Whenever you have an eyewash or safety shower installed, ask the contractor to identify the nearest secondary shutoff valve.  … Jim

 

James A. Kaufman, Ph.D.

President/CEO
The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI)
A Nonprofit Educational Organization for

Safety in Science, Industry, and Education

192 Worcester Street, Natick, MA 01760-2252
508-647-1900  Fax: 508-647-0062 
Cell: 508-574-6264  Res: 781-237-1335
Skype: labsafe; 508-319-1225

jim**At_Symbol_Here**labsafetyinstitute.org  www.labsafetyinstitute.org

 

Chair, ICASE Committee on Safety in Science Education

International Council for Associations of Science Education

www.icaseonline.net

 

P We thank you for printing this e-mail only if it is necessary

 

 

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of Chance, Brandon
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2016 4:40 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Shower/Eyewash Station Audible and Visible Alarms

 

DCHASers,

 

During a recent lab renovation, the contractor presented to us wall mounted shower/eyewash stations that have both an audible alarm and visible strobe when activated.  The unit also has the ability to communicate back tot he BMS system upon activation.  While this all sounds fine and dandy, it has raised a few questions on my end.

 

1.  Is this a new standard being used for installations?  I definitely see some practical purposes for this in order to alert others that an emergency has occurred, but I have not come across this before. 

2.  This raises some design dilemmas on our end.  

A.  We are installing these as flush mounted systems, so the units strobe and audible alarms would be above the drop ceiling (or we would have to relocate the alarm indicators). 

B.  For obvious reasons, the contractor was originally spec-ing out installation on walls without electrical just for cost and ease of plumbing.  If alarms are necessary, power must be ran to the units, thus increasing scope and cost. 

 

In general, I was just curious as to what kind of new installs other universities were currently putting in place.  

 

 

Regards,

 

Brandon S. Chance, M.S., CCHO

Associate Director of Environmental Health and Safety

Office of Risk Management

Southern Methodist University 

PO Box 750231 | Dallas, TX  75275-0231

T) 214.768.2430 | M) 469-978-8664

bchance**At_Symbol_Here**smu.edu

--- This e-mail is from DCHAS-L, the e-mail list of the ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety. For more information about the list, contact the Divisional secretary at secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org