National Safety Council meeting at GE on laboratory safety discusses prevention of accidents by V. R. Croswell laboratories are showing a C growing interest in safety. On May 12 and 13,1955, a group of almost HEMICAL
70 chemists, educators, and safety men gathered a t the Niskayuna Research Laboratories of General Electric Co. near Schenectady, ?J. Y., t o discuss safety in chemical laboratories. Officially it was the first separate meeting of the Laboratory Sub-section, Chemical Section, National Safety Council. The sponsors of the meeting were surprised and pleased by the obvious interest in the subject of safety and the unexpectedly large attendance, which came from as far as Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Virginia, and Canada. Instruction of laboratory personnel One of the most vital problems of laboratory safety is : How can laboratory personnel be given enough instruction in the different phases of the type of work done in their laboratory to appreciate the hazards of their work and the work done around them? In the G E laboratories, a t the initial interview, a “Check-List on Health. Safety, and Fire for Kern Employees” is handed to each prospective employee. From 2 to 10 days after arrival the new employees are put in one of three groups: (I) salaried and technical, (2) hourly, shop, and service workers, or (3) those who come to the laboratory temporarily as a part of their training for service in company plants. Each group spends an afternoon with the safety director, who explains and elaborates upon the check list each has already received. GE has found that it is not practical to expect people to remember what to do in a n emergency and therefore has developed a comprehensive emergency plan. Someone is on duty 24 hours a day a t an emergency center. Disks are put on all telefiones, which in addition to the telephone and extension numbers state: “For Emergency only call Control Room dial 249.” Cards posted on the wall beside the light switches briefly state: ‘(For fire, mediJuly 1955
cal, or patrol help, dial 249.” Laboratory personnel is told, “If you get in a jam, dial 249.” Horns are installed a t appropriate places to notify all personnel to evacuate the building. “Scram buttons” to operate these horns are located convenient t o all research workers. When an emergency arises, squads of trained men take over to fight fire, use emergency equipment, dispose of dangerous material. or do whatever is necessary.
Importance of supervision The group in attendance a t the conference generally agreed that the success of any safety program rests with supervision; with education of the supervisor and training of the workers. The object should be to get across the idea of personalized safety-that each person must carry his share of safety responsibility. Each supervisor must analyze every job so as to effect a job hazard breakdown. Each supervisor should face the question, “Have you fully informed each man of the hazards of his job?” I n this connection the supervisor should be encouraged to come to the safety director for information and suggestions.
Safety rules I n some laboratories area safety rules are posted in conspicuous places. Each group meets and writes rules for its own area, and these rules are signed by safety advisers, supervision, and management. It is impossible to write rules to cover all situations in a research laboratory, but it was generally believed that the writing and posting of such rules will aid in developing an attitude of safety consciousness. They are therefore written in a spirit of guidance.
Penalties for breaking safety rules Xot all laboratories have definite penalties for breaking safety rules. Khere penalties exist, they are usually
for smoking in unauthorized locations or for. not wearing eye protection. In general, safety is regarded as a part of operation and the breach of a safety rule is considered in the same light as unsatisfactory work of any type. A man operating unsafely shows poor judgment. Usually it is easier to determine the breach of a safety rule than to judge the quality of a man’s work. A teacher of chemistry commented that men from industry often complain about college graduates coming t o them with an inadequate appreciation of safety. The colleges, however, receire students with 4 years less experience than the graduates entering industry. Withhis first year students, this teacher has one rule which carries a penalty that is enforced. S o student is allowed to conduct a n unauthorized experiment-a term which covers the urge of certain young men who hare had high school chemistry to make an explosive. a bad smell, or a flash. Safety men usually work as advisers, and prefer to work in that status rather than with a definite line of authority, even if such a line could be established. There are fern cases where a safety man must say, “This is positively unsafe.” The chairman reported that he assunies that authority in one type of hazard. V’henever he finds a n unsafe ladder, he carries it t o the carpenter shop and has it cut up. His authority for this has never been questioned.
Precautions Firemen need education on respiratory equipment; they need to be taught that firemen are not smoke eaters despite newspaper terminology; that a fireman is not a weakling to wear respiratory protection; and he should understand why wearing such equipment is advisable. Some discussion occurred about when to fight a fire and when to call the fire brigade and whether first aid fire-fighting equipment should be kept near a t hand or out of the room. Of
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the last 28 fires in one laboratory, 27 were put out by the men on the job and the 28th occurred a t night. Training with use of fire-fighting equipment is necessary. At GE each new employee is allowed t o extinguish a small solvent fire himself, as a part of his training in safety. No man should be allowed to work alone in a research laboratory, although the second man may be a watchman or guard. When work is done after hours, some laboratories have definite systems of checking the workers a t frequent intervals. This check may be a telephone call to or from the workers a t agreed times, or a %it by a guard to the scene of work. Experiments that go on unattended ,fter hours should have special conideration. If possible, they should be danned and designed to fail “safe”; o that no serious accident will result rom a failure of such experiments. ‘his may mean placing the experiment 1 a suitable hood or behind a barriade. If a guard finds an experiment mning, particularly if it appears t o e out of hand, he should call the techical man in charge for instructions or )r authority to turn off the equiplent. One safety man stated that a :w calls a t 1 or 2 A.M. were remarkably fective in discouraging unnecessary 11-night unattended operation. Chemical engineering operations are rsentially similar to laboratory operaons; quantities are larger, materials -e the same. Chemical engineering uipment can be made safe, given terest, planning, and money. Knowledge of one hazard may blind perimenters to other hazards less :11 known. In working with hyides of boron, certain experimenters ew the compounds were spontaneously flammable and focused their attention on preventing fires. It was not until maintenance workers became ill with nervous disorders that it was learned that the chemical was as toxic as phosgene. Scoring windows is not a good method of making vent area in a room or building. Hydrogenators should not be operated unprotected in a laboratory-nor should any p r e h r e vessel. They should be operated behind barricades. Radiation hazards
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Radiation hazards and their controls can be arranged in four groups:
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1. Protection from irradiation after atomic bomb explosion can only be effected by use of instruments that measure contamination. 2. Atom smashers should be protected by shielding, interlocking, and monitoring-by both area and personal monitors. 3. Pile reactors require all the above protection plus protection from alpha particles and neutrons. 4. Radioisotopes require shielding, locked storage, and strict accounting (see literature of National Bureau of Standards).
Disposal of waste and dangerous chemicals was discussed a t some length. L
Diagnosis of injuries The plant physician can learn much about unfamiliar effects of chemicals by talking to people in the dispensary. The most important part of diagnosis is the history. Hygienists did not learn about the toxicity of beryllium until more than a year after the first physician-treated patient suffering from beryllium toxicity was buried. Correspondence concerning this column will be forwarded if addressed t o the author, $6 Editor, INDESTRIAL
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EUGIKEERING CHEMISTRY.
St., iY.W., Washington 6, D. C.
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THE TOUGHEST CORROSION PROBLEMS WIND UP
AT.
GE
plastic suit used as protective barrier against radiation in hot areas, permitting a man to determine extent of contamination and do cleanup and maintenance work in such areas July 1955
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