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DCHAS-L Discussion List Archive

From: Harry J. Elston <helston**At_Symbol_Here**MIDWESTCHEMSAFETY.COM>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Elevator Entrapment while Transporting a Liquid Nitrogen Dewar
Date: Fri, 11 May 2018 08:21:35 -0500
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: CAJ2hcfdk9hd1twgtkp85_o7ntgzD55VXqttL3N7Z61=UO45WDQ**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To <4803F538-360C-461A-A9F4-B69237B08F02**At_Symbol_Here**drexel.edu>


Generally, there are prohibitions in place (administrative controls) when transporting Dewars in freight elevators; namely, no body in the elevator when the Dewar is in there. This will necessitate a two-person transport plan - one at the basement and one meeting the freight elevator on the floor where the Dewar is going. It's inconvenient, but it works remarkably well.

Harry

On Fri, May 11, 2018 at 7:53 AM, Bell,Martin <mwb32**At_Symbol_Here**drexel.edu> wrote:

Good morning,

We recently had an incident where a researcher was momentarily trapped in an elevator while transporting a 230 liter Dewar of liquid nitrogen. Thankfully the researcher walked out of the elevator a few seconds later.

This incident raised a concern about the potential for asphyxiation if an entrapment occurred and the Dewar released nitrogen gas into the elevator cab (unlikely but need to prepare). We have elevator rescue protocols in place but the response time depends on the time of day.

Has anyone addressed this type of concern?

Martin W. Bell, M.S. CIH CSP

Director, Environmental Compliance

Department of Environmental Health and Safety

Drexel University

400 North 31st Street

Philadelphia, PA 19104

Tel: 215.895.5892 | Fax: 215.895.5926

Mobile: 215-778-4278

drexel.edu/facilities/healthsafety

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Harry J. Elston, Ph.D., CIH
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