Appendix II: USER SAFETY

Topics covered for User Safety

1. Scope and Responsibilities
2. Safety Procedures
   • II.1. Emergency Procedures
   • II.2. General Safety Procedures
   • II.3. Radiation Safety Procedures
   • II.4. Procedures for the Use of Isobutane and OtherFlammable Gases

I. Scope and Responsibilities

It is the policy of the Physics Division, as well as the Laboratory, that all activities within the facilities for which the Physics Division is responsible shall be conducted in a manner that all reasonable precautions are taken. If at any time you are concerned about the safety of yourself or others, it is your responsibility to inform the accelerator operator, who will in turn contact a member of the Division Safety Committee.

Any proposed experiment at the ATLAS facility has to be approved in advance by the Physics Division Safety Committee, Physics Division Radiation Safety Committee and the ATLAS Operations Manager. The necessary safety information is to be entered by the User in the appropriate boxes on the ATLAS Proposal Fact Sheet and ATLAS Scheduling Information Sheet. A copy of this ATLAS experiment proposal fact sheet is included at the end of this document.

Users are responsible for compliance with the Safety Requirements of the Laboratory. These requirements are spelled out in detail in the ANL Health and Safety Manual and in the ATLAS Operating Procedures (i.e. Radiation Safety, [I.6.A & I.6.B]; Chemical Safety, [VI.4.A]; Solvents, [VI.4.B]; Flammable Liquids, [VI.5.A]; and Electrical Safety, [VI.3.A & VI.3.B]; and Compressed Gas Cylinders, [VI.6.A]) which can be obtained from the ATLAS User Program Administrator. The discussion below is in abbreviated form, meant to serve as a general guide and in particular deals with operations at the ATLAS facility. The "ATLAS Radiation Safety Procedures Manual" and "Safety Aspects for Experiments at ATLAS" are contained in Appendices 2 and 3, respectively.

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II. Safety Procedures

II.1. Emergency Procedures

If immediate action is needed involving injuries, hazards or property damage, the situation is an emergency -- DIAL 911. A DIAL 911 telephone call automatically alerts all people normally involved in an emergency. The notification of an emergency may originate from a telephone or radio call, a messenger, or an alarm system.

The Health Division responds only if signaled by the Fire Alarm Office operator that an injury, illness or a criticality alarm is being reported. The DIAL 911 caller is questioned by the Fire Alarm Office Operator, who uses a prepared list of questions to get information necessary for emergency response. After these questions are answered, the caller may give other details. Anyone on the conference circuit, after identifying himself, may ask the caller for additional necessary information. Once the conference call is completed, the Emergency Operator notifies the appropriate Area Emergency Supervisor, the area Health Physics office and others, as necessary.

During off-shift hours, the DIAL 911 caller will be connected (by means of the Group Alerting System) to the Fire Alarm Office Operator and the Security Division's Central Station. Subsequently, the Emergency Operator notifies the off-shift foreman and the off-shift Health Physics technician.

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II.2. General Safety Procedures

1. Report immediately to ESH (2-4138) and to the Health Division (2-2811) if you injure yourself. If the injury appears to be serious, DIAL 911 immediately. The Health Division is located in Building201.

2. During some shifts only one accelerator operator is assigned to the accelerator facility. It is the responsibility of the scheduled experimental group to have at all times one person present in the ATLAS area. If one performs work at the ATLAS when no operation is scheduled it is necessary that there be a minimum of two persons.

3. Do not dispose of corrosive, radioactive or flammable liquids in the laboratory sinks. Check with the accelerator operator for disposal procedures.

4. Eating, drinking or smoking in the target areas is prohibited. Storing or preparing food in these areas is also not permitted. All pipetting by mouth is absolutely forbidden

5. The water from the drinking fountains and washroom faucets is potable. Water from laboratory faucets should not be used for drinking.

6. The "acid carriers", available from the stockroom, should be used whenever transporting large-size bottles (5 pounds or greater) of acids, caustics or mercury.

7. When starting work on a new project, be certain that the Physics Division Safety Committee has approved all procedures. The handling of cryogenic liquids (liquid N₂, H₂, O₂ and He) require the use of gloves and face shields and care. The interhalogens HF and F₂ and combustible gases are other groups which can potentially cause injury. The Industrial Hygiene section of ESH (extension 2-5642) should be contacted regarding any problems involving chemical toxicity, solvents, mercury, lasers, RF, noise, asbestos, etc. If hydrogen or oxygen is used in any chemical processes, the Safety Committee should be notified.

8. Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for all chemicals normally used in the ATLAS area are available in the ATLAS control room. It is the responsibility of the user to note unusual chemicals that are to be used for an experiment in the appropriate safety section of the ATLAS Proposal Fact Sheet so that an MSDS may be obtained prior to the experiment being performed.

9. Safety glasses are to be worn in all designated areas (e.g. shop areas, etc.) and wherever a potential eye hazard exists. Non-prescription glasses can be obtained from the stockroom. Contact lenses should not be worn in a laboratory unless safety glasses or goggles are worn over the contacts.

10. When circumstances warrant safety shoes should be used.

11. Lab coats and protective clothing can be obtained by contacting the ATLAS Liaison Physicist. These are not to be worn outside of the building.

12. Users should note the locations of emergency exits, showers, fire extinguishers and fire blankets when entering the ATLAS area.

13. Respiratory protection and other special types of protective equipmentare supplied through the ESH Division. Contact Health Physics personnel or theChief Shift Operator for guidance.

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    II.3. Radiation Safety Procedures

    It is the policy of ATLAS management to operate the ATLAS accelerator facility in such a way as to minimize the radiation exposure of ATLAS staff, experimenters, and visitors consistent with the concept of ALARA ('As Low As Reasonably Achievable'). The implementation of this policy is carried out by system designs to minimize the radiation emitted into occupied areas of the facility, by establishing additional interlock systems that control access into areas where radiation may be present, and by procedures which, when carried out by ATLAS staff and experimenters, make proper use of these radiation safety designs.

    When working with radioactive materials, or in accelerator areas a personal monitoring device shall be obtained from ESH and is to be worn. Badges can be obtained by visiting users of ATLAS from the Building 203 Health Physics office R-110 (during normal working hours) are from the User Liaison Physicist (by calling in advance of arriving at ANL).

    The ATLAS accelerator system generates radiation from two major sources. One source is X-rays produced by various components of the accelerator through local acceleration of electrons and their subsequent emission of bremsstrahlung radiation in the stopping process. Sources of X-rays include the ECR ion source, any of the superconducting resonators in the linac, and to a lesser degree the tandem negative-ion source. Sources of radiation are locally shielded and are monitored by local Victoreen VAMP X-ray radiation detectors, except for the tandem negative-ion source which is monitored by a Ludlum area X-ray monitor.

    The other important radiation is beam induced. This radiation consists of gamma rays and neutrons. In general, the neutron hazard tends to be the larger of the two.

    Protection from beam induced radiation at ATLAS is accomplished by the ATLAS Radiation Interlock System (ARIS) and the operating procedures relevant to that system. The system and procedures are described in the ATLAS Operations Procedures Manual section I.6.B.

    • If there are any concerns about radiation safety or radiation levels call Occupational Health and Safety (ESH). The ESH extension is 2-4138. If there is no answer, dial 4-1943 or 4-1912. Wait until you hear the surveyor's page ring, then give your name and ask to be called on your extension. Repeat your name and extension and hang up. This is a one-way page system, so you will not receive a reply until the surveyor can reach a phone. If you need help during other than normal working hours, dial 0, and the operator will contact Health Physics for you or ask the ATLAS Chief Shift Operator for assistance.

    • If radioactive sources or materials are to be brought on site, Special Materials Division (2-7388) and Environmental Safety and Health Division (2-4138) must be informed prior to arrival. This can be done either directly or through a liaison person at ANL. A procedure will then be set up for transferring the material on site and for the necessary surveying to be performed.

    • ESH must be notified (extension 2-4138) when working with radioactive materials with greater than 10⁶ disintegrations/minute. When the amount or activity and the nature of the work is such that Health Physics personnel consider standby coverage necessary, such coverage will be provided whenever possible. Should it prove impractical to provide coverage, the work will have to be postponed until the necessary coverage is available. Requests for after-hours Health Physics coverage should be made far in advance.

    • Radioactive sources and potentially radioactive contaminated materials must not be removed from the hoods, accelerator areas, or target areas or transferred from one laboratory to another without being surveyed by Environmental Safety and Health personnel.

    • Monitor your shoes, hands and clothing when leaving a radioactive area, or call Health Physics for a personal survey. Use the hand-and-foot counters located in the ATLAS Dataroom area before leaving the experimental areas. If you receive a positive indication of contamination, contact Health Physics (2-4138).

    • If you are directly involved in a radioactive spill, move only far enough to be certain that you are out of danger. Then call or have someone else call Health Physics. If you are not directly involved and the spill is a serious one, you will receive instructions over the public address system. Again, you should do a minimum of moving about (consistent with due regard for your own safety) until you are sure you are not tracking contamination.

    • Special nuclear materials must be stored in a locked facility when not in use. All radioactive samples must be labeled to indicate their batch number, composition, the person responsible for the sample, isotope, and the activity level present.

    • Clothing suspected of being contaminated must not be placed in the dirty laundry until surveyed and found to be uncontaminated by Health Physics.

    • Off-line experiments with more than 10⁵ dpm of activity must be carried out in a hood or glove box, not on the bench top.

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    II.4. Procedures for the Use of Isobutane and Other Flammable Gases

    • All installations and leak testing of the gas handling system prior to the beginning of the experiment are to be done with non-flammable gases only (e.g. dry nitrogen).

    • The volume of the flammable gas cylinder should be kept to the minimum necessary for operation of the experiment. A warning sign shall be posted by the experimental setup stating that flammable gas is in use. The group should see the User Liaison Physicist or Jim Joswick to obtain the necessary sign. As with all gas cylinders, all flammable gas cylinders should be properly secured.

    • The flow of the flammable gas to the detector should be stopped upon detection of a significant pressure increase in the vacuum chamber. The maximum allowable pressure in the vacuum chamber is 2 Torr. The trigger level should be adjustable to trigger at lower pressure.

    • At no time is the flammable gas in the gas filled-particle detector to be intentionally purged into the vacuum chamber volume. It is to be pumped out through the gas handling system.

    • All ignition sources in the vacuum chamber that may present a hazard are to be electrically interlocked so that they are turned off when an instantaneous pressure rise occurs. The control circuit should be adjustable but the maximum allowable pressure is 2.0 Torr. The interlock system should also close off the gas cylinder from the gas handling system.

    • In Target Room II the megasorb and gas system pump exhausts must be vented to an outside ignition-free area with a "Caution Flammable Gas Vent" sign. In Target Area III a fan may be used to mix the megasorb and gas system pump exhausts with the room air without having to be vented to the outside. After the use of isobutane the following procedures to regenerate the cryo pumps must be used: The detector and gas lines are pumped out. The cryo pump is warmed up and the pressure in the scattering chamber is kept below 10 Torr. If the experiment has been run within the accepted scattering chamber pressure criterion (less than 8 x 10^-5 Torr), then the scattering chamber should be vented with dry nitrogen. If a thin-foil window on a gas filled particle detector has been broken or the experiment was stopped because of excessive pressure in the scattering chamber (greater than 8 x 10^-5 Torr), then the scattering chamber is to be evacuated with outside venting and pumped down to a final pressure of 0.1 Torr or less and then vented with dry nitrogen to the outside air. Venting to the outside air is required in Target Area II, however, the results of a safety analysis by ESH show that venting to the outside is not necessary in Target Area III and IV because of the higher air exchange rate. It is recommended that a fan be used in Area III and IV during the venting procedure.

    • Migration of isobutane into the vacuum system through foil windows on the gas-filled particle detectors is to be kept to a minimum. In no case may the operating pressure of the chamber exceed 8 x 10^-5 Torr.

    • Warning signs shall be installed near switches which may cause an ignition hazard.

    • The cryo pumps associated with the experimental system must be recycled after each experiment that uses flammable gases. This will insure clean cryo pumps for the next experiment.

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