Skills Workshop 1: Safety Training
Speaker: Ellen Elsbernd, Chief OSHA Compliance Officer, Office of Environmental Health and Safety, University of Cincinnati
Date: June 19, 2012
Time: 8:30-9:30 am
Venue: 645 Baldwin Hall and 834 Old Chemistry for Online Training
Prepared By:
Michael Alio, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
Emma Dorgan, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
REU Participants of Project #1: Multi-UAV Cooperative Control
Ms. Ellen Elsbernd Presenting at the Safety Training Workshop
This workshop was given by Ms. Ellen Elsbernd,Chief OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) Compliance Officer for the Office of Environmental Health and Safety (EH & S) at the University of Cincinnati. She has 19 years of experience addressing safety and health concerns at the University of Cincinnati and taught high school chemistry prior to that. She has undergraduate degrees in Science Education and Forensic Chemistry and an MBA in Operations Management.
This workshop was presented on the second day of the REU program in order to inform and help the REU participants gain an understanding about the hazards in the workplace and the practices that are used to control those hazards before beginning research. Ms. Elsbernd taught the REU participants how to identify hazards and where to find information on those hazards, how to prevent and protect themselves from exposure, and how to dispose of hazards when not in use or when finished with an experiment.
Ms. Elsbernd stated that there are two kinds of hazards when dealing with hazardous materials: health hazards and physical hazards. Health hazards come in two types: acute and chronic. An acute health hazard is an incident that causes health effects eitherimmediately or soon after a short term, high dose exposure. A chronic health hazard is an incident that causes health effects after multiple low dose exposures over an extensive period of time. There are various kinds of hazardous materials that can cause both acute and chronic health hazards. Sensitizers, like latex,can cause an allergic reaction on the skin or lungs. Carcinogens, such as formaldehyde, are cancerous. Toxic and highly toxic agents cancause health effects at low doses. Irritantscause redness and swelling on contact, like acid gases. Corrosives, like hydrofluoric acid,cause tissue damage and burn on contact. Teratogens can cause birth defects and organ specific hazards can cause damage to specific organ systems.
Physical hazards are the second kind of hazard and are as dangerous as health hazards. There are three types of physical hazards:fire, reactive, and explosion. Fire hazards can be caused by combustible liquids, flammable liquids, aerosols, gases, and solids; oxidizers, and pyrophonics. Reactive hazards are caused by organic peroxides, unstable reactives, and water reactives. Explosion hazards can be caused by compressed gases and explosives.
According to Ms. Elsbernd, exposure to hazardous materials can be brought on through inhalation, skin absorption (depending on what the MSDS says), or ingestion of contaminated foods and beverages. She also stated that in order to prevent exposure, certain procedures and equipment must be put in place to ensure safety and protection against hazardous materials.
To assess hazards means to identify uncontrolled hazards, eliminate or reduce hazards to acceptable levels, and prioritize jobs with the highest hazard. Consult with the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) sheets whenever handling hazardous chemicals. MSDS contain information on the physical and chemical characteristics of the hazardous material, the health and physical hazard information, the control measures on how to handle the material, the emergency, first aid, and spill procedures in case of exposure; and the protective exposure limits. It is the responsibility of everyone in the workplace to obtain an MSDS for each hazardous material before usage, update it annually, and make sure that the MSDS file is accessible to everyone in the workplace. If the hazardous material is in its original container, make sure that its label has the identity and percent composition of the hazardous material, the appropriate hazard warnings, and the name and address of the responsible party. If the hazardous material is in a secondary container, then that also must be properly labeled.
Besides proper labeling and obtaining MSDS sheets, other methods to control exposure exist. These methods includeelimination or substitution, using engineering controls, good hygiene and work practices, and personal protective equipment (PPE). The process of elimination or substitution is simply eliminating, substituting, or reducing the hazardous material. Engineering controls mean changing the machine or work environment to prevent exposures. This is done by using enclosures such as fume hoods, isolating process, venting out any harmful emissions, usinginitial design specifications, or changing the process. Good hygiene and work practices involves washing hands, not having any food or beverages near hazardous materials, securing gas cylinders, storing flammables in approved areas, inspecting and testing peroxide-formers regularly, organizing chemicals by hazard class, transporting chemicals in secondary containers, and shielding equipment from physical hazards. PPE (personal protective equipment) is the last line of defense against exposure and is used if other controls cannot provide adequate protection. The minimum amount of PPE that must be worn whenever working with hazardous materials is gloves (not latex), safety glasses/goggles, and lab coats. Should the initial controls fail and exposure occurs, be sure to have exits, fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, emergency showers, and electric panels accessible in the workplace.
As protection against exposure is important so is waste disposal after exposure. When disposing of hazardous waste, follow Advisory 7.3: Management of Chemical Wastes, which states that a waste label must be completed and that the waste is secure and stored in an accessible area (stated in Elsbernd). Other waste disposal practices include never pouring hazardous chemicals down the drain, avoid storing hazardous waste on the floor, triple rinsing acute hazardous waste containers before placing them in the dumpster along with the rinsate, and labeling the empty containers with the word “EMPTY.” If a spill occurs, clean it up immediately with a spill kit or contact EHS if in need of assistance.
Safety is an important skill to have and it must be immediately obtained before working in an environment that has hazardous materials. Ms. Ellen Elsbernd has taught the REU participants that there are many aspects of safety that one must know, such as knowledge and identification of the hazard, control and prevention of the hazard, and disposal of the hazard. However, if there is one thing that the participants must get out from this workshop is that if concerned about something that involves hazardous materials please consult with the Environmental Health and Safety Department.
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