Your cell phone is a major vector for lab contamination. While PPE like gloves and coats provides a good protective barrier, these defenses are useless if you bring contamination from them to other areas outside the lab.
Handling hazardous materials and then touching your phone contaminates the device, and a contaminated phone can transfer that chemical residue back to you.
Best practices for preventing cross contamination are:
Remove all PPE, including gloves and coats, before touching the device
Wash hands thoroughly after removing gloves and before handling personal items
Store personal items like backpacks in a designated "Cool Zone" outside the work area.
Incident Spotlight- US Chemical Safety Board Releases Report on H2S Exposure
On October 10, 2024, during maintenance at a refinery in Deer Park, Texas, a contract worker mistakenly opened a flange on piping that contained pressurized H2S. You can read the report here.
Key Safety Issues:
Lack of Positive equipment Identification (labelling)
No work permitting or hazard controls
Workers were reassigned from a shutdown unit to a partially operational unit which led them to believe they were still working in a shutdown environment
Poor written procedures
Safety Lunch in June
We are looking at scheduling the safety luncheon in the first or second week of June, and will be a combined lunch with safety officers from different departments. If you have a preference please let me know: https://forms.gle/mL7HNyywh4i6JNEm6
More information will be sent as we have it!
Lithium Battery Disposal
Lithium batteries that are not handled or disposed of correctly pose a serious fire and safety risk. Lithium Metal batteries (non-rechargeable) and Lithium Ion (rechargeable) batteries must be inspected in accordance with DOT regulations to determine if they are “Damaged, Defective, or Recalled” (DDR). If a battery is determined to be DDR, it may be collected and disposed of as hazardous waste.
Under no circumstances should any battery be disposed of in a dumpster or regular trash.
In most cases, the battery should be collected by Facilities Management for recycling through the Universal Waste program. Find the nearest battery collection receptacle to your location for easy drop off, or follow this link for more information from Facilities Management.
If a fire caused by a DDR lithium battery occurs, contact University Police (UPD)immediately (607) 777-2222.
For determination of if your battery meets the criteria for Hazardous Waste, go to our website here.
