Welcome to this Newsletter!
Our purpose is to share important health and safety information with labs via Laboratory Safety Coordinators (LSCs), Lab Managers, PIs, or Staff Leads who oversee safety in research spaces, including shared facilities. Please distribute this newsletter to your group members, or have them subscribe by emailing Susan Vleck, Assistant Director, Lab Safety, at sevleck@stanford.edu. If you believe you’ve received this in error and want to be removed, please do not click “unsubscribe”, as this will unsubscribe you from many different Stanford communications. Please email Susan Vleck to unsubscribe.
Lab Safety Coordinator Meeting
The following LSC meetings are scheduled. If you are the safety representative for your lab and cannot attend, please let the Research Safety Specialist listed know and send another lab member. Attendance will be recorded. If you would like to attend and haven’t received an invite, please contact the RSS.
List of scheduled meetings:
Dean of Research Institutes
- ChEMH/Neuro (Katrina Shao): Wednesday 11/20, 12-1 PM, ChEMH/Neuro N224
- GLAM (Vincent Nguyen): Thursday, 11/14, 12-2 PM, McCullough 130
- Spilker (Vincent Nguyen): Wednesday 11/13, 11 AM – 12 PM
- HEPL (Jack Reidy): Wednesday 10/30, 10-11 AM, Physics and Astrophysics Building, Room 232
- Clark Center (Nancy Young): Anticipated November 2024, details to follow
School of Engineering (Jack Reidy)
- Tuesday 11/12, 1-2 PM, Durand Room 353, Zoom Link
- Friday 11/15, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM, Shriram Room 054, Zoom Link
School of Humanities and Sciences
- Biology (Katrina Shao): Thursday, 11/21 12-1 PM, Bass 122
- Chemistry (chemistry-ehs@stanford.edu): Monday, 12/9, 12pm – 1:30 PM
- Physics (Jack Reidy): Physics and Astrophysics Building, Room 232
School of Medicine (Nancy Young and Katrina Shao)
- LSC meetings are scheduled as a quarterly webinar which is announced through an invitation via SoM Building Mailman listservs. These meetings may not have the same focus as items discussed here, so if you would like to attend an EH&S LSC meeting, please feel free to attend one of the ones listed here.
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
- Please contact April Casper: Tuesday, 11/12/24, 10-11:30AM, Mitchell B04 Conference Room
Hopkins Marine Station
- Please contact April Casper: Thursday, 11/7/24 11 AM – 12 PM, Boat Works 101
Upcoming LSC Meeting Topic: Protecting Our Water & Reporting Spills
The collection and treatment of sewage and wastewater is vital to public health and clean water. Stanford’s wastewater from buildings, health clinics and labs is collected and treated at the Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant (PARWQCP) before it is discharged to San Francisco Bay. Stanford has wastewater permits from the City of Palo Alto that outline discharge parameters and best management practices. The Palo Alto Sewer Use Ordinance includes rules for the storage of hazardous materials, required training, discharge limits and immediate notification of releases to the sanitary sewer. The inspectors are looking for verification that Stanford labs have properly labeled and stored chemicals, proper management of metal containing compounds (solder stations), good housekeeping, no signs of chemical discharges or spills to the drain, and appropriate detergent for glass and cage wash (pH).
Training: Please complete a short training (CHEM-1000-WEB) in STARS. The factsheets from the STARS course are available on the Stanford wastewater page. This training is required for all people who work with chemicals–please share with all of your lab members and your PI.
Reporting: While all lab users work to prevent spills and accidental discharges to sewer, they do happen on occasion. Stay vigilant and try to prevent careless mistakes, but if you have spilled or observe a spill it is critical that you notify the EH&S Urgent Incident Line 650-725-9999 immediately. Stanford is required to make notifications to several regulatory agencies within 24 hours of the incident, if the notifications are delayed we are subject to violations and fines. Spilling a chemical does not result in a punitive action, delayed reporting or cover up will.
The phone number is also in every lab on the Chemical Waste Poster 650-725-9999:
Lab Incidents: Recent Highlights
At the beginning of October, a researcher at the School of Medicine became entrapped in a 4-degree controlled environment room for approximately 40 minutes. The individual was unharmed and did not require medical attention. The immediate cause was door knob hardware that rusted and failed due to the humid environment of these rooms. During the investigation, we have learned a couple of different things. First, there are a wide variety of controlled environment designs and therefore a wide variety of controlled environment door designs in the School of Medicine. These doors can vary from a regular steel door with a normal type door knob to an insulated cold room door with magnetic holds instead of latches. The School of Medicine is evaluating all of its cold rooms to check the doors and ensure safety redundancies are in place. Second, we learned during the investigation that a person had been entrapped in the same cold room a week prior. They were able to free themselves without assistance and were also unharmed. We want to encourage people to report abnormal facility conditions to their respective building management or facilities group. Whether it be stuck panic bars on exit doors, door knob failures, water intrusion, etc, your facilities team must be notified so they can find the cause and begin repairs promptly.
It is essential to report incidents so that similar problems can be prevented; had the first incident been reported, the second could have been prevented. Additionally, notify labmates before working in a cold room, letting them know how long you expect to be gone, and bring your phone with you.
A researcher was working at a clean room wet bench. The wet bench has two drains: one for solvent, which connects to a waste container, and one with a sink that connects to the sewer. The researcher was working with a solvent mixture and was reaching to pour it into the waste drain, but got distracted and unintentionally poured some of the mixture down the drain connected to the sewer. Facility staff were notified and contacted EH&S. The facility staff blocked the drain from use, and EH&S coordinated with a plumber to get the sink’s p-trap removed and drained. The drain discharge was reported to the City of Palo Alto, who chose to not issue a fine, citing the prompt reporting and actions taken to prevent the solvent from reaching the sewer.
In the event of an improper disposal to the sewer, it is essential that researchers block access to the drain and call EH&S as soon as possible. Swift action can prevent the material from reaching the sewer and can prevent regulatory action.
There were recently two instances of low-quality equipment causing unsafe situations. In one, a lab was charging a Underwriters Laboratories (UL)-listed lithium-polymer (LiPo) battery with a 3rd-party charger purchased from Amazon (no UL listing exists for small LiPo battery chargers). The battery caught fire, likely due to a faulty sensor in the charger causing it to overcharge the battery. In the second incident, a researcher had turned off a non-UL-listed variable transformer (aka Variac) purchased from Amazon. Despite being turned off, there was a large spark when the heating tape connected to the transformer contacted metal. It was later confirmed that even when switched off, the transformer was providing power.
When possible, only purchase equipment certified by a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory (NRTL) such as Underwriters Laboratories. Additionally, EH&S recommends purchasing equipment directly from the manufacturer when possible, or from a reputable vendor (e.g., Grainger, McMaster-Carr). If you must purchase equipment from Amazon, remember that Amazon does not perform safety screening of items sold on their site. You should read reviews and be cognizant of reports of equipment failures.
New Research Safety Team Members
Laura Taylor is the new Assistant Biosafety Officer for EH&S. She graduated with a BA in Biology and Neuroscience from Carthage College, with minors in Chemistry and Spanish. From there, she attended graduate school at the University of Washington and received a PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Her thesis focused on molecular mechanisms that lead to neurodegeneration. Laura most recently worked with the CDC’s Division of Select Agents and Toxins performing biosafety inspections for import permits. She previously worked as a biology professor and an assistant dean of basic sciences. Laura is an avid world travel and improv comedy enthusiast. She lives with her husband and two fur babies, Milo and Smoosh.
Vincent Nguyen is a Research Safety Specialist with EH&S, covering Spilker and GLAM. He graduated with a B.S. in Chemistry at Santa Clara University. During college, he spent two years as an undergraduate researcher in physical chemistry, with a publication in an ACS journal. Prior to Stanford, his industry experiences include advanced composites, medical devices, and biotechnology. Most recently he was the lab manager, chemical hygiene officer, and safety coordinator for a solid-state battery startup. He lives in the South Bay with his wife and daughter, and loves spending time with family, reading, and seeking out novelty plant-based foods.
Jill Yamada is a Biosafety and Biosecurity Specialist with EH&S. She graduated with a BS in Psychology from UC Davis. From there, she attended Foothill College for their Veterinary Technician Program. After being in the field for a while, she attained a Master’s degree in Psychology. Her experience has been mostly working with animals in research on the veterinary side. Jill lives in the East Bay with her husband and two daughters. She spends most of her free time chasing her daughters around.
Helpful Hints
Flammable and combustible chemicals are commonly found in research laboratories, and present fire and explosion hazards. When these chemicals are transferred from one metal container or a special conductive plastic container to another, the movement of the liquid may generate static electricity. The buildup of static electricity can form a spark where the solvent exits the container, which can result in a fire or explosion, if there is a sufficient flammable mixture of chemical vapor fuel, and air. This risk can be significantly minimized by bonding and grounding, which safely drains the static electricity buildup. It must be noted that bonding and grounding are required for the containers that conduct electricity, such as those made from metal or conductive plastics. If a container is made from a material that does not conduct electricity, such as polyethylene plastic or glass, bonding or grounding may not be required.
For more information, please refer to the Bonding and Grounding Best Practices document posted on the EH&S website.
Did you know that your diluted bleach solutions should be made fresh regularly? Bleach degrades over time, especially when diluted. Remember that the recommended dilution for many infectious agents is 10% final concentration to effectively kill microbes. Only 1:10 dilutions of bleach that have been mixed with adequate levels of proteins may be poured drain disposed. Undiluted bleach, higher concentrations of bleach than 1:10, or 1:10 bleach not mixed with tissue culture waste or other proteins is considered hazardous waste and must be disposed of through EH&S.
EH&S has General Use SOPs on our SOP Guidance page, covering basic safety practices for various classes of hazardous materials. For example, if someone was working with ethanol, they could refer to the Flammable & Combustible Liquids General Use SOP. Recently, these SOPs were updated with more information and improved readability. Have your lab members take a look!
While EH&S supports the glove recycling initiative, any users working in a BSL2 or BSL3 lab space must discard their gloves in the biohazard waste bin. Please refer to the Sustainability website for more information on glove recycling.
Upcoming!
AAALAC Site Visit in March of 2025
Our Institutional AAALAC site visit is currently scheduled for March 2025. APLAC will be helping labs prepare, but EH&S is also available if you have questions. EH&S resources include:
- Animal Research Occupational Health and Safety Program (AROSHP), which includes information on Lab Animal Allergies and Working Safely with Rodents and other species
- Laboratory Animal Occupational Health Program (LAOHP) for medical surveillance relating to animals, particularly Lab Animal Allergies
- For information on isoflurane, visit our Waste Anesthetic Gas Factsheet.
Emails will be sent with more information soon about the controlled substance biennial inventory audit in January 2025. Last day to order CS before Winter Closure is Monday, December 9th.
Incident Reporting through Safety Stratus
Incident reporting (SU-17) is moving to the SafeSU system starting in January 2025. This update will allow PIs, safety professionals, and others at Stanford to better support incident review. If you’ve submitted an SU-17 Incident Report in the past, the process will be very familiar, with an updated look and feel. Visit su17.stanford.edu to report an incident and learn more about incident reporting.
Dichloromethane (DCM) Update
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a new rule affecting lab use of dichloromethane (DCM), also commonly called methylene chloride. Lab use will be allowed to continue, as long as certain conditions of use are met. The new rule lowers previous regulatory exposure limits, and requires rigorous hazard control and other strict safety measures. To help DCM users understand the new rule and requirements for continued DCM use, EH&S has developed a compliance strategy that incorporates the findings of the DCM user survey we conducted last year. We have begun contacting groups that use DCM intensively to collaborate on next steps for compliance. EH&S will keep the research community informed on progress.
Action item: Update your chemical inventory in ChemTracker to accurately reflect if your lab is using and/or storing DCM (dichloromethane) in your lab.
UIT Support for Labs
University IT’s Research Lab Support Service provides labs with operational and strategic IT support. Types of support includes setup and maintenance of computers and workstations, installation and troubleshooting for specialized lab software, and support for research data storage as well as assistance with backup options. Click here for more information and to submit a request.
Winter Closure Reminders
- Quarterly lab self-inspection: It is required that all work areas and laboratories be inspected for hazards and chemical inventory storage at a minimum quarterly (Jan-Mar, April-June, July-Sept, Oct-Dec). To ensure a safe work environment, complete a Quarterly Laboratory Self-Inspection in BioRAFT before the winter closure on Friday, December 20, 2024.
- EH&S, along with many campus services, will be closed during Winter Break. This includes the SU Occupational Health Center, which will be closed from December 20, 2024 at 2pm until January 6, 2025 at 8am. If you need urgent medical attention during this time please call (650) 724-9400 or visit the Emergency Department–remember to follow up with the OHC when it reopens in January!
- Is your lab also closing for the break? Review the lab shut-down checklist and consider how best to adapt it to the specific needs of their particular laboratory during the winter closure period. This helps maintain equipment, conserve energy, and prepare your spaces for safe closure when no one will be around, as well as ensures your reopening goes smoothly to kick off 2025!
- Or, will you be working in the lab over the break? Buildings are frequently less occupied, and campus emergency services delayed, during the Winter Break. If you plan to work, review our Work Alone Guidance for how to work safely and what sorts of work should be postponed until others are present. Coordinate in advance with your PI and your lab mates to ensure safe working conditions during the break.
Was there something you wanted to see in this newsletter? Do you have general safety or EH&S questions? Are you curious to learn more or make suggestions about the LSC role? Let us know!
