From:
Sarah Zinn <szinn**At_Symbol_Here**UCLA.EDU>
Subject:
Re: [DCHAS-L] Service Dogs in Labs
Date:
Feb 14, 2023 20:17 UTC
Reply-To:
ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID:
<CA+U9Xi1scJF_5N3AvTaAjxzpeeM14WS6wSP+AR+MubbB_rBxog**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:
<5163A0C3-D5D8-453D-9003-8DE5BC09D110**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org>
Hi all,
In many ways, a highly trained, obedient, and responsive service dog would be easier to manage in a lab emergency. But in some ways, they may behave differently than lab staff or safety professionals without experience with them might expect—especially if they've never been acclimated to lab environments. They may be trained to perform certain actions when or if their handler is panicking, which as noted by Ralph, may possibly pose an issue. Additionally, they may be trained to pick up dropped items from the floor, which could increase the risk of chemical exposure.
I think it's always a good idea to have ongoing, proactive, collaborative conversations or brainstorming sessions between the handler, lab staff, and safety staff. This way, all are able to work together to prepare and train their dogs for these new situations and environments. Also, lab and safety staff can get a better idea of what to expect and become more familiar with service dogs.
For questions like this, I recommend also getting in touch with the
Chemists with Disabilities subdivision of ACS for more information and recommendations on service dogs (
disabilities**At_Symbol_Here**acsprof.org) from those who use them or train them. The subdivision has published resources that this list may find helpful. Most of the resources and recommendations from the subdivision come from disabled individuals themselves. In particular, see:
- Accessibility in the Laboratory
- Teaching Chemistry to Students with Disabilities: A Manual For High Schools, Colleges, and Graduate Programs
Good luck!
>I specified a 15 minute period in the safety shower, since that is what would be standard treatment for a human.
I think that this is more of a medical question for a veterinarian than for EHS professionals.
Having said that, managing a dog in a shower for 15 minutes sounds like a significant challenge, particularly if someone the dog cares about is freaking out nearby. For this reason, I would point out that the 15 minute washing standard is based on exposures to dry bases in the human eye. These dusts are notoriously hard to wash out and also hard to detect because of the lack of pain associated with the alkali exposure. This lack of pain can result in long exposures and more damage to the eyeball, so 15 minutes is assigned to include a “safety margin". I believe that these lessons were learned with industrial exposures to alkali dusts, as opposed to laboratory exposures to corrosive solutions.
With this in mind, for solvents and acids, 15 minutes is probably overkill because assessments of the effectiveness of the eyewash are easier to make. As you point out, the assessment protocol would be difficult for a chemist to make with another person, let along another species. That is why it is important to also call 911 for EMT assistance in case of chemical exposure that requires eyewash or safety shower treatment. Medical attention to the exposure will be necessary and the EMTs can start that process. It would be interesting to know if your local EMTs can support animal care.
Good luck with this.
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
ralph**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
---
For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at
membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org
