Swanson School Lunch and Learn Part 1

Environmental Health and Safety

“Keep Safety in Mind and Save Your Behind�

Department of Environmental Health and Safety (412) 624-9505 www.ehs.pitt.edu safety@ehs.pitt.edu

Swanson School of Engineering December 5, 2013

Environmental Health and Safety

EH&S Training Programs • Chemical Hygiene Training • Bloodborne Pathogen Training • Dangerous Goods Shipping Training These programs are offered both online and in a classroom setting.

Environmental Health and Safety

Additional Training Programs Available • Confined Space Entry

• Lockout/Tagout

• Lead Awareness

• Laser Safety

• Hazard Communication

• Fall Protection

• Respiratory Protection

• Personal Protective Equipment

• Ergonomics

• Fire Safety

• Asbestos Awareness

• Respirator Fit Testing

• Hearing conservation

• Ladders/scaffolds

Environmental Health and Safety

Maintaining Compliance at Pitt Compliance Considerations: • • • • • • •

EPA OSHA FDA DOT/FAA DEA USDA/CDC Local: ACHD, PA DEP, PA Dept. of Ag

Environmental Health and Safety

Safety Issues Encountered at Swanson School Chemical Waste Before

After

Environmental Health and Safety

Unknown/Unidentified Chemicals

Environmental Health and Safety

Unknown/Unlabeled Chemical Waste

Environmental Health and Safety

Compressed Gas Storage Issues

31 Cylinders 1 Chain

Environmental Health and Safety

Emergency Exit/Egress Restrictions

Environmental Health and Safety

Electrical Issues

Environmental Health and Safety

Chemical Storage Issues Before

After

Environmental Health and Safety

Chemical Waste Disposal

Environmental Health and Safety

UCLA Fatal Lab Accident •

1/16/09, 23 yr old staff research assistant died from injuries sustained in a chemical fire at a UCLA research lab (December 29, 2008)

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Working with t-butyllithium (tBuLi), & plunger accidently came out of syringe. tBuLi was exposed to the atmosphere.

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tBuLi ignited and caught the researcher’s polyester sweater on fire (no lab coat)

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Safety shower was available, but postdoc wrapped a lab coat around researcher in an effort to put out the fire

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Lab coat began to burn and then postdoc poured water on researcher from a nearby sink

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Transported to burn center and later died on January 16, 2009

Environmental Health and Safety

Accident Investigation by Cal/OSHA Findings: • Determined that lab typically follows Aldrich Technical Bulletin for handling air-sensitive reagents • Bulletin mentions that the needle used to transfer air-sensitive reagents should be 1 to 2 ft long, researcher was using 1.5 inch long needle • Charges filed against both the University and PI •

Cited for lack of training, failure to document training, failure to correct unsafe laboratory conditions/work practices, and failure to ensure that employees wear personal protective equipment

Environmental Health and Safety

Cal/OSHA Charges • UCLA settled charges in July 2012, agreed to comprehensive corrective safety measures and established a $500K scholarship.

• PI faces felony charges for violating state labor code. First criminal case involving an academic lab accident in US. • Charged with willfully violating state health & safety standards: failure to provide chemical safety training to employees, failure to require PPE for employees, failure to correct unsafe conditions in workplace.

• Faces up to 4 ½ years in prison if convicted

Environmental Health and Safety

Criminal Case Moves Forward • Trial will begin with 60 days of 10/3/13 • PI’s lawyers argued that laws were not willfully violated, and researcher was a “seasoned chemist” who was trained by a senior researcher in the lab • LA County Superior Court refused to dismiss charges • Court was not convinced that the researcher was trained properly • Court concluded that the PI is an “employer” since PI has authority to “hire/fire” • Trail has yet to begin

Environmental Health and Safety

Contact Information:

Environmental Health and Safety 412-624-9505 Safety@ehs.pitt.edu

Environmental Health and Safety

Don’t Miss the Next VORP Lunch & Learn!

January 9, 2014 •

• • •

SaM I Am: How the Center for Simulation and Modeling can Incr ease the Quality and Impact of your Computationally-Enabled Resear ch

• The mission of the Center is to facilitate interdisciplinary collaborations, especially between experimentalists and modelers, on tackling grand challenge problems impacting everyday life. In addition to providing access to state-of-the-art computing hardware, consultants can lend their expertise towards redesigning your computation software or workflow to provide more efficient research throughput. In this talk, faculty will learn about the diverse services offered by SaM as well as examples of recent collaborations that have lead to proposal awards, have accelerated research, and have enhanced the training opportunities for students.