Emergency Response

Emergency response is something people don’t usually think about when they think about safety.  In this case, we are talking about a worse case scenario incident.  Regardless of any prior safety measures taken, either someone has been injured, or a disaster such as a fire has happened.  Emergency response is so crucial, because how people act following a disaster can literally be the line between life or death.  Not only that, but in the event of a disaster like a fire, how people handle themselves also plays an economic role. For example, a fire can start and maybe cause a few hundred dollars in damage.  But that same fire, if started, and there is a lack of response, can burn down a multimillion-dollar facility. 

  So it pays to have an emergency action plan in place.  A fire is not the only emergency that can happen in a Lab.  In fact labs are even more dangerous than most workplaces due to the nature of the work being carried out in them.  Dangerous and even deadly chemicals can be spilled exposing employees.  Employees can injure themselves while using equipment in the lab.  Labs often use dangerous equipment, often with open flames, which greatly increase the chance for personal injury.  The first step in emergency response when an emergency is realized is to get out of the area.  Once you are clear from danger, you must contact the primary emergency response team, usually meaning the fire department.  Depending on the size of the emergency, a “safe zone” perimeter must be established.  In other words, an area that is designated as being far enough away from the incident to be considered safe.  In the event of a chemical/radioactive leak, the area must be deemed safe for emergency responders to enter.  In events like 9/11, emergency responders are often killed, or develop acute/chronic diseases.  Many responders from 9/11 have developed chronic respiratory conditions after the disaster from breathing in the materials suspended in the air.  A similar situation happened in Japan’s most recent nuclear reactor failure.  Many of the emergency responders entered the area knowing that the radiation may kill them, or give them life long effects. So the safety of the emergency responders is something that needs to be considered when dealing with a disaster.  Now of course, there will never be a completely safe disaster (for responders).  What makes it a disaster is that is poses a danger to human life and property.  So anytime someone is entering this type of environment, a danger is involved.  All we can do is try and be as systematic, and consistent as possible when reacting to such events.  The most crucial aspect in emergency response is the chain of communication.  This is how people are contacted and made aware of the emergency. 

Having an efficient chain of communication can safe lives and property.  Most companies that run labs have such chains of communications in place.  This is how the safety managers, and emergency response teams become aware of the situation and they respond accordingly.  Overall, emergency response is something not thought of right away by most in safety, but it is one of the most crucial aspects of it.

Fire Safety

Fire Safety is extremely important in any occupational setting.  This concern is heightened in a laboratory setting.   This is because of the vast array of chemicals and hazards present in a laboratory.  Not only is there often a large amount of chemicals in a laboratory, but there is also a vast array of equipment being used that could pose a fire hazard.  Often times open flames, such as bunsen burners, are used in the lab to heat chemicals.  Hot plates and ovens are also used frequently utilized.  Many chemicals can cause a fire hazard when they come in contact with one another, or even just the air.  Because of this reason, SDS’s should be obtainable on all chemicals being used in the workplace.  Employees should be knowledgeable and familiar of the chemicals and equipment they are working with.

 Hazard recognition is extremely important in preventing fires.  For example, when boiling some chemicals, the fumes that come off the liquid may be flammable.  These fumes or gases may than come in contact with the flame of the heating element and ignite.  Human error is the biggest cause of fire in the laboratory.  In the lab, there is a heightened risk of chemical fire.  For this reason it is necessary to have the appropriate fire extinguisher.  Fires can be started by simply mixing two chemicals together.  The chemicals can either catch fire or create enough heat to start a fire out of the surrounding material.  Employees should not only be aware of how these fires can start, but they should also be trained in suppressing the fire.  Housekeeping is a simple but important part of fire safety in the lab.  Unused chemicals should be promptly cleaned up and stored in there appropriate places.  Equipment not being used, such as hot plates or bunsen burners should also be put away after they are allowed to cool.  In the scenario a fire does ignite and it can not be safely suppressed by lab workers, employees will need to evacuate and contact the fire department.

For this reason an emergency evacuation plan should be set in place.  Everyone working in the lab should be aware of the emergency evacuation.  A location should be designated as a safe zone somewhere outside the building for the employees to meet up at once the building is evacuated.  Massive amounts of hazardous chemicals should not be kept in the lab.  If a large amount of a flammable/ignitable chemical is kept in a lab it can greatly increase damage from a fire.  So it is important that laboratories do not stockpile large amounts of flammable chemicals and store them over a long period of time.  Educational labs, like the ones here at Ohio University are amongst those most at risk for a fire.  You have many untrained students working in a confined area and everyone is doing something different.  Many of these students do not have the heightened capability to for see hazards.  In student labs, you are often dealing with flammable gases, flammable liquids, and open flames.  For these reasons, educational labs are considered amongst the highest risk for fire hazards.

Process Safety Management (PSM)

Process safety management or (PSM) is an analytical tool centered on preventing releases of any substance defined as a highly hazardous chemical.  PSM refers to a set of approaches that are used to manage hazards associated with the industrial processes and it is intended to reduce the frequency and severity of incidents resulting from releases of chemicals and other energy sources (US OSHA 1993). These standards are composed of organizational and operational procedures, design guidance, audit programs, and convey of other methods.  Here I have included the 14 step process and an explanation from OSHA’s website.

  1) Develop and maintain written safety information identifying workplace chemical and process hazards, equipment used in the processes, and technology used in the processes.

 (2) Perform a workplace hazard assessment, including, as appropriate, identification of potential sources of accidental releases, identification of any previous release within the facility that had a potential for catastrophic consequences in the workplace, estimation of workplace effects of a range of releases, and estimation of the health and safety effects of such a range on employees.

(3) Consult with employees and their representatives on the development and conduct of hazard assessments and the development of chemical accident prevention plans and provide access to these and other records required under the standard.

(4) Establish a system to respond to the workplace hazard assessment findings, which shall address prevention, mitigation, and emergency responses.

 (5) Review periodically the workplace hazard assessment and response system.

(6) Develop and implement written operating procedures for the chemical processes, including procedures for each operating phase, operating limitations, and safety and health considerations.

(7) Provide written safety and operating information for employees and employee training in operating procedures, by emphasizing hazards and safe practices that must be developed and made available.

(8) Ensure contractors and contract employees are provided with appropriate information and training;

(9) Train and educate employees and contractors in emergency response procedures in a manner as comprehensive and effective as that required by the regulation promulgated pursuant to section 126(d) of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act.

(10) Establish a quality assurance program to ensure that initial process-related equipment, maintenance materials, and spare parts are fabricated and installed consistent with design specifications; Process Safety Management 4.

(11) Establish maintenance systems for critical process-related equipment, including written procedures, employee training, appropriate inspections, and testing of such equipment to ensure ongoing mechanical integrity.

(12) Conduct pre-startup safety reviews of all newly installed or modified equipment.

(13) Establish and implement written procedures managing change to process chemicals, technology, equipment and facilities.

 (14) Investigate every incident that results in or could have resulted in a major accident in the workplace, with any findings to be reviewed by operating personnel and modifications made, if appropriate.

Process Safety has developed over the years.  Unfortunately, this is often due to severe incidents.  But it is through these incidents that we learn.  OSHA and the EPA have a huge influence on the PSM.  OSHA, covering the safety of the employees.  And the EPA covering the environmental risks that industry causes.  However the two can be heavily tied, for example the Bhopal, India release was an environmental pollutant that cause a lot of harm to people (not necessarily employees in this case).  This is just one example of how the two are heavily intertwined.

Spill Prevention

Spill prevention is an extremely important safety concern in any work place.  In the lab, spill prevention is particular critical because of the nature of the work being done.  Many accidents have resulted from dangerous chemicals being spilled or knocked over in the lab.  There are countless possible results when chemicals are spilled in the lab.  Anywhere from employee exposure to infectious diseases, to explosions.  Almost all accidents in the lab can be prevented through proper training, and proper safety measures taken by employees that work in the lab. 

Spill prevention is something I deal with extremely frequently at my job as an Environmental Technician here at Ohio University.  Although I do work with spill prevention is labs, I mainly work with the risk of petroleum hydrocarbons becoming entrained in the storm water system. However often times I am working in labs, and I even encounter spills occasionally.  This is dangerous because most of the time you don’t really know what exactly has been spilled.  Sometimes a chemical will be spilled on metal shelving and will eat the paint off the shelving or actually eat threw the shelve.  There are some very simple but effective ways to prevent spills.  First and foremost, simply making sure the cap is secured tight is the most effective way to prevent a spill.  This is what I run into most often at my job, sometimes caps will be just set on top of the bottle opposed to screwed on.  But a spill does not have to actually involve something getting knocked over.  Many times a container is not fit to hold the chemical put into it.  If a chemical is acidic, basic, or corrosive it can eat threw the container and spill onto another surface. 

Strong acids that have the capability to do this are usually stored in shatterproof glass containers.  This is so that in the scenario the container is dropped, it will not break open and cause a spill.  To reduce the magnitude of spills, laboratories are required to only keep the amount of chemical they will need in a reasonable amount of time.  This is to discourage labs from stock piling large amounts of hazardous chemicals.  Secondary containment is also an encouraged process.  This means dangerous chemicals are to be kept in a secondary tub of sorts, so in the event of a primary container failure, the tub would hold the chemical.  The composition of these tubs should be kept in consideration.  If a strong acid enters the tub, it is basically useless if it will only eat threw the secondary containment too.  Something I need to consider when I store these containers is the other chemicals in the tub.  An even bigger problem can be potentially created if the chemical enters the tub, and eats away at other containers.  In this scenario, you can have a very dangerous reaction take place.  This can result in fire, toxic gas release, etc.  While spill prevention may seem like a simple concept, there are many different methods to reduce accidental release.