Laboratory Safety Orientation Dr. Hayley Wan

Laboratory
Safety
Orientation
Dr. Hayley Wan
Danny Mah, CRSP
Department of Chemistry
Take Away
 Hazard
Identification / Control
 Risk Assessment / Reduction
 Situational Awareness
 Incident Reporting
 Incident Investigation
 University Policy (UAPPOL)
 Provincial Regulations (OHS)
Target Audience
A
new researcher or student to the
department;
 Transferred from another unit on campus;
 A new staff member working within a
laboratory; looking for a refresher in the
concepts of safety.
the Stats
 An
(estimated) 35% of injuries happen
during the first 6 months of work/study
Background
 Tragic
incidents occurring in academic
laboratories
 A call for changes (Academia & Gov’t)
 Dartmouth College, Di-methyl Mercury
poisoning (1987)
 UCLA, tert-Butyllithum fire(2009),
 Texas Tech Explosion (2010)
 Yale Physics Major (2011)
Far Reaching Impact
 “A
violent death is like a stone hurled into
a pond. And the resulting shock wave
spreads collateral damage far beyond
the point of impact and far longer than
anyone understands in that moment;
when the rock hits the water”
-Deborah Blum
the History
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Focusing on exposure hazards and health hazards
for the laboratory work conducted.
A need systematic and managed approach has
been identified.
Take an opportunity to review lab safety practices
EHS has a mandate to support the university’s
mission through service, partnership and
education.
Department of Chemistry has an opportunity to
play an integral role in overall campus chemical
safety.
What is it?
 Trichlorosucrose
the History
 1976
Researchers - Leslie Hough and
Shashikant Phadnis discovers Sucralose
(aka Splenda) while researching
pesticides compounds.
 Chemist Shashikant Phadnis was told to
test the powdered compound.
 Misunderstanding the request, thought he
was being told taste the mixture, so he
did.
Define Safety Culture
 This
culture must emanate from ethical,
moral and practical considerations first
and foremost and less motivated by
regulatory requirements.
 What can I do to get involved?
Define Safety Culture
 Safety
policy and programs
 Strong organizational practices
 Supervisor relations
 Co-working relations
 Personal Safety motivation and
 Personal Safety Knowledge
Building Safety Skills
 Safety
concerns apply across all chemistry
and related fields.
 A need to develop strong knowledge in
safety.
 From first year continuing through the
entire undergraduate experience and
into graduate studies and postdoctoral
training, educating Graduate Students,
Teaching Assistants, Postdoctoral Scholars,
Laboratory managers and Coordinators.
Building Safety Skills
 Be
a proponent of safety,
 Develop superior safety skills,
 Develop situational awareness skills,
 Build a personal safety knowledge base in
your discipline,
 Understand safety procedures and how
to apply them,
 Gain experience in handling hazardous
materials.
U Governance

Policies UAPPOL

policiesonline.ualberta.ca
Risk tolerance Procedure
 Health and Safety Responsibilities Procedure


EHS Management System

ehs.ualberta.ca
Biosafety
 Radiation safety
 Occupational Hygiene/ Occupation Health
 Safety Systems and Standards

Training
 Theoretical
Understanding
 Learn superior lab techniques
 Learn proper material storage
 Review the Material Safety Data Sheet
(MSDS)
 PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Safety Attitudes, Safety
Awareness, Safety Ethics
A
solid awareness and good attitude
towards safety is as important as following
experimental procedures good record
keeping of conducted experiments,
 long term efforts through repetition,
Hazard Management
 Consider
Low Probability - High
Consequence incident when evaluating
risk

Labs and research can have more complex
operations and there are more diverse
ways and combinations that can lead to
serious accidents.
It’s all in a word
(or Acronym in this case)
 British
Petroleum, Transocean - Gulf of
Mexico, April 20, 2010
 Blow Out Preventer (BOP)
 Among other root causes the BOP spec’d
instead was a Blind Shear Ram (BSR)
 Causing discharge of hydrocarbons for
nearly 3 months.
Hazard Assessment
Scientific Approach
Theory
Predict
Experiment
Observe
Hazard Analysis
Define
Scope
Identify
Hazards
Implement
Defined
Controls
Lessons to
Be
Learned
Hazard Identification
 The
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
“hazard”
Cuts
Burns
Contact with
Latent occurrences (alkali burns)
Fire
Splash
Explosion
Spill
Hazard Identification
 Typical
laboratory
signage
Role of Hazard Analysis
 Define
scope of research
 Identify and evaluate hazards
 Performing work with control and
protective measures in place
 Identifying lessons to be learned
Quote
“Knowing is not enough, we must apply
Willing is not enough we must do”
~Bruce Lee
Hazard Management - Barriers
 Create
barriers (i.e. safeguards, controls
for planned outcomes)
 The thrust of barrier management is this:
we know that if we have a sufficient
number and quality of barriers in place,
then we are safe to operate, but it’s
essential to regularly monitor those barriers
to make sure they’re actually working.
Hazard Management  Therefore,
when prevention has failed
there is also a means for reducing the
effects of the incident to prevent it from
becoming a disaster.
 When approaching your work consider…
 Takes a holistic approach - emphasizing
the importance of the whole and the
interdependence of its parts.
Hazard Identification
 HA
Form here
Hazard identification and Risk
Evaluation
 Hazard

is the potential for injury.
Risk of the hazard is a combination of
A
likelihood of hazard occurring
 The severity of the occurrence
Task
Equipment
Process in
research
Hazard
Types of Hazards
 Chemical
splash on skin or eyes
Injury from Splattered Alkali
Sodium Hydroxide Burn
Demonstration
 Effect
of HCL when it contacts a
biological material.
Types of Hazards
Severe Alkali Burn – 2 Weeks
7 Weeks
3 Weeks
8 Weeks
Alkali splash
Types of Hazards
 Burns
Medical Attention
 Burn

treatment
Minor - Ice pack for 20 minutes
Demonstration
 Chemistry
can be unpredictable.
 Your co-worker is suddenly splashed with
a caustic substance.
What do YOU do now?
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Wash areas or douse
affected with large
amounts of water.
Eye wash, emergency
showers
IMMEDIATELY WASH FOR A
MINIMUM OF 20 MINUTES
Seek medical attention
ASAP or as needed.
Types of Hazards
 Foreign
body in the
eye.
 Seek immediate
medical attention.
 Do not rub eyes.
Types of Hazards
 Fire
 Vigorous
reaction
 Seek fire extinguisher
training
 Where?
2013 Fire Extinguisher Training
FREE TO ALL UNIVERSITY EM PLOYEES
ONESESSION PERDAY
9:00 AM to noon
May 21
June4, 18
July 2, 16, 30
August 13, 27
September 10, 24
TO REGISTER CONTACT
F&O Safety Division
Telephone: 780.248.1987
Email: FOsafety@ualberta.ca
Website: www.facilities.ualberta.ca
Types of Hazards
 Cuts
and lacerations
Types of Hazards
 Puncture
First Aid or Medical Care
 Cuts

Minor – first aid, bandage
 Lacerations
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Flush and clean wound
Cover with gauze
Seek medical attention
Emergency Response
911
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Provide your name
Provide your location
Emergency Response
 Locate
emergency equipment in your lab
 Know your labs emergency response plan
 Know where to find First Aid

Minor injuries
 Know
Medical Emergencies
 Fire
Report all event to PI, Supervisor or Designate


what to do in:
Near Miss
 Something
that fails by a very narrow
margin.
 An opportunity to learn.
 Cause to pause and re-evaluate.
 Question to determine if you have the
best possible analysis.
Event Reporting
 “Little
by little we human beings are
confronted with situations that give us
more and more clues that we are not
perfect. ”
― Mister Rogers (Fred Rogers)
Event Reporting
 Report
all incidents to your PI or supervisor
no matter how small you may think it is.
 Why?
 The University requires notification
 WCB regulations apply to student/staff
 Lab can incur fines – WCB
 Record are in your own words
Event Reporting
 Future
claims from reoccurrence
i.e. injury or complications
 Acute long term toxic effects – where
health effects are not apparent at the
time of incident.
i.e. Asbestosis (20-30 years),
Chemical exposures
 Different physiology from person to the
next
Event Investigation
 All
Staff and Students are encourage to
participate with PI, Supervisors or their
designates in the investigation process.
 This is for determining root causes and
preventative measures; not for fault
finding or blame.
Learning from incidents
 Recommendations
concerning learning
from incidents.
 Much of what we know about Safety was
born out of our past mistakes or events.
 Using these events and studying them
throughout undergraduate and graduate
learning experiences provides
opportunity.
Personal Protective Equipment
(PPE)
 Only
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
limits exposure to injury
Safety Glasses
Lab Coat
Gloves (Nitrile Limitations)
 Last
line of defense
 Ineffective as a control or barrier, only
minimizes the exposure to the hazard.
Other Safety Concerns
 Things
I should ask myself and/or my PI/TA
or their designates?
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What types of hazards are associate with…
What type of training do I need?
Other Safety Concerns
 Working
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alone
Considered a hazard
What are your responsibilities?
SOP’s
492-5050
Safety Committee
 Have
a question about safety?
 Have a safety concern?
 Join in (email here)
 Collaborative interactions help build
strong safety cultures
Expectations
 Ask
questions if you are unsure.
 Research what you are required to do.
 Apply what you have learned.
 Practice, practice, practice
 Sign
sign-in sheet
 Required 75% in WHMIS exam
Websites

Environment, Health & Safety – U of A
EHS.ualberta.ca

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
UAPPOL
Policiesonline.ualberta.ca
Chemical Safety Board
CSB.gov
(search “experimenting with disaster”)
Chemical & Engineering News
CEN.acs.org (search “safety”)
Websites
 Facilities

and Operations – Extinguisher
http://www.facilities.ualberta.ca/en/Opera
tions_Maintenance_FO/Health_and_Safety_
Program/FireExguisherTraining.aspx
Questions?
 Thank
you for spending the time.
 Draw time