----- Original Message -----

From: James Kaufman

To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU

Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2019 12:31 PM

Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Shelving Heights

Eye Level should be the smallest person in the department. ... Jim

PS.  "There's more to lab safety than just labs!"

James A. Kaufman, Ph.D.

Founder/President Emeritus
The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI)
A Nonprofit Educational Organization for Safety in Science, Industry, and Education

192 Worcester Street, Natick, MA 01760-2252
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On Wed, Jun 26, 2019 at 9:58 AM Monona Rossol <0000030664c37427-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**lists.princeton.edu> wrote:

I wonder what the inspectors would think of the new industrial chemical storage systems that are stacked floor to ceiling, but with the push of a button, any shelf will  move up or down to any level needed.  I'm hoping to get this system into some of the art material storage areas for dry chemicals such clay and glaze chemicals, pigments and dyes, and photo chemicals, etc. 

Monona

-----Original Message-----
From: Yaritza Brinker <YBrinker**At_Symbol_Here**FELE.COM>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Wed, Jun 26, 2019 9:33 am
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Shelving Heights

About 8 years ago I took an OSHA safety course lead by 2 OSHA inspectors in my region. I asked this exact question, but it was phrased in terms of stacking commercially available storage cabinets. We had a short cabinet stacked on top of a full size cabinet. The cabinet manufacturer advertised it that way.

 

One inspector, who happened to be taller than me, said that he allowed 1 short storage cabinet to be stacked on top of 1 full size cabinet (what we had). However, they had to be properly installed and we could only store small bottles (1L bottles or less) on the top one.

 

The other inspector, who happened to be shorter than me, was a bit concerned with her colleague's answer. She proceeded to say that staking a short cabinet one on top of a full size one ends up being too high. She only allowed stacking of two or three short cabinets such that the height of the stack wasn't much different from a full size cabinet.

 

It quickly became evident that eye level was the inspector's eye level. After discussing amongst themselves for a few minutes, they both agreed that you shouldn't go much higher than a commercial full size cabinet regardless of the configuration. They also agreed on a pecking order for stacking cabinets of different hazards, which evades my memory at the moment.

 

Truth be told, at 5'5" I could only reach the front half of the cabinet that was stacked on top. To reach bottles on the back half, I had to use a stepstool. In retrospect, storing glass bottles at that height was just a bad idea. Even if they were small.

 

Thank you,

 

Yaritza Brinker

260.827.5402

 

From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> On Behalf Of Murphy, Dr. Ruth Ann
Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 1:32 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Shelving Heights

 

** External Email **

Good Afternoon,

 

Does anyone know the OSHA height requirement for storing chemicals, and the definition of "eye level"?  One school of thought says no higher than five feet for any chemical, with the interpretation that shelves would have to be lower than five feet, as bottled chemicals may themselves be, e.g., a foot high.  Another stated requirement is no higher than eye level for caustic chemicals.   Thank you!

 

Ruth Ann

 

Ruth Ann Murphy, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemistry

Chairperson, Department of Chemistry, Environmental Science and Geology

Co-Chairperson, Health Professions Advisory Committee

Amy LeVesconte Professorship of Chemistry

JAMP Faculty Director

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor

900 College Street

Belton, TX  76513-2599

Phone 254.295.4542

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