign has been taken care of.
• Samuel Lab - Chris Gabel said the cylinders were removed or secured. Sharps cont. taken care of.

7. EH&S Report -

• Mark Collins will offer a weekly fire extinguisher training program.
• The annual EH&S summer lab inspections begin in June. Every safety officer needs to schedule an inspection time. You can do this be going to this URL at the EH&S web site and select an appointment time that is convenient for you: http://www.uos.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ehs/ehs-bin/sched.pl?list=seas_lab_insp

8. Old Business

• Someone asked how a lab can get extra laser safety goggles. Lenny said you should contact the following people for approval: Dave Norcross (for Physics labs), Lenny Solomon (for SEAS labs) and Paul Kelley (for EPS labs). The Safety Committee will buy them if the PI cannot afford to; however, safety goggles can be billed to grants.

9. New Business

• Joe Ustinowich said he was concerned about a roof in the back of Pierce Hall that has a lead alloy on it. The roof is waist high and Joe feels children could accidentally ingest lead if the scratch the roof with their fingers. Is this a safety hazard? Lenny said he will look into this. Lenny suggested that EH&S should check this out too.
• The June meeting will probably be on June 11th at Legal Seafood, but you will be notified of the finalized date.
• Someone asked if there is a certain dilution of HF that can be safely dumped down the drain. Lenny said no, because that could easily lead to mistakes. HF should be disposed of in a haz-waste container and properly labeled.

Next Meeting: TBD, sometime in June 2008