October 1993

Do you have to wear that badge?

Even though you work with a radioisotope you may not need to wear a badge
to monitor radiation levels.  Some isotopes have such low energy emissions
that badge monitoring them is not effective.  Below are some guidelines to
help you decide if you do need to wear a badge and, if so, what kind.

If you work with:				Badge

	35S, 14C, 3H	(tritium)			none

	32P, 51Cr, 125I					body

	32P, 51Cr, 125I (over 1 mCi)			body, ring

	X and/or gamma rays 				body

	equipment that yields neutrons			neutron

	If you are a pregnant woman			
		for yourself 				body badge
		 AND a 					separate badge for fetus

The new law requires that all women wear a separate  badge to monitor the
fetus during the gestation period-from the time you notify the Radiation
Safety Office in writing of your pregnancy to the time you leave the
university.

Note that you do NOT need to wear any sort of badge if you work with 35S,
14C, or 3H (tritium).  Though they are common, their use does not necessitate
badge monitoring.  Please call the Radiation Safety Office (x2906) if you have
questions about whether you need to wear a badge or if the isotope with
which you work is not listed above.


You Can't Take It With You:  DOT Regulations for Transporting
Chemicals 

The Federal Government, through the Department of Transportation (DOT),
has issued an extremely stringent law (called HM 181) regulating shipping
and/or transporting hazardous materials via highway, air, vessel, or railroad.

The regulation went into effect on October 1, 1993, and requires that all
shipments of hazardous materials using a hired vehicle such as Federal
Express or one's own vehicle be packaged, labeled and manifested in
accordance with the new Federal requirements.   In addition, the new law
requires that drivers receive special certification and training.  Failure to
comply with the new law can result in severe penalties.

Before you ship or transport hazardous materials--all chemicals or
radioactives--for any purpose (i.e., returning a chemical to a distributor,
transferring chemicals to a new place of employment, sending a sample to
another institution or test site, using your own car to transport a material)
please contact the Department of Occupational and Environmental Safety
(DOES-x2907) or Jim Pillar in the Department of Material Support (x2560) to
determine the requirements which need to be met.


URGENT! !PRODUCT RECALL: Ethyl Ether

Fisher Scientific is imposing a recall on ethyl ether, some bottles of which
may contain levels of peroxide above the release specification of 0.3 ppm.

The affected units are in bottles of 150ml and 1 liter quantities.  They bear the
catalogue numbers E136-150 and E136-1  and the lot numbers:  905772, 905778,
905790, 912843, 913432, 913819, 914018, 915663, 920052, 923072, 925549, 925550,
925548, 922858, and 922860.

All department heads have been sent a letter from our office containing more
information and instructions for returning the bottles.  If you have a bottle
that falls under the recall, contact your department head or the Fisher
Scientific contacts located on campus, Anita Reed or Bill Gudowicz (x2571). 
They will be able to give you information concerning pick-up and
transportation of the ether, as well as credits and/or replacements.


If you leave; or, The Great Chemical Give-away 

Primary Investigators terminating research here at CWRU must make sure
that all chemicals in their inventory are properly dispensed with.  
Researchers should notify  the Department of Occupational and
Environmental Safety (DOES) a few weeks before leaving  and provide us
with a current copy of your inventory.  NONE of the chemicals can be left in
your lab unaccounted for.

In dispensing with all chemicals, researchers can employ a combination of the
following three options:  transfer them to the new place of employment,
transfer them to another PI, or arrange for disposal through DOES.

Arrange for transfer through DOES to your new place of employment:  if
you have written approval from the place to which you are moving,  you
may take some of the chemicals on your inventory with you.  Notify DOES of
any chemicals you wish to transfer since new regulations instituted by the
Department of Transportation (DOT) must be followed (See related article on
p.5).

Transfer them to another PI:  which does not mean leaving them there
for the next investigator.   If other PI's can use and will accept some of the
chemicals in your inventory, then simply let us know which chemicals, in
what quantities,  and to whom they are being transferred, and we will account
for it on your inventory records.  The PI to whom you are transferring
chemicals must also submit to us the updated version of his/her inventory.  

Arrange for disposal through DOES:   for any chemicals you or other
researchers do not want or can no longer use.  Note that you will be
responsible for the disposal cost of any old chemicals.  The university will
accept and pay for the disposal of only "current" waste or chemicals under
their overhead costing system.  Under NO conditions will the university pay
for the disposal of unknown, unidentified or unlabeled chemicals.  


For the above reason we encourage researchers to dispose of unwanted
chemicals as they occur-the cost of disposing so many at one time can be
extremely expensive.

If you have any questions concerning the procedures listed here please call
our office (x2907).  Remember if you are planning to leave the university to
call the office a few weeks beforehand to arrange for the distribution or
disposal of your chemicals.

Cutting Down on Mercury Salts

If your research requires the use of mercury salts or organic-metallic salts
containing mercury and you cannot find a suitable non-hazardous substitute,
make sure you purchase only the exact quantity of these items needed.  There
are practically no disposal sites that continue to accept items with mercury in
them.

Mercury is a highly toxic chemical whose poison is cumulative;  that is, your
body cannot rid itself of its toxins.  Few landfills continue to accept this
dangerous waste.  These same disposal difficulties apply to mercury salts and
compounds containing mercury- chemicals such as mercuric chloride,
mercuric oxide, mercuric acetate, or mercurochrome.

Since these items are nearly impossible to dispose of, the Department of
Occupational and Environmental Safety (DOES) urges you to find a substitute
whenever you can and to only purchase exact amounts for experiments in
which you cannot substitute.  If you have questions concerning mercury or a
mercury-substitute, call DOES at x2907.
 

Are you a new PI?

Any Primary Investigator new to CWRU should call the Department of
Occupational and Environmental Safety (368-2907) to receive a copy of the
CWRU Chemical Safety Manual and to find out when upcoming sessions of
the OSHA Lab Standard Training Sessions will take place.  Attendance at one
of these sessions is required under OSHA standards.  Also required is the
creation of a Chemical Hygiene Plan-most labs have used the CWRU
Chemical Safety Manual, written by DOES and available through our office, to
put together their CHP.

We will post dates of upcoming sessions in next month's newsletter and
thereafter as a new regular feature. 


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