I
in the Chemical laboratory Edited by NORMAN V . STEERE, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn., 55455
4mB
feature
worker.; it) tho physical scienr.eq, and (.hat st,ndonis cnn avoid unnecessary risk by reviewine nest,inent nrevious work. M r .
XXVII. A Chemical Laboratory Safety Symposium for High School Students T. E. Ehrenkranz. Universifv o f California, Lor Alomos Scientific Laboratory, Los Alomor, N e w Mexico 87544 The planning and prwentation of a chemical safety symposium for high schools is described here with the hope that the idea of similar symposia will appeal to educators. In 1064 the Amerienn Chemical Soriety Council Committee on Chemical Safety initiated a program to promot,e safe practices in high school chemistry 1almai.ories. I n August 1964 there was a n open ACS meeting, wider the rhairmanahip of Dr. H. K. Livingston, devoted to this subject and attended mainly by teachers and representatives of industry. The Central New hloxico Section of the ACS undertook in December of that yes? to develop ssimilar program, specifically a high school ehemied ~ d e t ysymposium to be held a t Los AIamos, New Mexico. The high schools expressed immediate inter& as did the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory's Director, Dr. Norris E. Bri~dburyand the Atomic Energy Commission, to which t,he Laboratory is a contractor. A program of presentations by 18 individuals, most of them chemists a t the Las Alamos Scientific Laboratory, was
...a
then prepared. The symposiwn war scheduled for November 6, 196.5,a t t,he Los Alamos High Scl~ool,and invil.ations were mailed to teachers of chemistry, select,ed from a list fornished by the New Mexico 1)epartmeut of Eduerttiou, on the bmis of estimated auto travel t,ime. Eneh t,encher was invited to bring a stndent from each of his three rlssses. The t,olal attendance a t the symposinm was 16'3, very nearly ( b e numher antieipat,ed from the invitntioris issued. The program began a t 10:00 A.M., in the high school a~tditorium. Many people came from such a dislnnce that t,lley probably had to rise s t 4:00 or 5:flO A.M. Except for a short break t,he e h r e group remained msembled until 1 : K P.M. for three talks by senior st,ztff members of the Los Alamos Scientific Lahor:btory. MI. Roy Reider, the Safety Uireetrr of the Laboratory, spoke first,, acquninling the young audience, and perhaps some teaehers, with the idea that safety is n personal and supervisory rwpunsibility, that safe practices are not only impressed ~ t p o nstndents but are also ohserved by seasoned
pared for internal nse bnt of general interest, together with s. list of sources of pertinent safety information. Mr. Harry F. Sehdt,e, 8. prtst president of the American Induslrinl Hygiene Association and Group Leader of the Laboc st,ory's Incirlstrial Hygiene Group, spoke next about the toxicity of mat,erials used in chemistry lsboratariq protective meaq$Ires against the hmmfol effects of these msterids, and sonrces of infwmai.ion o n toxieitiw for teachers. The next talk, given by Mr. Raymond N. Rogers, a high explosives specialist a t t,he Laboratory, was plainly aimed a t the amateur rocket expert, the young maker of gunpowder, and the Fourth of July celebrant. Properties of high energy m e I.erials with special reference to sensitivities were outlined. The horrible effect of confinement, on mere match-heads was parlieulsrly stressed. Mr. Roge~sgave nctud demonstrations of "toy" explosives mmpared with military explosives. The talks were interspersed wit,h these 20-minnte films: "Take Your Choice," dealing with safety g l a s s , prepared under the sponaorrhip of the Detroit Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Ine. "Safety in the Chemical Lsborsi tory," sponsored hy t,he Manufnrt.uring Chemirt,~'Association. "ltocket Sdeby," made by the Thiokd Chemical Corporation. The afternoon program consisted of ten demonstrations, earh of which was arranged in a separate cla?sroom and presented by well-qnalified persons. The visitors were divided into five groups and t,he afternoon into ten 20-minute periods, so that each group might successively visit all the demonstrations. This scheme provided conveniently sized grrnlps of ahont 3'2 persona each and also permitted {.Iredemonstralors t,o have hresthing spells between their presentations. A floor plan showing the locabion of each exhibit and n schednle indicat,ing the appropriate seqtletxe (according to group) for visit,ing t,he demonstrations were dist,rib~tted to earh participant. To practice what was preached, each uisilor was loaned a pair of plastic saJetg goggles. At 2:00 P.M., af1.e~ lonch in t,he school cafeteria, each group went to the first stop on its sch~dule. When the time arrived for changing lowtions, directions were given through t,he
Chemist Al Florin. ACS member, illurtrafing the hozordr orrociated with improper hook-up o f electricot apporatur.
Volume 43, Number 6, June 1966
/
A513
Safety
...
school intercom system. The result of all these measures wns to produce an orderly, well-controlled flow of traffic. The afternoon's demonstrations dealt with the following:
Use of laboratory fume hoods Handlingflammablesalventn Mixing acids G l a ~ hlowine a Common electrical h a ~ a r d s First aid (for four situations only) Stoppage of breathing Profuse bleeding Chemical burns (water only!) Firein clothing Use of portable fire extinguishers Camoressed or flammable eases ~~~
~~~
The demonstration of fimt aid was given by one of the Laboborstory's physicians and the fire extinguishers were demonst,rat.ed by the Los Alamos Fire Marshal. The other demonstrations were given hy staff members of the Laboratory. I t was felt that, the students recognized there people as mature laboratory workers who must and do consider safety %- parammint in their own daily work. It is hoped that the example set by such men will reinforre the standard high school laboratory safety rule.3 which frequently are taken much too lightly. Editor's Note
The National Fire Protection Assueintion has granted permission to reprint. laboratory fire reports which have heen published in Fire News and Fire Record Bulletin FR.58-3, "Ocmpanry Fire Reeord-Lahohorat,ories." The latter bulletin mag be obbained for fift,y cenk from the NFPA nt 60 Bst,terymarch St,., Boston, Massnchusetts OZll3. PRIVATE FIRE PROTECTION
January 7, 1 9 5 6 , Bethlehem, Pennrylvani-$275,000 The third story of one wing, the attic of this wing and the attic of the central sertion of the 3 ~ t o r ybrick, wood-joisted science building were heavily damaged by fire that originated a t a wall in the third story metallurgy laboratory. The last graduate st,udent had left the building a t 11::lO P.M. and since the campus watrhman made only two rounds per night, one before and one after midnight, the fire was not detected until student.; in a dormitory were awakened by flames ooming from the roof and third story windows of the building a t 4:48 A.M. Fire fightem attacked the fire with hose lines pulled up through the building. They also directed a stream a t the roof from an aerial ladder. In all, seven 2'/2in. streams were used. The fact that fire damage was confined to a relatively small part of the building attests to the fire department efficiency and division walls in t,he att,ic. (Continued on page A i j l 8 )
Volume 43, Number 6, June 1 9 6 6
/
AS15
Safety
.. .
The geology and metallurgy lahoratwies took the brunt of the fire. Alung with lahorntory equipment, research papers, notes and textbooks of five graduate students was the loss of high temperature magnetostriction equipment that was in its final stages of completion after three and one half years of design and development, and the especially irreparable loss of highly technical data compiled through the y e m from the effartn of numerous teams of graduate student* in the magnetic materials laboratory. Damage would have been mur:h less had $1 fire doors in division walls in the attic heen kept closed. Fire involved three instead of one of the seven fire divisions in the ilttio hecause two fire doors had been left open. Had the building heen sprinklered, damage would have been insignificant,.
March 18, 1952, Scorborough Township, Onforio A small portion of ceiling finish and n few chemicals were damaged by p. fire which occurred when a solution uf dimethylsminoethanol and chlorohenrona was being distilled. A gas-plate-heated heavy oil bat,h was used to heat the distillation flask. About 10: 15 n.u. an open flask of acetone was ignited when t,he acetone vapors reashed the gas flame. The heat from the burning chemicals fused two sprinkler heads which extinguished Ole fire. April 14, 1952, lndiono, Pennsylvoni$1,000,000 Fire a n ~ s beyond control in the unsprinklered 3-story brick, wood-joisted building when discovered by a campus policeman a t 9: 10 P.M. Since floors had been oiled with linsoed ail earlier in tho day, spontaneous ignition of oily rags may have been the cause. The building had no auloma1,ic or watchman protection, yanl mitins were so small that only one pumper could he supplied, hydrant8 were not sccessihle from roadways, and a public telephone was the only means of bran* n d t i n g an alarm a t night. Destroyed dong with 35 classrnamt;, two lnhoratories and 30 college instrurtors' otlires, were the college film library, cmhining over 4500 films, test papers, grade records and personal work and libraries of the instructors. P l l R L l C FIRE FROTECTION
"It is litlle wonder, in this day uf exwtic fuels and rndioaclive isotopes, that fire fighters are occasionally a little less tllen eager to attack a laboratory fire with full enthusiasm. I t is becoming standard practice for fire fighters to visit property within their jurisdiction. An explanation uf the hazards of the material in use and 8, discussion of the method by which tire fighting can be safely and effectively accomplished would he aelcomed hy t,he fire department."
(Cmlinued on page A.518)
A516
/
Journol of Chemicol Educofion
Safety
...
July 2 , 1956, Queens, New York-1 Killed-$125,000 Radioactive thorium scrap, obtained from the manufacture of nuclear reactor fuel elements, was burned under a special hood on the second floor of this lahorstory building as s. standard prsct,ice. When a golf-ball-sized pellet wsu tossed on to the tray inside the hood, with some already burning thorium wafers which were to act as ignil.ers, an explosion took plaw that, was followed quickly by two other explosions. I t was felt that the original explosion caused either by impure thorium or water that may have been present in t,he thorium sample. The three elrplosians collaphed the laboratory floor, wrecked equipment on both the fint sndseeond floors. Radioadive thorium and natural uranium were blown about the room. Nine men were injured, eight, recovered and one died five weeks following the accident. Alpha surface radiation and beta and gamma emission were monitored following the explosion. No meesurement of radiat,im above instrument background was found anywhere outside of the building. Inside messurements showed a moderate contamination wit,hin the blest area, but no significant amount above background outside the blast area. Of the employees, firefighters, police and others involved only four (those who were in the imnrediate hlast area), were found to have a higher than nurmal 1,llorium canrenlretion with their bodies.
December 3, 1950, lthoca, New York Recognizing the fire and explosion hazard from rertain dmgeroua chemicals scattered through the laboratory building the building safety committee decided to store them in a smell wooden shelter ( 3 ft square with aqphslt shingle roof), on the roof of s. 1-story wing. Fire broke out in the structure a t 4:30 P.M. a t which time hydrofluoric acid, perchluric acid, fuming sulfuric arid, metallic sodium and alloy bromides were stored in the sheller. Quantities did not exceed 1 q t each of the liquids and 2'h lb each of the %,lids. On disowering the fire, five st,udents st,lacked it with carbon dioxide extinguishers and had it practically under control when the puhlic fire department arrived, and despite the warning of students no1 to use water, directed a hose stream at the fire. An explosion occurred that caused injuries to two firemen and three srudents. The fire did not spread from the storage ~tructure. There is no doubt that the explosion occurred when the hove stream came in aontact with the sodium. The original fire is attributed to weather conditions. There had been pnrlonged rein on the day preceding the fire, followed by below freezing temperatures a t night followed by warm sunr;lline. I t is assumed that the sulfuric acid had frozen during the night and that the fire occurred when the bottle burnt the following day and allowed acid to come in w n t a r t with eomhustible material.
A51 8
/
Journal of Chemical Education
