Risk management to enforce safety procedures

Karen C. Tully Arizona Daily Wildcat (From left) Analytical chemistry graduate student, Peter Skrdla and physical chemistry graduate student, Greg Lavaty prepare sol-gels in the Old Chemistry building yesterday evening. The students practice safety procedures, including the use of gloves, safety goggles and a lab coat.

That fine, and a minor incident two weeks ago in which a graduate student splashed a weak radioactive chemical solvent into her eyes and onto her clothes, has focused attention on laboratory safety at the University of Arizona.

The fine was leveled against the UA for failure in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology to require lab workers to attend training sessions offered by the UA's Department of Risk Management and Safety, said Risk Management's Director Steve Holland.

Federal and state laws require employers to provide training and information sessions to all employees exposed to hazardous materials.

About 1,000 UA research laboratories use chemicals and other hazardous materials covered by the regulatory guidelines, said Herbert Wagner, Risk Management's assistant director.

To fulfill the training requirement, Risk Management offers a three-hour course in laboratory safety.

"We're going to start being hard-nosed about these classes because we cannot afford another violation. OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) treats repeat violations as willful, and the fines go way up," Wagner said.

The class, given every six weeks, introduces the UA's 83-page chemical hygiene plan, which outlines potential risks of hazardous chemicals and their proper handling and disposal, Wagner said.

In addition, any employee who is exposed to human blood or body fluids must take a class about bloodborne pathogens. This summer's fine was leveled because five employees in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology had not attended this training class.

"A lot of people don't know about these classes, or think only new hires have to take them," Wagner said.

Although the classes are important, Holland said, they are only the first step in a wide-ranging safety process.

"We can't train all the people on every one of the thousands of chemicals used in research," Holland said. "Ideally, the principal investigator or lab manager should do an overview of specific chemicals and safety procedures used in each lab."

Wagner said other schools' risk management departments inspect campus labs, but that the UA's does not have the money, leaving most departments responsible for enforcing their own safety procedures.

"Getting around and looking at safety in labs is, unfortunately, not something that we have had the resources to do," Wagner said.

Holland said that simply taking a class is not enough to keep a lab employee safe.

"To take our training class and think safety stops there is like saying, 'OK, I've taken a behind-the-wheel driving test, now I'm ready for the Indy 500,'" Holland said.

"That is the most significant challenge we have, making sure people are trained in procedures specific to the labs they are working in," Holland said.

Wayne Adickes, assistant chemistry department head for operations, said safety is enforced in the chemistry department.

In undergraduate laboratory classes, students are required to wear protective goggles, aprons and cannot wear open-toed shoes, Adickes said.

"Each undergraduate has to undergo a safety indoctrination, which includes watching a video and drawing a safety schematic of the lab, which identifies the locations of eyewash, safety showers and fire extinguishers," he said.

All people working in research labs wear required safety attire and must understand what hazards they face in the lab, Adickes said.

Furthermore, the chemistry department conducts safety inspections of labs two to three times each year, and periodically issues 'red alerts' to bring attention to specific safety issues.

Chemistry majors are required to take a semester course on safety in chemical labs, but the course, open to students in all departments is usually comprised of a majority of non-chemistry majors, Adickes said.