[Che-student-staff-list] Recent safety incidents in FRNY

[Nagy, Gabriela]

Hello Everyone,

I would like to share with you two recent safety incidents in our School:


1.       January 6, 2015: While a researcher tried to loosen a water fitting on a piece of equipment, his hand slipped and touched a metal sheet that served as protection for a Turbo pump controller. This incident caused lacerations to one of his hands. The laceration was treated at the IU Health Arnett Occupational Health facility and the researcher returned to work the same day. Actions taken: (i) the fitting near this sharp metal sheet was taken out of service, (ii) the incident was discussed in the safety group meeting and the group members were reminded of the procedures to be followed in case of an injury in the lab. It was also recommended to wear cut resistant work gloves when working near sharp objects.


2.       February 10, 2015: This incident involved an undergraduate researcher. While placing down a previously used syringe with unsheathed needle in his right hand, the needle brushed against his left hand, causing the needle to puncture his left thumb through the protective nitrile glove used as PPE.  This led to minor bleeding of the left thumb. The syringe needle was possibly contaminated with acrylonitrile. After washing the wound with water for 10 minutes and placing a Band-Aid on the thumb, the student was seen by a  trained medical professional at PUSH Center on Campus. No additional treatment was needed and the student was released to return to class. Actions taken: The incident was discussed in the group safety meeting and the SOP for this activity will be reviewed. It was identified that the needle on the syringe was not really necessary for the task performed, as the student was actually transferring fluid from one container to the other and none of the containers was sealed. It was stressed that a syringe with needle should only be used when transferring fluids through containers that have a seal that needs to be punctured.  When transferring fluids between unsealed containers, a pipette or a needles syringe should be used.

I hope that sharing this information with you will prevent similar situations from occurring in our labs.

Sincerely,
Gabriela
On behalf of the ChE Safety Committee

__________________
Gabriela Nagy, PhD
Industrial Education Director
ChE Safety Committee Chair
School of Chemical Engineering
Room FRNY G051
Purdue University
Tel: (765)-496-1710
E-mail: nagyg at purdue.edu<mailto:nagyg at purdue.edu>


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