ESDR Safety Committee

Meeting Minutes

Date:5/8/17

Attendees: Robert Kostecki, Gao Liu, Adam Weber, Vincent Battaglia, Rahul Chopra, Ron Scholtz

1. Accidents/Incident Update

  • There were no recent accidents reported in ESDR.
  • The committee discussed a recent near miss in 70-255 regarding a bookshelf that fell off the wall. Nobody was injured, but the shelf was not properly installed and was probably overloaded. AI- Committee members to identify any potential shelves/cabinets in their areas that may need Facilities to evaluate. Report possible problems and deficiencies to Ron before the next quarterly meeting. Follow-up with corrective actions with Facilities if needed.

2. Walkthroughs and Inspections

  • Management Walkthroughs- Each group leader is expected to perform a walkthrough of their areas at least quarterly. This should be documented by appropriate comments and initialing the self-inspection check sheet posted in the lab area. Corrective actions must be taken immediately.
  • SAA inspections- The walkthrough was performed on 4/24/17. It went very well with no hazardous waste issues identified in ESDR lab areas.
  • EHS inspections- EHS has been conducting annual inspections in B62 and B70 labs. These will continue through June. Several issues have been identified:
  • Pressure reactors with damaged Teflon seal caps and damaged pressure relief foils in 62-314. The committee discussed creating an inventory of pressure reactors in ESDR for better tracking. A periodic inspection of equipment needs to be performed by the PI and the results/findings reported directly to Ron.
  • Peroxide formers that are either not identified with a PF label or have not been tested in the last 6 months.
  • Fire inspections- Buildings 62 and 70 were recently inspected. The primary issue being found is 5% hydrogen cylinders with plastic piping. These need to be metal. These have been addressed in 70-218, 70-295, and 70-299. We still need to address lines in 70-257.
  • Other Inspections- During the SAA inspection, a fuel cell battery tester was observed in 70-257 with the front panel unsecured. There was nobody present, so the “plug and cord” energy control was not effective. A CATS has been issued to ensure a procedure is put in place to ensure the equipment is properly controlled while be reconfigured. All committee members need to check their areas to determine if any other types of equipment require access through panels for modification/adjustment.

3. Self-Assessment Update

  • An overview of the recent oven/furnace self-assessment was presented. There are some follow-up items that the committee needs to assist with:
  • Develop a defective equipment tag-out process to ensure defective equipment is not used until repaired/salvaged. Ron will send out a draft for the committee to review.
  • Ensure that ovens that are not approved by a nationally recognized testing lab, receive an internal LBNL inspection. Ron will send out a list of the affected ovens.
  • Ensure that ovens that all ovens are seismically secured. Ron will send out a list of the affected ovens.
  • Check high temperature ovens and determine if they have an over-temperature shut-off feature. If they have the feature, ensure it is properly configured and the set point is identified on the equipment.

4. Work Activity Status

  • Most Level 3 Work Activities are currently going through their annual review and collaboration with EHS. Affected areas are being visited.
  • A new feature has been added to Activity Manager that allows Activity Leads to track On the Job Training (OJT) directly in the Work Activity. Instructions were sent out to all leads.
  • ESDR training conformance is very good. There are only 10 training assignments due for the entire division.

5. Safety Alerts

  • An ETA Safety Alert was distributed regarding proper use of power strips. These should not be used for high power equipment such as ovens and furnaces. They also should not be overloaded.

6. New Business

  • None
  • Future items for upcoming meetings: pipe-labeling requirements, new LBNL“time sensitive” chemical procedure, ETA “defective equipment” procedure.

Next Meeting: September 12 @10:00am

Action Items:

Date / Action Item / Assigned / Status
5/8/17 / Ensure that Kim Abbott from DOE is added on to the invite for future committee meetings / Marie Butson
5/8/17 / Send meeting agenda out prior to each meeting for member input / Ron Scholtz/Robert Kostecki
5/8/17 / Look at shelves in work areas and identify any suspect shelves that need Facilities investigation / All Committee Members / Report status at next meeting
5/8/17 / Perform quarterly walkthroughs of work areas. Document by initialing/commenting on self-inspection sheet posted in lab area. / All Committee members / Report status at next meeting
5/8/17 / Develop an inventory of all pressure reactors in ESDR. Ensure that the PI performs a semiannual inspection of the equipment to ensure that damaged parts are replaced/disposed. / Ron Scholtz, Guoying Chen, Gao Liu, Marca Doeff / Developing inventory. Damaged parts identified in 62-314 to be disposed.
5/8/17 / Ensure all ESDR lab areas using flammable gases have piping of metal construction. / All Committee members / Report status at next meeting
5/8/17 / Identify any equipment that requires removal of panels for access to non-electrical parts. Possible need for “plug and cord” control of power. / All Committee members / CATS issued for item identified in 70-257. Committee members report status at next meeting.
5/8/17 / Ensure non-NRTL ovens are inspected and have a green inspection sticker affixed / Ron Scholtz, PI’s listed / Ron will distribute list to Committee members. Need to schedule inspections.
5/8/17 / Ensure all ovens and furnaces are seismically retrained. / Ron Scholtz, PI’s listed / Ron will distribute prioritized list to Committee members. Need to purchase straps and install.
5/8/17 / Check high temperature ovens/furnaces and identify if they have a high temperature shut-off feature. / All Committee members / Ensure set point is correct. Identify on the equipment.