CHTM
holds safety to be a top priority, and is committed to operating in a manner that ensures the safety of our members
and our community.
Potential
hazards at CHTM are chemical, laser and electrical, in addition to those
hazards normally encountered in a laboratory, industrial and office environment. There are also hazards associated
with the incorrect use of respirators - do not use these without medical clearance, fit-testing
and training.
A range of gases is in use at CHTM. If you use these, inform yourself as to their safe usage, and always follow
CHTM
Procedures for Safe Handling of Cas Cylinders.
Please familiarize
yourself with the appropriate safety precautions for the area you work in. Dan Bryant (Tel:505 272 7671)
is CHTM’s safety officer - contact him with any safety concerns or questions you may have. A copy of the UNM SHEA
safety manual is available in his office and can be used for reference by any student, staff or faculty at the
chtm facility. The manual is also available on the web at http://shea.unm.edu. Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) are located in
the MSDS vestibule, opposite Room 126B, the Electrical Shop.
For
your own protection,
if you have any accident, however minor, you MUST report it on the First Report of Accident
- WCA E1.1
form within 24 hours. To report other incidents, such as damage to personal or university property, or automobile
damage, appropriate forms can be found at the bottom of this
page.
For further
information, see the UNM Safety, Health & Environmental Affairs Department
(SHEA)
Safety
- your own and your colleagues' - is YOUR responsibility
Laser
Safety
Andrew
Frauenglass (Tel:505 272 7920), chairman of UNMs Laser Safety Subcommittee,
will help to interpret specific laser safety issues you may have, and can provide safety guidance upon request.
For general questions please refer to the Laser Institute of America Laser Applications and Safety Page, available
on-line.
Respirator
Safety
You must have medical clearance,
fit-testing and training before using
a respirator. Contact Mark Denis at 277-0306 for information about the Respiratory Protection Program, and to obtain
a medical clearance form.
A medical questionnaire is to be filled out and
submitted through Employee Occupational Health Services. EOHS then reviews the questionnaire and approves the person
for respirator use. It is then the responsibility of SHEA to fit test the person for a respirator. The problem
that arises is, do we know what the person is going to use the respirator for? Normally we need to know the exposure
level. As you know respiratory protection is assigned protection factors, e.g., 5, 10, 25, 50, 1000, 2000, 10,000
depending on the design. Without knowing the exposure level we cannot legally fit test a person and issue respiratory
protection. If the contaminant is Gallium Arsenide, the material is treated as if it were Arsenic (inorganic) with
a permissible exposure level of 0.01 mg/m3. If HEPA filtration is used to remove the dust generated as it is scraped
off the interior of the chamber, then we are not truly relying on respiratory protection but on an engineering
control. The mask is then not necessary. However, it is strongly recommend to monitor the operation to assure there
aren't any fugitive emissions out to the chamber when they are cleaning. We need to be prove we can control it
to the PEL in the breathing zone of the person doing the cleaning with the vacuum cleaner.
