CSHEMA Café

Dear CSHEMA,  I am wondering if any of you have developed a contact tracing interview form or script for case managers?  We are in the process of building out our Contact Tracing Protocols and I would love to see anything that may already be out there.  ...

Hi all, We've been tasked with coming up with some sort of standards for face coverings and PPE use in various areas of campus, such as labs, classrooms, hallways, offices, etc. Does anyone have a document that outlines this kind of information that ...

Hi all, Many of us are concerned about use of flammables and pyrophorics with face coverings and have turned to FR fabrics like Nomex. When looking into nomex fabric I found that it contains small quantities of dimethylacetamide, which is a possible reproductive ...

Thank you so much for providing your procedure!   I have years of public health experience performing both quantitative and qualitative fit tests for N95 respirators.  I learned the hard way not to skip the following required step in  Appendix A to ...

Just wanted to say thanks! Especially appreciate the video demos! ------------------------------ Cynthia Patty ESH Coordinator Stanford University Menlo Park CA 650-926-3925 ------------------------------

Don't forget sprinkler and fire alarm impacts. John John DeLaHunt, MBA, ARM Risk and Life Safety Manager Office of Risk and Emergency Management The University of Texas at San Antonio SSF 107/MC 05700 One UTSA ...

A face shield does not completely protect the eyes, so I would recommend low profile safety goggles if wearing under a face shield. There are face shield with ANSI approved goggles assembly available (example https://www.grainger.com/mobile/product/CONDOR-Anti-Fog-29XT52?breadcrumbCatId=23893 ...

Great articles - thanks for sharing Frances. -- Randolph Shebby M.Ed. Asst. Director, EH&S 211 Warren Square, Bethlehem, PA 18015 rasf @lehigh.edu | 610-758-6240 LU Facilities

Hello,       We are getting ready to allow some undergraduate research in our chemistry lab. I am wondering if I need to require splash goggles under a full length face shield? Secondly, does a face shield replace a face mask when in a chemistry lab? ...

TL,DR version:  Face shields, cotton masks, FR masks + fire videos at the bottom! Below is the text of an email that I sent on this topic for distribution to our chemistry department.   The issue of safety of face masks in the labs was discussed during ...

Hi Matt and all, Thanks again - it was a great time being on the panel!  I'm happy to kick start the follow-up discussion and my responses to these questions. "Supporting Labs that are Active, Essential, & Operational" – chat questions – my replies ...

Thoughts on allowing staff and faculty to wear face shields instead of cloth face masks/coverings based on current CDC guidance and the JAMA opinion article about face shields? The NY Times article was published after and mentions the article and additional ...

My view is that a cloth face cover should be judged by similar standards to those applied to clothing. Before COVID-19, we didn't generally recommend FR shirts, pants, or headscarves for laboratory scale operations using pyrophorics or significant volumes ...

Hi Renee! We provided our community with the attached guidance regarding safe use of face coverings in laboratories.  It doesn't cover all scenarios, but it raises awareness and gives our PI's/lab mangers the ability to take ownership of the safety solutions ...

Hi Phillip, I can see where there would be an issue with ventilation and fire safety with operations trying to build Plexiglas walls from ceiling to floor.  I would try and deter them from doing that definitely for safety reasons.  I have seen ones that ...

​​So I have just been informed that our Plant Operations people are planning to build floor to ceiling walls of Plexiglas between everybody.  My first thought was- airflow.  I have enough problems with people building private offices in areas designed ...

This is great, John! My hearty appreciation to the Task Force Members for your work on this! I've shared it with our dept safety folks here to use and push out to their labs. Thank you all for the help! Jon Jonathan Klane, ...

Howdy CSHEMA! The much anticipated "CSHEMA Checklist for Restarting Laboratories on College and University Campuses" is now available on the CSHEMA COVID-19 resources page under the Additional Resources tab. A very special thank you to our Task Force ...

Hi, Thank you for the suggestions! I appreciate it! Best, Christine -- Christine Blakey Occupational Safety Manager Virginia Commonwealth University 804-827-0357

CSHEMA Colleagues, The virtual annual conference is just around the corner.  The Central office is working hard to contact technical session speakers and confirm.   Since the event is virtual, we will not have as many sessions.  If your session is not ...

I ordered a yard of Nomex fabric and a spool of Nomex thread for our researchers who use pyrophoric reagents. At first I was planning to try to sew the Nomex on the front of whatever mask the researcher had, but he has a surgical mask, and I was worried ...

There are some FR face coverings available out there: https://www.stauffersafety.com/Product/national-safety-apparel-mask2-y2-double-layer-hi-vis-fr-facemask-695307 Jeff -- Jeff Lewin Director of Chemical Laboratory Operations ...

Hi Christine, Have you looked into the APPA educational resources?  Here is a link to their website, https://www.appa.org.  They host some fairly good facilities specific training events as well as have a Leadership Academy. The subscription service ...

Hi Randolph, You may find some guidance on the matter from your State Department of Health.  I attached the Washington State guidance as the reference section contains a number of non-Washington State information sources.   I've seen discussions in ...

Qualitative fit testing (QLFT) in a COVID environment Good question This question has popped up in questions in my last 3 respiratory protection webinars. The last one through Occupational Safety and Health Virtual Summit its free ...

As our research community opens up there has been active discussion of the use of face coverings in the laboratory.  A blanket requirement of face coverings has been issued for the University.  That being said, there is concern with the use of face coverings ...

Dear colleagues,  As the pandemic continues, we encounter increased needs for respiratory protection (e.g. for healthcare workers). At the same time, qualitative fit-testing procedures as described in   29   CFR 1910.134 ,   Appendix  A   require ...

Thank you Nancy, This is a good set of considerations and much appreciated as we start to look into how we open our shops and MakerSpaces back up. Wishing you the best in these strange days - Jesse ------------------------------ Jesse Decker Director ...

Physical distancing, face masks, and eye protection to prevent person-to-person transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis Published online yesterday (06/01/2020) - not sure which link will work best for you, so ...

Sometimes the National Safety Council has free webinars, but you do have to be a member. Lori Welch EHS Coordinator Risk & Safety Dept. Dempsey, Rm. 214 UW Oshkosh (920) 424-0985

As always, great points for thought Jon!  Thank you! If any of our customers come back with these questions, or ask for further clarification/engagement with our team (and I hope they do), I will consider my quest to raise awareness and prompt ...

Great question! We are just beginning to develop guidelines for maintenance of the building water supply and distribution systems. I hadn't considered testing for mold spores but we are looking at possibly Legionella. Thanks for starting the thread! ...

Hi Colleagues: I have a question for all of you that deal with refrigerant management.  As you likely know, the EPA's Clean Air Act regulations addressed both ozone depleting substances (CFCs/HCFCs) and their non-exempt substitutes (HFCs).  These included ...

Hi Colleagues: I have a question for all of you that deal with refrigerant management.  As you likely know, the EPA's Clean Air Act regulations addressed both ozone depleting substances (CFCs/HCFCs) and their non-exempt substitutes (HFCs).  These included ...

Here are a few: https://www.ronblank.com/Online_Courses/Free_Courses/Newest American Wood Council (design based and fire safety) https://members.awc.org/events/event_list.asp https://continuingeducation.bnpmedia.com/library.php https://www.rcep.net/Master-Calendar/OnDemand-Activities-1110.htm ...

Attached is the process we are using for fit testing with physical distancing. If you have ideas, please let me know Mary ------------------------------ Mary Corrigan Associate Director EH&S Department Harvard University Cambridge MA 617-496-4746 ...

Good afternoon, CSHEMA members! About a week and a half ago, Anne Hawkinsbadge (from Ferris State University) and I, along with one of my colleagues here at Texas A&M, had a good discussion about restarting shops on our campuses in the wake of COVID-19. ...

Good Afternoon, My boss handles the environmental issues - and would like to know if any other colleges/universities are proactively sampling for either mold spores or Legionella in potable water sources (fountains, shower heads, etc.) ...

Hi, Does anyone have any free online safety training they are using for their facilities team to complete?  I am running out of ideas using YouTube and OSHA.gov.  Thanks for your help! -- Christine ...

Our University is requiring everyone to self symptom check before they come to campus.  Supervisors are responsible for sending those they supervise home if they have symptoms and come to work.  We created a SAMPLE symptom screening tool for lab Supervisors. ...

Thanks Drew. I hadn't seen Cornell's Community Protective Equipment (CPE) approach at the bottom of the Hierarchy. It is interesting. All best, Jon

Yesterday we activated a health check portal. Building swipe access is turned off at midnight every day and is not reactivated until you complete it before coming campus: https://www.mtu.edu/flex/portal/ I'm not involved with portal management, ...

Hi Melissa, Sounds like a lot of us are wrestling with this question based on the discussion in the town hall yesterday.  This issue, among many others surrounding bringing people back to campus, is largely being coordinated through our Health and Well ...

We are discussing creating a guideline or tool to either encourage or require daily wellness self-checks for all students and employees, but I'm coming up with more questions than answers on this topic. Is anyone else implementing wellness self-checks? ...

Jon, I do like your thought process on face coverings as engineering controls. It is not something I hadn't thought of (and am now still thinking about :). Anyway, I thought I would share this from Cornell's website (not sure if they created "CPE"?). ...

Anyone doing "care/gift" packages for departments that return to campus that will include  regular absorbent paper towels, gloves, medical face masks, hand sanitizer, cleaning products and an instruction sheet.  If you are doing this do you have an instruction ...

John: We are looking at options for preventing/reducing spread of infectious agents through our HVAC systems. Being a healthcare institution, we see about 3,000+ patients per day here in Lubbock who bring who-knows-what into our facilities. ...

We are looking into disposal thermometers that can be given to students, faculty, staff for them to perform their own health monitoring.  You can buy ~2,000 for around $50.  We're looking at creating welcome kits for students when they arrive in the fall ...

Hello Fabiola, We currently require anyone with patient contact, in an outpatient setting, to wear N95. Yes, that means all of the steps in 1910.134. At this point, no update in policy is contemplated. If the employee is not involved in active patient ...

Hello! I was wondering if anyone had plans to update their respiratory protection programs? and if so how so? We are now requiring public safety and health care workers who might have to break social distancing  to wear N95s and are going through the ...