Category Archives: Reference material

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5 Key Safety Questions for Chemical Demonstrations

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At the Spring, 2017 ACS national meeting, CHAS members Ralph Stuart and Sammye Sigmann made presentations in the Division of Chemical Education technical program on topics related to undergraduate research safety. Sammye’s  presentation was entitled:
Integrating Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment into Course-based Undergraduate Research (CURE)

Ralph’s (which Sammye co-authored) was entitled:
Providing laboratory safety education to REU audiences.

In addition, they co-authored a poster for Sci Mix. An overview of the poster and a link to it are provided below.
In 2016, the ACS Division of Chemical Education (CHED) updated their “Safety Guidelines for Chemical Demonstrations”. The Guidelines are available at the CHED web site. Look at DCHAS web site to see how these guidelines align with the “5 Key Questions”.

This poster provides a quick overview of the five key safety questions that anyone planning chemical demonstrations or experiments should ask and answer prior to work. It is also important to be aware that local jurisdictions may require more extensive planning for some demonstrations and so for everyone’s safety – check with the local Fire Department for help with planning your demonstration.

The Five Key Questions are:

  1. What specific chemical or physical reactivity hazards are associated with the way I’m using these chemicals?
  2. What type of ventilation do I need?
  3. What personal protective equipment do I need?
  4. What emergency response protocols will be needed if something goes wrong?
  5. What will I do with the waste?

Sigmann, S.; Stuart, R.

Assessing Risk: Five Key Questions for Safe Research and Demos. inChemistry Magazine, 2016, September/October, 6-9.

Five Chem Safety Questions poster

 

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An exposure assessment of desktop 3D printing

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The Editor’s Spotlight for the March / April 2017 issue of the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety is shining on:

An exposure assessment of desktop 3D printing by Tracy L. Zontek, Burton R. Ogle, John T. Jankovic, and Scott M. Hollenbeck

A preliminary hazard analysis of 3D printing included process monitoring in two working environments; a small well ventilated materials development laboratory with a Makerbot printer (polylactic acid filament) and a poorly ventilated lab, home-like in terms of room size and ventilation with a Da Vinci XYZ printer (acrylonitrile- butadiene-styrene).

Particle number, size and mass concentration were measured within the printer enclosures, breathing zone, and room simultaneously. Number concentrations were elevated above background typically in the 103 – 105 particles/cm3 range. During printing >99% of the aerosol number concentration was within the ultrafine particulate (UFP) and nanoscale size range. Condensed aerosol emissions from the Da Vinci XYZ printer was examined by Fourier infra-red spectroscopy and suggested isocyanic acid and n-decane as two possible chemical components. Light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy with energy dispersive analysis by X-ray identified individual and aggregated particles highly suggestive of combustion, accompanied by a variety of metallic elements.

Adverse health effects associated with 3D printing related to chemical vapor off-gassing in well ventilated space appears to be low. At this point the significance of ultrafine particle emission is under growing suspicion in its relationship to inflammatory, pulmonary, and cardiovascular effects. Preliminary recommendations for particulate control developed from this analysis are based on good industrial hygiene practice rather than compelling adverse health effects.

You can download the complete article here. An exposure assessment of desktop 3D printing

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EPA Symposium on new RCRA Generator Requirements

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On January 31 in Boston, EPA headquarters staff gave a 6 hour presentation on the new RCRA generator requirements promulgated last November with specific emphasis on how these changes might impact laboratory waste generators. The staff acknowledged that there were specific issues raised by these changes that might have different impacts on laboratory settings compared to other generators. For example, their presentation indicates that the average RCRA hazardous waste generator has between 1 and 5 waste streams that they typically generate.

Attendees at this meeting were from around the country and had many questions about how these rule changes would be applied in the laboratory setting. The answers to many of these questions will depend on how specific states choose to implement and enforce these changes.

A pdf version of the powerpoint file (169 slides) for this presentation can be downloaded here. The symposium was recorded; contact Ralph Stuart at secretary@dchas.org for more information about accessing this information.

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Safety in the Chemistry Enterprise

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In December, the American Chemical Society Board of Directors approved a ACS policy statement on “Safety in the Chemical Enterprise”. As described in the C&EN article at this link, The document outlines the ACS’ recommendations to government agencies in addressing public concerns about the safe use of chemicals in the economy. This statement will provide guidance to ACS staff and committees in developing information about these issues over the next three years.

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Safety Culture Education Discussion

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At the September CSHEMA regional meeting, three DCHAS members (Gail Hall of Boston College, Zehra Schneider-Graham of the University of Massachusetts Boston, and Ralph Stuart of Keene State College) participated in a panel discussion about how Environmental Health and Safety Departments can best support laboratory safety culture through their safety training efforts. The presentations discussed the challenge of developing training programs that reflected the institutional culture while also addressing regulatory requirements.

Three key lessons from the Lab-XL project with the EPA were highlighted:

  • Each academic institution is unique
  • Connecting to the academic mission is necessary to motivate organizational change
  • Flexibility goes a long way in laboratory settings

In addition to describing approaches to this issue in the undergraduate and graduate laboratory settings, the panel presented the results of a DCHAS/CSHEMA survey of safety education efforts. PDF versions of the presentations and the survey results are provided here:

Developing Safety Culture Education at a PUI Campus, Ralph Stuart

Naming the Dead Cat in the Middle of the Table, Gail Hall

Survey on Lab Safety Culture Education on Campus, Zehra Schneider-Graham

Safety Culture Education Survey Results Data (in PDF) (if you are interested in these data in Excel format for further exploration, contact Ralph Stuart at ralph.stuart@keene.edu).

Also note this related article from the Journal of Chemical Education on Using the Universal Design for Learning Approach in Science Laboratories To Minimize Student Stress

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Regulatory Issues in the Lab: Chemical Security and the ADA

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Chemical Security

Navigating CFATS in Academia. R.M. Izzo

Addressing Chemical Security Concerns in a Research Lab Setting. M.B. Koza

ADA Issues in the Lab

Overview of the Federal regulations that require physical accessibility in labs & the “Building Blocks of Accessibility” that apply in lab settings. J. Perry

Special Health and Safety Considerations for Persons with Disabilities Who Work in Scientific Research, Testing, or Teaching Laboratories. J. Baum

Accommodations and Modifications in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities. J.Zesski

ADA Technical Assistance Centers Who we are and what we do. C. Sweet

Institutional Responsibilities for Adapting Laboratories for Students with Disabilities Responsibilities. S.M. Kennedy, J. Boval

Tools for Adapting Laboratories for Students with Disabilities S.M. Kennedy, J. Boval

Brief overview of service animals C. Sweet

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Control Banding in the Laboratory

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Here is a collection of web-based information about using chemical safety levels or other control banding techniques in the laboratory. If you know of another resource or example that we should add to the list, contact us at secretary@dchas.org.

General Information

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

OSH Answers Fact Sheets
http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/chemicals/control_banding.html

NIOSH Control Banding Page

Overview of Control Banding Theory and Research
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/ctrlbanding/default.html

Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals

Wikipedia description:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globally_Harmonized_System_of_Classification_and_Labelling_of_Chemicals

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe “About the GHS” page:
http://www.unece.org/trans/danger/publi/ghs/ghs_welcome_e.html

OSHA guidance:
https://www.osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/index.html

PubChem Laboratory Chemical Safety Summaries:
https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/lcss/

1999 Article in the Journal of Chemical Health and Safety

Chemical safety levels (CSLs): A proposal for chemical safety practices in microbiological and biomedical laboratories
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S107490989900009X

Specific Applications

Laboratory Inspection Frequency

University of Michigan Lab Hazard Rank
http://www.oseh.umich.edu/research/haz-ranking.shtml

Laboratory Personal Protective Equipment Selection Guide

University of South Florida
http://www.usf.edu/administrative-services/environmental-health-safety/documents/labsafety-trainingppehazardassessment2015.pdf

Laboratory Standard Operating Procedures

University of California Davis
http://ehs.ucdavis.edu/article/standard-operating-procedure-templates

Laboratory Ventilation

Cornell University Ithaca Laboratory Ventilation Management Plan
https://sp.ehs.cornell.edu/lab-research-safety/chemical-safety/lab-ventilation/Documents/Cornell%20LVMP_2016.pdf

Laboratory Emergency Response

University of North Carolina Greensboro
http://www.uncg.edu/sft/EnvironmentalAffairs/LaboratoryHazWarningSignProgrampolicy.pdf

Working Safely with Engineered Nanomaterials in Academic Research Setting

California Nanosafety Consortium of Higher Education
http://www.ehs.uci.edu/programs/sop_library/Nanotoolkit.pdf

Control Bands in Biosafety Settings

Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 5th Edition
http://www.cdc.gov/biosafety/publications/bmbl5/index.htm

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Chemical, Sample & Asset Management Tools

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Wednesday’s presentations on Chemical, Sample & Asset Management Tools discussed a variety of aspects of how the safety program collects, organizes and uses data and information related to chemicals and their hazards. The morning’s presentations focused on chemical inventories: why institutions need them; some platforms for collecting and reporting the information associated with them; and what they look like “on the ground”.

The afternoon presentations took a more global approach to chemical safety information in the lab, discussing the organizational, environmental and information contexts of this data.  The last speaker of the day described an emerging innovative approach to collecting “Lessons Learned” information from laboratory events,

Chemical inventories: What are they good for? R. Stuart

How UNHCEMS has evolved from a Chemical Inventory Tracking system to an Environmental Management Tool. C. Myer, P. Collins, A. Glode

Use of RFID and scanning technologies for managing large Chemical Inventories. J.M. Pickel 10:25: Intermission.

Developing a cloud based chemical inventory application for the University of California System (UC Chemicals). H. Weizman

Using a chemical inventory system to optimize safe laboratory research. G. Baysinger, R. Creed, L.M. Gibbs

Chemical stockroom management: Lessons learned ten years in. S.B. Sigmann

UC Safety: An Integrated Approach to Your Chemical Management Needs (link to demo site) J. Ballinger

PubChem’s Laboratory Chemical Safety Summary (LCSS). S. Kim, J. Zhang, A. Gindulyte, P. Thiessen, L. McEwen, R. Stuart, E. Bolton, S. Bryant

Socio-Legal Issues in the Application of Semantic Web Technology to Chemical Safety. J.G. Frey, M.I. Borkum

Precompetitive collaboration to advance laboratory safety C.I. Nitsche. Link to the project web site.

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Developing, Implementing & Teaching Hazard Assessment Tools

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Tuesday’s presentations discussed the Developing, Implementing & Teaching Hazard Assessment Tools from a variety of points of view, including their impact on lab safety culture; their role as an information and educational process in the laboratory; and how institutions can provide oversight of the quality of this work.

The afternoon session was a 3 hour workshop that discussed how the Bowtie Methodology to hazard and incident analysis can be applied in the laboratory sessions through several examples worked through in small groups.

Creating a Culture of Safety: APLU Recommendations and Tools for Universities and Colleges. K. Jeskie

Parsing the Chemical Risk Assessment Process for the Laboratory. R. Stuart

Incorporating Hazard Assessment into Laboratory Curricula: One Pathway to Growing a Sustainable Safety Culture. L.J. Tirri

A Remarkable Advance in Lab Coats for Chemical Exposure Prevention C.A. Merlic

Software Tools to Assist and Promote Laboratory Safety. C.A. Merlic, S.M. Hussain

Using Case Studies and Receving Ancillary Benefits Through Instruction and Use of What-If Hazard Reviews in an Academic Research Environment. K.W. Kretchman

System to identify, analyze and control the hazards of laboratory researcher at Argonne National Laboratory. S. Baumann, S. Rupkey

Hazard Review and Approval System at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. S.G. Ringen

Development of a database for hazard assessment and work approval in the Material Measurement Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). E. Mackey, C. Vogel, B. Brass

Introduction to Bowtie Methodology for a Laboratory Setting. C. Boylan, M.B. Mulcahy