Previous responses were very helpful and I have very little to add but only reinforce:
· Rooftops and facility areas such as boiler and chiller rooms, electrical switch gear rooms, elevator penthouses, and telephone and computer rooms should be restricted.
· Maintenance should be coordinated with building tenants.
· It may be worthwhile to conduct chemical monitoring in the area to determine the concentration of the metal organic vapor in the area where the workers have the potential of exposure.
· Someday building occupants, neighbors or the community will want to know what is being released or re-entering the building and what their potential exposure could be. Here tracer gas studies should provide an indication. Be prepared.
· Regarding the lock out/tag out policy while I do not have any experience with the situation described it seems that if the system is shut down then the same policy should apply to the labs.
From:
DCHAS-L
Discussion
List [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**list.uvm.edu] On Behalf Of Wawzyniecki Jr,
Stefan
Sent: Friday, October 30, 2009 6:55 AM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Roof top exhaust fan maintenance
Policy
In general, maintenance staff working on rooftop fume hood exhaust equipment have indicated their concerns about being on a roof, and possibly being exposed to whatever is being vented.
In a more specific laboratory situation, involving MOCVD (metal organic chemical vapor deposition), we have a lock-out tag-out policy, due to the severity of the toxic gases involved.
Questions:
Thanks for the feedback.
-Stefan Wawzyniecki, CIH, CHMM
Univers ity of Connecticut
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