[Cross-posting on ACS DCHAS list and CSHEMA Lab Safety CoP list.]
Joe Pickel and Mark Mathew of Oak Ridge National Labs and I (of UPenn) have teamed up to explore the insidious hazard in our midst:
Hot plate fires (and near-misses) resulting from equipment malfunctions
We know of events at ORNL, UPenn, Northwestern, MIT and others, and we would like to find out more, including equipment makes and models. With a better understanding of the prevalence, equipment models, and causes of these incidents,
we can define best practices for the research community, as well as, work with the equipment manufacturers to address this problem. We are also working with the IEC Standards Committee responsible for standards related to this type of equipment. They are
open to a discussion about altering the product standard, but more data is needed to support the proposal.
This is where
your input is essential to the effort!
If you have ever received a report of an electrical or electronic hot-plate malfunctions at your institution, please respond to our Google survey at the link below. Please respond even if there were no damages as a result of
the reported malfunction, and even if the reported malfunction could not be confirmed or duplicated. Feel free to forward this survey to anyone who may be eligible to respond and is not on the DCHAS or CSHEMA listservs..
Survey closes April 21st.
https://goo.gl/forms/7bFUYBtuLC8nuer92
We will be sharing the results of the survey, however no identifying information about respondents or their institutions will be published.
Thank you for contributing to this effort!
Kimi Brown
(Kimi Bush)
Sr. Lab Safety Specialist
Environmental Health and Radiation Safety
University of Pennsylvania