Skills Workshop #1: “Safety Training Seminar”

Speaker: Ms. Ellen Elsbernd,Chief OSHA Compliance Officer,Office of Environmental Health and Safety, University of Cincinnati

Date: Tuesday, June 10

Time: 8:30 A.M.-10:30 AM

Venue: 749 Baldwin Hall

Prepared by:

Dorien Clark, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Victoria Sumner, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Stephanie Palmer, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

REU Participants for Project #1: “Interaction of Nanoparticles with Microbial Biofilm in Water Treatment Facility Processes”

Ms. Ellen Elsbernd, a former high school chemistry teacher, was invited to come to speak to the REU group and provide several important information about lab safety and hazards which will lower help to lower laboratory injury risks.

Ms. Elsbernd is now the Chief OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) Compliance Officer at the University of Cincinnati in the Office of Environmental Health and Safety. She has served at the University of Cincinnati for the past 21 years, and she has addressed several safety and health concerns at the university. Currently, Ms. Elsbernd has been running a program that emphasizes shop safety and machine safeguarding program. Ms. Elsbernd has received an undergraduate degree in Science Education and also in Forensic Chemistry; she also has received an MBA in Operations Management. Prior to being with the University of Cincinnati and working with health concerns, Ms. Elsbernd taught high school chemistry. Below are photographs of the workshop in session.

Photograph of Ms. Ellen Elsbernd and Presentation

The main purpose of this workshop was to teach the REU participants about lab safety and give them vital information that they would need to use in the lab. At the beginning of the project the objectives of the course were described as follows: (1) Recognize work-related routes of exposure to hazardous chemicals, (2) Identify and label chemical hazards, (3) take action to reduce exposure potential, (4) Dispose of chemical waste according to the University’s waste management process, (5) Prepare for emergencies, and to (6) Identify revisions to the HazCom Std and their effective dates. Following the introduction of the workshop’s main objectives, Ms. Elsbernd proceeded to give the REU students important information about lab safety.

Ms. Elsbernd started the presentation by talking about the different types of hazards that could be found in a laboratory setting (health hazards). She mentioned and acute hazard, which is one the causes effects immediately or soon after the exposure, and is usually occurs from high dose exposures; the other health hazard was called chronic, and it is cause from years of several low dose exposures. She then continued to talk about the two health hazards in more depth; namely she categorized the hazards in to Sensitizers, carcinogens, toxic & highly toxic, irritants, corrosives, teratogens, organ specific hazards, fire hazards, reactive hazards, and explosion hazards. In the next part of the presentation, Ms. Elsbernd discussed the exposure of chemicals and how they can be avoided with safe lab practices.

The first topic that Ms. Elsbernd mentioned when discussing exposure was how chemical hazards were typically exposed to the workers. She gave the three ways that hazards could be exposed to the employee: inhalation, skin absorption, and ingestion. With these routes of exposure, she went on to inform the REU participants about how they can practice safe techniques when in the lab which will lower the risk of exposure to chemical hazards, such as keeping the amount of exposure to hazardous chemicals below the exposure limit set forth by the OSHA, and wearing the proper protection equipment. She also mention techniques like using labels for all chemicals, keeping the workspace free of clutter and potential hazards, and also to use known identification markers to be able to control and maintain hazards. The purpose of presenting this is so that the participants would be able to practice safe procedures and keep themselves out of harm.

Ms. Elsbernd brought to our attention next ways to identify hazards. This part of the presentation was important because it taught the REU participants ways to keep their hazardous materials organized and how to be ready for emergencies. Probably one of the biggest topics of the whole workshop was the information about the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). A MSDS is a tool prepared by the manufacturer which outlines characteristics of the chemical, hazard information, control measures, and procedures for emergencies. MSDS’s should always be kept and updated in an accessible place in case of emergencies. The use of the “Hazard Warning Diamond” was also mention and shows how critical each hazard was on a scale of 0-4 based on four categories: flammability, health, radioactivity, and special hazards.

The main points that the REU student should have taken from the workshop are that safety in the lab is very important. There are many methods and procedures that need to be followed when working in a laboratory setting around dangerous, hazardous chemicals. OSHA has set forth rules and regulations that must be followed by the employers and employees in order to ensure everyone’s safety. This workshop was great at defining the procedures and regulations where were needed to keep a safe work environment.

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