Laboratory Safety Practices

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. ...

Howdy, all! I hope you are all well and had a great weekend. The June Laboratory Safety Practices COP call will be held on  Friday, June 5th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern . This is not our regularly scheduled time. BioRAFT is hosting a webinar that would have ...

You'd have to take your local government's masking policy as a starting point. From what I can tell, Fresno County is not outright recommending masks , just making a strong recommendation for wearing them. Some governments, including the city of San ...

In my discussions with our public health experts - they don't consider someone as having an "exposure" unless they have been in close contact (less than 6ft) of a person for 10 minutes.  CDC states " Contact tracing will be conducted for  close contacts ...

I just advise you to be careful with all the UV disinfectant devices being advertised. UV works, but there are caveats. The advertising often makes it seem like it is instantaneous, when validation studies for UV are anywhere from 15 minutes to 1h, ...

So many great examples have been shared on resumption of research and what that will look like - thank you!  We're starting to look at the teaching lab environment for the Fall.  A question came up about how do we work around the 6-foot social distancing ...

Hi everyone, Are there any thoughts about whether field-based laboratory instruction would require face masks for students and instructors?  We anticipate that distancing would remain a requirement, but face coverings could be an issue in August and ...

Hi Margaret, I don't have any definitive answers or experience regarding viability of this type of sanitizing method.  However, when one of our campus customers inquired about the purchase/use of a specific UVC device for sanitizing safety glasses that ...

Margaret, please let me know how this works out.  We are setting up a UV-C high intensity room for sanitizing N-95 and similar; not just for this time, but in the future also. One problem is how do you know how much energy does it emit at the distance ...

Greetings, I have been approached by a department that is looking to the Fall semester and is trying to determine the best way to sanitize their equipment. Not all of it will be friendly to disinfectant so they were looking at other options. Ont that ...

I look forward to seeing this Joni Triantis Van Sickle Occupational Health Program Administrator Colorado State University Office (Routes to cell or other responder): 970-420-8172

Hi Lee, Anne Hawkinsbadge at Ferris State University and I, along with one of my colleagues here at Texas A&M, had a great discussion just last week about re-opening guidelines for shops. We are working to put our notes together to share with the CSHEMA ...

Hello. Has anyone created a separate Resumption of Work guidance document for SHOPS? Thanks, Lee ------------------------------ Lee Diamond Laboratory Safety Coordinator University of Vermont Burlington VT 802-656-5404 ----------------------------- ...

Hi All,  UC Berkeley EH&S is recruiting for two positions, an Assistant Biosafety Officer and an EH&S Compliance Specialist (with focus on biosafety). More information can be found in the links below.  Assistant Biosafety Officer: https://careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPLOYEE/HRMS/c/HRS_HRAM.HRS_APP_SCHJOB.GBL?Page=HRS_APP_JBPST&Action=U&FOCUS=Applicant&SiteId=21&JobOpeningId=7766&PostingSeq=1 ...

We (EHS) are currently developing guidance documents, checklists and templates that lab personnel can use to submit plans to their Deans requesting to start work again. They must incorporate all of the new COVID-19 mandates.  The actual approval process ...

ACS Chemical Health & Safety Call for Papers on "Laboratory Design to Enable Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Research." To highlight recent work related to laboratory design issues, the journal ACS Chemical Health & Safety is planning a Virtual Special ...

Hi all,  We had a great time on our last webinar, and I wanted to let you all know about another upcoming one we're offering this Thursday as a part of the EHS Community Connection Webinar Series: Ramp Up & Reopening Checklists - Anticipating Needs ...

The American Chemical Society Division of Chemical Health and Safety is now seeking nominations for the division awards described below. **Check out our new award for 2021!** More information about each of the awards can be found ...

The posted link has some extra information at the beginning, but if you copy and paste the link you should be able to see the Zoom meeting number. Kelsie is also trying to fix the direct link. Tristan ------------------------------ Tristan White Safety ...

Hang tight, Kelsie is working on the problem. Joy Diaz, MA Hazardous Waste & Academic Safety Manager Whitworth University 300 W Hawthorne Rd. Spokane, WA 99251 509-777-4339 jdiaz02@whitworth.edu ------Original ...

Same experience here. Kimi Brown , CHO, CSP ( she, her, hers ) Sr. Lab Safety Specialist/Chemical Hygiene Officer 215-746-6549 (Office) 215-651-0557 (Mobile/text) ...

Hi Heather, Here is the access info: Zoom room:  https://iu.zoom.us/j/99153116257 Password: 911665 Thanks! Kelsie ------------------------------ Kelsie Holt Educational Program Manager CSHEMA Bloomington IN 812-245-8096 ---------------------- ...

Hi, I just tried the link for the online meeting room and received a 404 error....so I'm not sure how to access the meeting at this point.  Thanks! ------------------------------ Heather Kaufmann, Ph.D Environmental Safety and Laboratory Manager Gwynedd ...

Hi, Alissa! I'm sorry you won't be able to make the call tomorrow, but these are great comments! I'll be sure we include them in the conversation. Your description of "Barry" has me curious about that show. We just finished watching ...

I won't be able to participate tomorrow because of another meeting that was already scheduled at 1. But still wanted to share some thoughts. Ice Breaker Question: What have you been binge-watching during the pandemic? "Barry" on Amazon Prime (I ...

Emylee, Unfortunately, because of new Zoom security measures we will not be able to send a link as we usually do. When you log in to the CSHEMA website you will be able to find the zoom link and password posted in our COPs page, on the right hand side ...

Attached is the University of Vermont training is currently required by anyone who is an essential worker at this time. It will eventually be required as more people are approved to return. Approval to return procedure is still being debated. It was not ...

​Will a separate invitation be sent with meeting access information? ------------------------------ Emylee Pedersen Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Winston-Salem NC 336-716-1226 ------------------------------

Good morning! With the announcement of the EHS Community Connection Webinar Series that is set to start this Thursday (5/14) at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, we will again reschedule the May Laboratory Safety Practices COP monthly call. Please join us this Friday, ...

Yes all good points I believe face covers, social distancing and hand washing at a min when considering HVAC currents Stay Safe So many variables  Dennis ------------------------------ Dennis Terpin Retired, Manager Industrial Hygienist/Emergency Manager ...

Dennis, et. al. I don't think anyone is naive enough to think that social distancing is the be-all, end-all "solve this and we're ready to go".  We all know there are many other efforts (engineering controls, administrative controls, safe work practices--y'all ...

Good morning all. Please check out my article on the CSHEMA COVID Resourse page. Based on the comments I have received from many friends; re-opening looks like it's going to base on achieving social distancing correct? ...

Ciao covid colleagues! I'll go out on a limb and saw it off behind me - I don't think that square footage has anything much to do with distancing separation. Here's how. Separation matters (in fact, don't use "distance", instead ...

Good afternoon all Square footage is just part of the reopening equation It is about breaking the chain of infection Thanks Dennis ------Original Message------ I am so sorry--apparently my ...

3' radius is ~28 sq ft, so the other ~12sq ft is fudge factor for movement? ------------------------------ Walter Julias Manager, Laboratory Safety and Hazardous Waste Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794 Walter.Julias@stonybrook.edu (631) 632-3739 ...

Hi CSHEMA crew! With the rise of coronavirus, it seems like everyone's been tossed right onto the bleeding edge of safety, and there's a big need for sharing information and working together to find best practices. We're putting together a series of ...

Thank you so much!  This is very helpful. ------------------------------ Lindsay Henderson Laboratory Safety Specialist Portland State University Portland, OR 503-725-4312 ------------------------------

Sorry--me again. Each person needs a 3-ft radius to achieve 6-ft distancing. ------------------------------ Allison Koster Chemical Stockroom Manager & Science Safety Officer Concordia College Moorhead, MN cell: (218) 443-2963 akoster@cord.edu - ...

Walter-- The square root of 40 is 6.32.... Allison May 8, 2020 9:03 AM Walter Julias Any idea where the 40 sq ft for sitting comes from? Assuming a radius of 6ft you need at least 113 sqft. ------------------------------ Allison Koster Chemical Stockroom ...

Speaking off the cuff and not based on written guidance - I don't see that, in general, basing occupancy on sq ft alone is very helpful. We all have seen labs where every quare inch is loaded with equipment and supplies, and other labs where you could ...

Any idea where the 40 sq ft for sitting comes from? Assuming a radius of 6ft you need at least 113 sqft. ------------------------------ Walter Julias Manager, Laboratory Safety and Hazardous Waste Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 11794 Walter.Julias@stonybrook.edu ...

I am so sorry--apparently my cut & paste didn't come through. We are using this information from one of the University of Colorado branches, obtained by my boss who directs Risk Management: " Our EHS folks determined that for people ...

Hello Mahdi, I am proposing a 350 sq. ft. per person area in lab spaces for our College of Engineering for Phase 1 restart. Main reason for this is that people do not typically come in and stand at a single station. They go back and forth between fume ...

Hi everyone, Duke University's Occupational & Environmental Safety Office has an open position for a Safety and Health Specialist in our Laboratory Safety Division.  If interested, please apply at the Duke Human Resources Website, requisition number  ...

David Gillum from ASU graciously shared this on another listserv: https://www.asu.edu/ehs/ documents/asu-covid-19-safety- training -for-on-site- personnel-with-disclaimer.pdf -- Jennifer Ramil Research Safety Manager and Biosafety ...

Hi All- I know there have been quite a few COVID-19 related discussions on here going on, so forgive me if this has already been discussed (I did a brief search and didn't find my specific inquiry). We are looking to put together a required online ...

I can't thank you all enough for taking your time during this unprecedented era and responding to my question. It has been extremely helpful Thanks, Mahdi Fahim Assistant Director, Environmental Health and Safety Lab Safety Manager, ...

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. These inputs are really helpful in defining our maximum occupancy load as we begin our phase one of the operation ramp up. Thanks, Mahdi Fahim Assistant Director, Environmental Health and ...

Hi Mahdi! You could accomplish this by utilizing the existing occupant load of the space as determined by your local fire code. If I looked at a 6-foot social distance... I would look at it as a radius of 6'. Since a lab is likely more square, ...

Hi Mahdi, Check out the University of Houston - great comprehensive plan.  Phased approach.  They recommend 200 square feet/person. https://uh.edu/research/news/announcements/2020/0320/covid-19-information-and-resources/reopening-research/ Spacing: ...