From: "Tambasco, Aniello" <aniello.tambasco**At_Symbol_Here**WILKES.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] SDS review of chemicals to be purchased--standard practice?
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2016 19:13:48 -0400
Reply-To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU>
Message-ID: CAHdzpZTS5CT-RX0o+NXv+kuqJ1XS2++z6XydhRWx-R7-9LAqHQ**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To <2E68EA190EA75E4C9399D75B40B6346679A61B88**At_Symbol_Here**EX01.eup.edinboro.edu>


Hi Janet,

I feel your pain about battling administration to get a pcard for chemicals only. When we moved into a smaller space, we wanted a credit card just for chemicals ,to order on demand. The standard po process time was one week and tempers always flared.So after much convincing and begging we were granted a pcard.
The situation you are dealing with is ridiculous and that safety officer is on a power trip. I think this occurs when an individual feels threatened. This is also a waste of paper and time. This also occurs when an individual does not have a chemistry degree but had training through certificate programs.
The thing I would do is send him all the sds he wants plus more. I would send him certificates of analysis as well. The best trick here is overwhelm him and trust me he will get tired.He does have the right to know, so give him ALL the information. Play the game and they will get the picture. Best wishes and good luck.

Aniello Tambasco,MBA
Lab Technician and Assistant
Wilkes University


On Aug 5, 2016 4:56 PM, "Rogers, Janet" <ROGERS**At_Symbol_Here**edinboro.edu> wrote:
To All:

Our EH&S officer has decided that we have to send him the SDS for every chemical we are going to purchase so that he can review it before we are allowed to purchase the chemical. Then, he wants us to send him the SDS that came with the chemical.

Is this a standard practice? I can see reviewing SDS for very hazardous substances, but even for chemicals sodium chloride and sodium bicarbonate? I can understand his reviewing the SDS for substances we've never previously used on campus. However, I think he'll drive himself (and us) crazy if he looks over every single SDS every time we make a purchase.

I fought to get the administration to allow us to make purchases with a credit card so we could make purchases shortly before we used chemicals in class. This procedure let us order smaller quantities and has helped us reduce our inventory, since we no longer had to "over purchase", just to guarantee that we would have enough material for our classes should the purchasing paperwork get held up.

Please let me know what level of EH&S scrutiny of chemical purchases is considered standard practice at undergraduate academic institutions.

I look forward to your responses.

Janet Rogers, Ph.D.

Professor

Chemistry Department

Edinboro University

230 Scotland Road

Edinboro, PA 16444

phone: 814.732.1539

e-mail: rogers**At_Symbol_Here**edinboro.edu

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