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Previous by Date: Subject: Departmental Chemical Hygiene Officer Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:22:50 -0500 Author: "Samuella B. Sigmann" |
Next by Date: Subject: Workshops in New Orleans Date: Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:23:13 -0500 Author: Russ Phifer |
I finally have to put my two-penn'orth in as safety officer at a State DNA lab. We had a new facility and no drains for the showers, and the eyewash units designed to be pulled down out of the wall spouting water as they go. I got nowhere with the manufacturers and they weren't even interested in the way we devised the solution to the required monthly safety check, which I thought could have increased their profits. Anyway, it works for us, but with 23 units it takes at least a couple of hours for two people to maneuver the 50-gallon bin on wheels through the double doors, especially when it is half-full of water (that stuff is heavy!). More than double that time for one person. We also made two wide flexible tubes that fit over the eyewash spigots and were screwed on while the water drained into the bin. Not easy to do but we got used to it and there was very little mess to clean up. There is also a valve at the bottom of the bin for "easy" drainage outside (more doors!). Unfortunately we could never get Facilities to reduce the water flow to 20-30 gpm; we were operating at 60-70 gpm! So when I trained new staff in using a shower/eyewash, I would warn them about this and the dangers of slipping and falling with water on the floor and the fact that the water would be cold. We had occasion to use an eyewash unit once and the water not only filled the lab floor in 5 minutes but went out into the corridor and one person did slip and fall. Then all the baseboards under the cabinets had to be removed as water had got behind them and there was the danger of mold growing if we didn't do that. There's far more to it than just mopping up! Anyway, now new shower units can be made to use warm water. My take on this whole issue is that a safety officer must be on the design committee of any lab space to avoid buying the wrong equipment or putting it in a stupid place just because there is a space on the blueprint. Engineers and construction experts, even of labs, don't have to live with their mistakes and never worked in a lab anyway. **************The year's hottest artists on the red carpet at the Grammy Awards. Go to AOL Music. (http://music.aol.com/grammys?NCID=aolcmp00300000002565)
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