In accordance with HIPPA constraints, the "someone knowledgeable" (identified in the second paragraph of Peter's response) is an occupational medicine physician who has (a) unlimited confidential access to the disabled student's medical history/condition, and (b) at least a moderate knowledge of toxicology in order to determine whether regulatory exposure standards for the relevant hazardous need to be more stringent than published.  This COULD be as simple as (a) working in a hood instead of on the bench top, or (b) use of locally enhanced ventilation. [Both of these simple approaches would at least partially address the concerns about a localized very low flow rate of oxygen that would readily disperse in a properly ventilated laboratory.]

Some regulatory standards (e.g., airborne concentration of carbon monoxide) already have a "safety factor" built in with the assumption that the exposure may occur during exertion and/or for persons with undiagnosed cardiovascular impairments.  Therefore, an understanding of HOW the regulatory standard was established is part of the complex equation.

David Haugen
Retired chemist and chemical safety specialist familiar with the importance of an interface between industrial hygienists and occupational physicians.  My former employer had  a particularly good interface.

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From: "Peter Zavon" <pzavon**At_Symbol_Here**ROCHESTER..RR.COM>
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Sent: Saturday, July 7, 2012 9:18:01 AM
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Student with disability: what we need to know

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From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU] On Behalf Of Kennedy, Sheila
Sent: Friday, July 06, 2012 1:40 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Student with disability: what we need to know

Several posters have now commented about the need to understand the nature of the illness that requires oxygen.

 

After working with our campus Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) through a number of (highly varied) accommodations, we've learned a few things:

1.      We really don=E2=80™t need to know about the student's medical condition; we need to know about what functional limitations the student has. This may seem like a fine distinction, but I really don't need to know (and do not ask) about the reason a student has a hand tremor/limited vision/inability to stand for long periods/need for supplemental oxygen.

2.      What I really need to know is the functional limit of what the student can/cannot do within the normal lab environment & whether the difficult elements of the environment are essential to the lab experience & the skills we want the student to learn.

=B7        If the lab skills can be taught with different tools, adapted tools, different furniture, more space for some students, etc., then we need to supply those things if we reasonably can.

=B7        If changing the situation changes what we're teaching, or short-circuits the student's learning in any way, we're going down the wrong road.

[snip]

 

 Sheila Kennedy, CHO
Safety Coordinator | Teaching Laboratories

UCSD Chemistry & Biochemistry |MC 0303

Office: (858) 534-0221 | Fax: (858) 534-7687

s1kennedy**At_Symbol_Here**ucsd.edu | http://www-chem.ucsd.edu