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Date: Feb 14, 2023 22:25 UTC
Author: Samuella Sigmann <sigmannsb**At_Symbol_Here**RETIRED.APPSTATE.EDU>
Date: Feb 15, 2023 15:07 UTC
Author: Ralph Stuart <ralph**At_Symbol_Here**RSTUARTCIH.ORG>
From: Craig Merlic <merlic**At_Symbol_Here**CHEM.UCLA.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Service Dogs in Labs
Date: Feb 14, 2023 23:40 UTC
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Message-ID: <CDCCAF89-DEC7-403E-B5CE-601E7DFE09AC**At_Symbol_Here**chem.ucla.edu>
In-Reply-To: <CA+U9Xi1scJF_5N3AvTaAjxzpeeM14WS6wSP+AR+MubbB_rBxog**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com>
All,
Excellent points Sarah.
Since I have not seen it in all the posts to date on this subject, I would like to bring up one more issue. When UCLA campus counsel reviewed this issue they insisted that it be well understood that a service dog is a protected ADA accommodation. So a chemistry lab instructor cannot unilaterally forbid a service dog or even interview the student about the need.
So at UCLA students make requests to our Center for Assessible Education and this office consults with EH&S to ensure it understands and accounts for any laboratory-related safety issues. CAE determines if use of a Service or Assistance Animal is appropriate, and communicates with the instructor regarding the accommodations to ensure proper safety procedures are put in place.
The policy is not on the campus website yet, so email me if you want a copy.
Craig
Craig A. Merlic
Professor of Chemistry, UCLA Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Executive Director, UC Center for Laboratory Safety
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1569
Voice: 310-825-5466
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU> on behalf of Sarah Zinn <szinn**At_Symbol_Here**UCLA.EDU>
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Date: Tuesday, February 14, 2023 at 2:24 PM
To: <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Service Dogs in Labs
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:
Good luck!
Best,
Sarah
On Wed, Feb 8, 2023 at 2:08 PM Ralph Stuart <ralph**At_Symbol_Here**rstuartcih.org> wrote:
>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
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