Hi and Hello:

Following the incident at Texas Tech University (Chemical Safety Board report here:  http://www.csb.gov/assets/1/19/CSB_Study_TTU_.pdf) recommendation "2011-5-CS-TX-2 - Develop good practice guidance that identifies and describes methodologies to assess and control hazards that can be used successfully in a research laboratory" - was given to the ACS.  Kim Jeskie, Division Chair-Elect at the time, was tasked with developing the guidance document, available here: http://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/about/governance/committees/chemicalsafety.html

Earlier this month, we received this communication from the Board:

Board Analysis and Decision

ACS's document, Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories, exceeds the CSB

Recommendation No. 2010-05-I-TX-R2. The thoroughness of the publication, accompanied by the

additional publication on safety culture, is beyond what the CSB requested in its recommendation.

Therefore, the Board voted to change the status of the CSB's Recommendation No. 2010-5-I-TX-R2 to:

"Closed- Exceeds Recommended Action."

And yesterday, we received this note (below) from Keri at ACS Central about the Board's public meeting last week.

Great job, to all those who participated in developing this document!

If you would like to get involved in these types of interesting and relevant projects, let me know!  We'll put you to work.

Best,

Debbie

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow

Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety

University of California, Davis

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."

Hello Glenn, Marta, and members of the ACS chemical safety community:

On Wednesday, July 22, I attended the CSB public meeting. Attached is a summary of the Board's action and my comment at the meeting.

Thank you,

Keri

Keri A. Moss, J.D.
Senior Policy Associate | Office of Public Affairs

American Chemical Society
1155 16th St., NW | Washington | DC 20036
T 202-872-4618 |  M 202-997-7667 |  F 202-872-6206
http://www.acs.org/">www.acs.org

July 30, 2015

Re: Chemical Safety Board Public Meeting, on July 22, 2015, at CSB, 2175 K St., NW, Washington, DC

On behalf of the ACS, Keri Moss Stearns of the Office of Public Affairs attended the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Public Meeting on July 22, 2015 to offer a public comment. CSB staff has recommended a status change for the ACS published report Identifying and Evaluating Hazards in Research Laboratories: Guidelines developed by the Hazards Identification and Evaluation Task Force. The recommendation is to close the request with the status "Exceeds Recommended Action." CSB Recommendations Specialist Veronica Tinney read the Board's Analysis and Decision, which highlighted the thoroughness of the ACS publication as well as its distribution via the ACS website.

During the public comment period, Keri Moss Stearns spoke on behalf of ACS and thanked the CSB staff for recognizing the ACS effort in the Laboratory Safety report. She stated that the members of the ACS chemical safety community appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with the CSB and are available and eager to assist the CSB in future projects. In closing, she shared the ACS hope that the CSB, throughout its time of transition, will maintain the same admirable level of technical standards in its reports.

Both the news of the proposed status change and the ACS comments were well-received by the two Board members, Rick Engler (presiding) and Manny Ehrlich. They will vote on the recommended status change in the near future.