|
|
|  |
|
CHEMICAL PROCUREMENT, TRANSPORTATION, AND INVENTORYChemical and Equipment Procurement ProceduresSome chemicals and equipment have inherent safety hazards that require special safety controls and authorizations. It is important that these controls are in place before the material is purchased and used on site. Several materials of concern are listed in the Restricted Items List that is maintained by the Procurement Department in consultation with EH&S. The Laboratory has a notification and approval procedure for these materials that is initiated at the time of procurement. This Restricted Item List includes chemicals and equipment such as:
Requesters, preparers, buyers and other personnel who are responsible for purchasing materials must review the Restricted Item List and the Procurement Item Categories List, to identify purchases that require EH&S notification or approval. It is important that the chemical or equipment name as well as the vendor’s catalog number be identified on the requisition and that the hazardous properties of chemicals are declared. The EH&S Division reviews and approves procurement of materials such as toxic and pyrophoric gases, biological agents, selected reactive (unstable) chemicals and respiratory protection equipment. Before receiving a hazardous material, information on proper handling, storage, and disposal must be understood. It is the responsibility of safety line management to ensure that the facilities in which the substance will be handled are adequate and that those who will handle the substance have received the proper training. The MSDS should be reviewed prior to using the substance. An Industrial Hygienist may also be consulted for guidance. It is also important to limit chemical purchases to the amount actually needed. Some equipment containschemicals that can pose a hazard when mishandled, such as elemental mercury in porosimeters. When normal operation or reasonably foreseeable mishandling of equipment that contain chemicals may result in a loss of control (such as a spill) that could pose an exposure hazard, cause extensive area contamination, or result in environmental damage, the Line Manager shall do a hazard assessment in consultation with an EH&S Division Subject Matter Expert. The using Division determines if a formal authorization is needed on the basis of the risk assessment performed. Further information is provided in Chapter 6, Work Authorizations. Transporting Hazardous MaterialsHazardous materials will be transported by Transportation Services or a Department of Transportation authorized carrier (except as outlined below). Transporting hazardous materials by employees in public transportation (such as the shuttle bus) or in private or government vehicles, is not permitted. This is to minimize risk to Lab employees and the public. This also ensures that the federal and state laws regarding packaging, manifesting and placarding hazardous materials are met. The following parties are permitted to transport hazardous materials between non-adjacent LBNL buildings and from off-site locations (e.g., UC Berkeley Campus): Transportation Services (ext. 5404) will transport hazardous materials, provided they are unopened and still in their original U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) shipping containers. They will also transport gas cylinders. In addition, Transportation Services will package and label hazardous materials in accordance with DOT Title 49 regulations for shipment by commercial carriers. EH&S Waste Management Group (ext. 7528) will transport hazardous materials that have previously been opened. This is normally needed for laboratory moves. Facilities craft personnel will transport paints, solvents, cleaners, and other materials necessary to perform their work. Transporting Small Quantities of Hazardous Materials by Laboratory Employees, Subcontractors, and Casual and Participating GuestsThese parties may move small quantities of hazardous materials for short distances within a building or between adjacent buildings, provided that it can be done safely and without spilling the materials. Individuals must use hand carts and drip trays (to contain any spilled material). Employees must also complete Chemical Hygiene & Safety Training EH&S 348 (or 345 for Facilities personnel or 352 for summer students). Use standard cylinder dollies to transport compressed gas cylinders. While dollies are preferred, cylinders weighing 11 Kg (25 lbs) or less may be hand-carried. Never move a cylinder with a regulator connected to it. Cylinder valve-protection caps and valve-opening caps must be in place when moving cylinders. Lecture bottles and other cylinders that are not normally equipped with valve-protection caps should be transported in either the original DOT specification package or an equivalent container. NOTE: Contact an EH&S Radiological Control Technician for guidance regarding transporting radiological isotopes. LBNL Chemical InventoryPurposeThe purpose of the sitewide chemical inventory is to provide chemical custodians, EH&S staff and emergency response teams with accurate and up-to-date list of chemicals that are stored on site. Furthermore, OSHA requires that a chemical inventory be maintained. Current chemical inventory reports must also be provided for compliance with DOE and City of Berkeley regulations. Another purpose of the inventory is to categorize chemicals into their respective hazard classes. This permits emergency personnel to respond to unplanned releases, with appropriate training, equipment, and organizational support. A well-maintained chemical inventory can also aid in internal laboratory management of business and research needs. ResponsibilitiesWork Leads are responsible for entering and deleting hazardous materials from the inventory. All hazardous materials are required to be included in the Chemical Management System (CMS). The EH&S Division maintains a sitewide chemical inventory database program, which uses barcodes applied to containers as the unique database identifier. It is the Work Lead’s responsibility to ensure that all chemicals are entered into the CMS within 30 days of receipt, and that all chemicals removed from inventory are indicated as disposed of by the system within 30 days. For materials with a high throughput rate (such as commonly used organic solvents, acids, and bases), details indicating the maximum quantity that can be present at any point in time should be entered into the Chemical Inventory database. Contact Chemical Inventory Support at CMS@lbl.gov for information on database implementation and training. The CMS identifies containers (or groups of identical containers) with a barcode containing a six-digit ID number. The barcode should be affixed to the container with the ID number completely visible in the case of small containers. The barcode should be attached vertically to facilitate electronic scanning. The container barcodes appear in pairs; one barcode to be affixed to the container and one to be affixed to a chemical inventory data sheet. Barcodes can be obtained through chemical management at ext. 2994, CMS@lbl.gov. The following information must be added to the CMS for each chemical:
All chemicals must be entered into the database, with the following exceptions:
Consumer Products: Only hazardous or harmful (e.g. toxic, corrosive) consumer products such as bleach, paint thinner and products under pressure (aerosols) must be entered into the database. Consumer adhesives and sealants: All adhesives and sealants must be inventoried. Office supplies: With the exceptions of sealants, adhesives, and products under pressure (aerosols), office supplies do not need to be entered into the database. Mixtures: The chemical name and concentration fields should be filled with data on the most hazardous component (consult MSDS), while the remaining components and respective concentrations should be entered into the comment field. The following are examples of how various mixtures should be entered into the database:
CMS on the Web can be accessed at cms.lbl.gov. Log on using your LDAP (same as e-mail) username and password. Please contact Chemical Inventory Maintenance at ext. 2994, CMS@lbl.gov for database access and information regarding roles and responsibilities. Top Last updated: 09/02/2008 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
