> >I haven’t had a chance to read the safety alert itself—is it readily transferable to lab situations?

Unfortunately, there is a misspelling in the subtitle of the document, which doesn’t help its credibility as a source, and all of the incidents it describes are industrial scale events.

On the other hand, the three Lessons identified in the document:
1. Follow existing good practice guidance.
2. Evaluate whether the atmosphere is the appropriate discharge location or if there are safer alternatives.
3. Ensure hazardous chemicals vented into the atmosphere discharge to a safe location.
relate to issues I have seen in laboratory settings, particularly related to vacuum pump exhausts and other processing equipment which relies on the high general ventilation rates in labs to control vapor accumulation. Those ventilation rates can be quite variable within a lab and if a source is stuck under a counter or in the corner of the room, odors issues can arise.

I also appreciate the observation in the document that
"Analyzing these past disasters to help inform present and future operations and prevent similar chemical disasters is extremely important. As process safety expert Trevor Kletz stated in his 1993 book Lessons From Disaster: How Organizations Have no Memory and Accidents Recur:
It might seem to an outsider that industrial accidents occur because we do not know how to prevent them. In fact, they occur because we do not use the knowledge that is available [1, p. 1]."

This sounds like the current situation in East Palestine, Ohio to me.

- Ralph

Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859

ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu

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