Departmental safety issues
2001 Annual Safety, Area Specific, Training Seminar of January 10, 2002
Full text outline
PowerPoint Presentation
Slide show used at Seminar
SPECIAL ON PROPPING OPEN OF ROOM DOORS
1) Hallways: All hallways shall be kept clear of any moveable items such as, but not limited to, Chairs, boxes, waste baskets or trash cans, small tables, any items mounted on wheels or casters which could be "bumped" or "tripped upon" when in the path of rapidly exiting personnel, or which may constitute a fire hazard. This is a fire safety requirement.
2) Hallway Doors: All hallway doors, are to be kept closed and are never to be propped open with furniture, wood blocks, or any other item. These doors are to prevent the "Wind Tunnel Effect" should there be a fire in the building at one end of a hallway. This can cause a firestorm through an affected hallway. This is a fire safety requirement.
3) Rooms and Laboratories: Excessive storage either flammable or not, may not be placed in rooms and labs if SHEA determines it is either a fire hazard, or a hazard to access/egress/rapid escape. This issue is both a fire safety and personnel escape requirement.
4) Any item found in the hallways will be considered to be unwanted, and will be removed by either Gary or Elliott. They will be disposed of in the best appropriate manner, depending on our determination of further usefulness to the department or to be sent to Surplus Property.
5) PANDA CHEMICAL SAFETY
WEB PAGE, --- NO FACE MASKS OR RESPIRATORS
TO BE USED
6) The departmental Chemical Storage Room (B05) in the basement is now under special key. If you need to use this room for any purpose hereafter, please contact Elliott Bailey, or the department Chair for access permission and the key.
7) WELDING SAFETY: Absolutely no welding is allowed within the building, regardless of your abilities, training, or licenses, unless you obtain a one day permit either from SHEA or from the machine shop foreman. A copy of these permits MUST be sent to SHEA and a permit is required for every day you will be welding.
8) Please note, that whenever asked by SHEA inspectors when they are in your lab, "Tell me, where in the building could you view the SHEA Safety Manual?". Your answer should be, either in Elliott's office for the hard copy, or on the PandA Operations web pages at the link to the SHEA Safety Manual, or directly on SHEA's web pages at www.unm.edu/~sheaweb
CHEMICAL SAFETY NOTICE 3/13/2001
(See SHEA Safety Manual link following this next section)
If you NEVER spend any time in any Laboratory in the main Physics and Astronomy building (207) you may skip this message, but it might help to read it anyway, for YOUR OWN SAFETY. HOWEVER, if you even spend only minutes in any lab in the building, please read on. It was brought to my attention during one of our annual (semi-annual) Labortory inspections by SHEA (Safety, Health, and Environmental Affairs), that they are doing something they have not done (at least in our building) in the past. They are interviewing personnel they come across in a lab and asking them several questions. 1) Where is the SHEA Safety Manual kept in the department? 2) Do you know how to gain access to a copy of the SHEA Safety Manual? 3) Where are the MSDS's (Material Safety Data Sheets) kept for all hazardous chemicals in the department, and do you have access to them? 4) Where is your lab Chemical Inventory List?
As Chemical Safety Officer for the department, and in the recent walk-through's of our labs with the SHEA inspectors, I have noticed a significant frown on each respondee's face so far, when asked any of these questions. This reflects severely on YOU THE RESPONDEE, and also on the department. On YOU, because I have sent out several email messages over the last year to ALLPANDA concerning this issue, and I have the information published on the OPERATIONS WEB PAGE and also mentioned that, each time. On THE DEPARTMENT, because we have to provide evidence that you WERE informed, but still don't know the answers. FOLLOWING ARE THE ANSWERS.
1) and 2) The SHEA SAFETY MANUAL is kept in Elliott Bailey's office, in the bookcase behind his desk. If the room is locked, it is available from any browser on the WEB by going to the PANDA OPERATIONS WEB SITE, clicking on "Safety Issues" and then at the bottom of the page "SHEA Safety Manual click here". You may also go directly to the manual by entering the following URL into your browser, and/or setting it as a bookmark in your browser and going to it at - - - - - -http://shea.unm.edu/sheamanual/default.htm
3) The departments copy of all MSDS sheets are kept in the Graduate Students Library (Reading Room), Room 190, in the BLUE 4-drawer filing cabinet at the left rear of the room (currently the top two drawers), and if the room is locked, any of the office staff can open it for access if you do not have a key. PLEASE NOTE, that if you receive any chemical into the department, two things MUST HAPPEN. You should check the MSDS files for a copy on record of your chemical, and if not there, you MUST get one from the manufacturer and have the front office staff add it to the file. A copy of the sheet should also be forwarded to SHEA, and Elliott Bailey can do that for you if you wish. If there is one there, no action here is required. HOWEVER, you MUST STILL add this chemical to the Chemicals Inventory List for your lab, and send an updated copy to SHEA (See # 4 below).
4) All Laboratories are supposed to have a current (regularly updated) list of all chemicals in use in that lab. This includes EVERYTHING, including spray paints, Alcohol, glues, etc., and ESPECIALLY any flammable or hazardous chemicals. This Inventory has to be turned in to SHEA any time it is updated. Please see Elliott Bailey for the blank forms, and for his assistance or SHEA's assistance in filling one out.
Thank you if you are one who read this all the way to here. It will also be published on the Safety page under the operations web page.
Elliott
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