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NORMAN V. STEERE, 140 Melbourne Ave., S:E. Minneapolis, Minn. 5541 4
Edited by
Development of a Safety Program for Academic Laboratories University, East Lansing, Mich. 48823
Establishing the Safety Program The primary pnrpose of n nnfe1,y program is lo mninlnin an environment within which one e m lnnalion with n minim~tmof risk. This menns minimixing hn,srds, implemenling snfely iealnres, educating personnel, rslnhlishing p~.oeedru.es for emergencies, and provenling potenldnl hnaards from becoming r e d onrs. The idenl time lo initdale such n program is while the bidding is in the design and eansl.~xelinnphnse. A snfet,y coinrniftec which is nclive dwing this period
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Biogrmphiral Information
John C. Loperfido,' Department o f Chemistry, Michigan State
A slrong sxfe1,y 1wogrntn should be nn int,egral pa1.t of evc1.y Chcmislry Ileparlment. The implemenlnlion and mninlensnce of s,a:h n prngmm, however, requires a significant expcndituro of t,ime, eflort and money. Unforlnnalely, the snfety progrsm at many universities snd colleges opemtes with s deficiency of one or more of lltese factors. I)nving the l ~ s t three years lhc Ikparlment of Chemist1.y at Michigan Slate tlniversily has sel.iowly rommitled ilsell l o the dcvolopmcnt 01 nn efficient safely program. Tho f o h w i n g sommarises sornc of our efforts in this direclion.
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cnn work with the awhiteels to minimize Iman~.dsinhel.ent in the design of the new building. A ventilation syslem, for instance, which rerircidntes nil. which is already within the bnikling is d a n ~ e r o r ulo t,ho occupants of the h d d i n g in the event of cantaminntian hy n toxic gas. Prnrlent judgement hy the safety e o m mitlee dnring lhe design phnse can also lower fnt,ure expenditwes for renovation and maintenance. Aceo~dingly,a hoilding should be designed l o ;rcrr,mmodate the negative pronsoro aasoeinlcrl with the anticipsted pwccntnge of hood nse. Other.wise, excessive negative prcswre nmy resnlt in leaking doow :and windows and in the diqhwion of f u m e fl.o~nthe 110011 dnet-work. The nmst si,qlificnnt litnitation in d o signing n n e n huilding is the lnldgel. Often idenl sgsten~sm e snhslit.ttl,ed with less efficient ones 2nd safety fenl5wes are inadvertently deleterl in older in meet projerted c o n l r o d i o n costs. A wellinfot~meds ~ f ~ committee ty mn he constructive in deriding vliich system can he campl.o,nised and which safet,y festut.cs deleted with n mininlum of dnnger. As with mosl ehcmistry depnrt,ments, o w safety program was inilinted within
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Our 1)ep;n.lment's safety program has evolved over the pwl. few years inln nn e0'eclive and roniinnously impmving one. \ [ m y of the key ingl.edienl* nece.;.;at.y lo inilinle o ~ wpl.ograrn and to mainlain i t are documented in this arlicle. However, perhnps tho most important aspert of maintaining a good safeby profile in a m~ivc~.sily wsesl.ch envilmnment is lo listen to and involve strongly that gmup which fncc.i l l ~ e gtentesl hazards ; ~ n dwho perform mas1 of the expel.iments; that is, I I I ~Aspose of (1 i t , m i i..olatvd, V;~P,UI~fwl~lwlwre they have a caged, open pit. Containera are broken by shooting a t them from a safe distance upwind with s. rifle. Once the pit has collected spproximately 3m of debris, i t is covered over with about 1.5 m of soil. When there was no mechanism for the disposal of hazardous material it tended to collect in laboratories while Lhe occupants of the laboratories puzzled over how to eliminate it. By providing s. means for the disposal of hanardous waste we have eliminated the unnecessary storage of this material in work areas. The problem of waste disposal, however, deserves much more consideration, Prospective Innovations. Our Department has made significant progress toward generating an efficient and practical safety program. We expect to build on this
foundation as time and money permit. Some of our more ambitious prospective innovations include providing our research laboratories with additional chemical storage facilities, rewriting our s d e t y manual in a. format which is conducive to more frequent reference, writing up safety sheets outlining the hazards associated with each experiment used in undergrad~late laboratories and making a. safety film for use in our graduate student orientation program and our undergraduate laboratory courses.
Establish an active program as soon as possible. Study details of the building's constmction. Establish effective interaction with all groups a h c t e d by the safety program. Strong support of the Depmlment Head is mandatory. Avoid polarization of the Safety Committee. The Safety Committee shoi~ldbe capable of nndertaking long-term projects. The Safety Committee shonld be suseeptihle to new ideas. The policies of the safety program should be subject to immediate implementation. Financid backing of the safety program is essential. Safety education is necessary for the committee and all personnel.
Incentives should be provided far personnel to practice safety. Safety innovations should be implemented according to the order of priority of haoards as time and money permit.
Acknowledgment The author wishes to acknowledge financid support from the Department of Chemistry, Michigan State University, and helpful discussions with Dm. Jack B. Kinsinger, Chairman, and Richard E. Miller, Laboratory Manager.
Safety
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Volume 49, Number 10, October 1972
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A591
