From: Bruce Van Scoy <bvanscoy**At_Symbol_Here**TWC.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] picture request - consequences of poor chemical storage
Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2016 18:47:31 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: 00ba01d1deea$df2284f0$9d678ed0$**At_Symbol_Here**twc.com
In-Reply-To <1109037139E1524980CF9CBEB2476618010AC7A61F**At_Symbol_Here**UMF-EX10EMB1.umflint.edu>


Well done. I wish that I would have taken pictures as well, but I wanted to correct past bad practices and not give a regulator potential ammunition. Your results are impressive!

BruceV

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Wilhelm, Monique
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2016 1:55 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] picture request - consequences of poor chemical storage

 

Yeah, I was a little OCD about documenting the progress when I took over because I had wanted to do it for about 10 years before I stepped into the position where I could.  Not everyone was supportive of me spending so much of my time doing it.  Like, how dare I dispose of something that they might need in the future when it was so disorganized that they wouldn't have been able to find it or know we had it anyway.  So, I had to prove how worthy the task was.

 

Monique Wilhelm

Laboratory Manager

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

University of Michigan - Flint

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Melissa Charlton-Smith
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2016 12:42 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] picture request - consequences of poor chemical storage

 

Monique, can I say WOW!  Scary stuff, but PERFECT for what I am doing!  Thank you so much!  Please email me privately with info on how to cite any of these I might want to use.

 

You know, when I first went through my inventory (13 years ago, new position!) the first thing I did was go through and separate the incompatibles and find all the "horrors" that needed dealt with, so when we finally did the big rearrangement, I didn't have much of this kind of stuff left to deal with....and of course did I think to get pictures of that bottles of dried up picric acid, or the resulting remote openings?  The ancient bottles of ethers?  The salt crusted concentrated acid bottles?  No of course not!

 

thank you again!

 

Mel

Melissa Charlton-Smith

NRCC-CHO

melissafcsmith**At_Symbol_Here**gmail.com

304-516-2694

 

On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 9:20 AM, Wilhelm, Monique <mwilhelm**At_Symbol_Here**umflint.edu> wrote:

Mel,

 

Here are some of the cool or strange things I found when I took over my labs:  https://umfchemistry.shutterfly.com/random/444

My favorite one was the acetyl chloride that was so old it had eaten through the cap, through the can, and started to eat the shelf.  When I lifted it, that part of the shelf fell through.  It is shown here https://umfchemistry.shutterfly.com/random/479#481

 

The before and afters of this stockroom are located herehttps://umfchemistry.shutterfly.com/msbremodel/2009..  Note that this was a Class 1 flammables storage room and corrosives and oxidizers (anything that had that was liquid) were being stored here as well.

 

 

Monique Wilhelm

Laboratory Manager

Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry

University of Michigan - Flint

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Melissa Charlton-Smith
Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2016 1:42 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] picture request - consequences of poor chemical storage

 

Thanks Dave,  much appreciated!

Mel

On Jul 14, 2016 11:18 AM, "David C. Finster" <dfinster**At_Symbol_Here**wittenberg.edu> wrote:

Mel (and others),

 

When Bob Hill and I were working on our lab safety textbook we tried to surf government websites (as much and as successfully as we could) since you don't need permission for government images/tables/etc.  We included a picture from the EPA (Figure 8.1.1.1 in our book, second edition) that isn't exactly what you want, but may suffice.  The source URL is: 

 

http://www2.epa.gov/emergency-response/emergency-response-and-management-activities#winter2014

 

You'll have to scroll down to the "Winter 2014" link and expand that entry.  (Fifth image.)

 

Otherwise you can access all of the figures and tables in our book at:  http://labsafetylscs2.weebly.com/images-and-tables.html   Download the PowerPoint for Chapter 8; first slide.   Our full citation is:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Emergency Response and Management Activities, Winter 2014, EPA and Oregon State University Improve Chemical Safety in Labs,  http://www2.epa.gov/emergency-response/emergency-response-and-management-activities#winter2014

 

Dave

 

David C. Finster
Professor, Department of Chemistry
University Chemical Hygiene Officer
Wittenberg University
937-327-6441
http://userpages.wittenberg.edu/dfinster/index.html

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Melissa Charlton-Smith
Sent: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 5:13 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] picture request - consequences of poor chemical storage

 

Hi everybody!

 

Does anybody out there have a stock picture, or a picture from one of your storage areas from when you FIRST took over handling chemical storage and you found the YUCK?  You know the cracked bottles, the spills, the "scary" stuff that looks terrible?  Or possibly even a picture of an incident that resulted from poor storage?

 

FYI I am just looking for a picture to put in a text book we are writing, you will get credit for the picture.  If you have a "Before" and "After" picture that would be great too!  Don't worry, the picture will include a line in there that it has since been remedied so no one will get the impression that it is still this way.

 

I have dug through the pictures I have taken over the years and can't find anything that looks like "consequences" of poor storage other than some jars of hygroscopics that had liquified.

 

Thanks everybody!

 

Mel Smith

NRCC-CHO

 

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