Foolish, I agree, but it is not uncommon for floor drains to be absent. Many have to deal with that because the cost of after-construction drain installation can be substantial.
Yes, the water will run all over the floor, damage items resting on the floor, and run to lower floors. You will have to work out how to deal with it. But do not consider installing curbs to contain the water. The person rushing to the relief of the shower may well trip over such a curb.
Peter Zavon, CIH
Penfield, NY
PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com
From: DCHAS-L Discussion List [mailto:dchas-l**At_Symbol_Here**med.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Rita Kay Calhoun
Sent: Thursday, October 22, 2015 1:18 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Ventilation calculator for chemical spills? (shower question)
A couple of points.
As has been discussed on this listserv before, the "rinse" water will be so dilute that the is no concern about it draining into the sewer.
If your building is like most, water on the floor of a 3rd story lab will soon end up on the 2nd floor, etc.
Not all accidents happen when Facilities people are available with a shop vac. By the way, if you're still concerned about the water going down a floor drain, realize that the shop vac will be emptied down a sink drain.
It is true that the flow rate of the floor drain is probably less than that of the shower, it still helps.
Personally, I think it is foolish not to have floor drains.
Kay
My main point was where would these volumes of water drain to?
Sent from my Samsung device
-------- Original message --------
From: Don Abramowitz <dabramow**At_Symbol_Here**BRYNMAWR.EDU>
Date: 22/10/2015 18:12 (GMT+02:00)
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**MED.CORNELL.EDU
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Ventilation calculator for chemical spills? (shower question)
Boitumelo,
Emergency showers under ANSI standards are supposed to provide a flow of 20 gallons per minute for at least 15 minutes. I'm hoping those numbers are helpful in defining quantities for your circumstances.
That's a fair bit of water, and apart from the several issues around where the water goes if there are no drains, I wouldn't be too concerned about standing in the contaminated water after, in this case, 300+ gallons of rinse water mixes with the relatively small volume of contaminant present on a person's skin or clothes. That will reduce the concentration of anything miscible with water by several orders of magnitude, while such other measures are going on, such as removing contaminated clothing and moving out of the immediate area once the rinsing is completed.
Don
Donald Abramowitz, CIH
Environmental Health & Safety Officer
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr, PA
Colleagues,
Can anyone pls assist me urgently. I head an Occupational Health Analytical Laboratory facility in Johannesburg. We are about to take over a newly renovated organic chemistry lab. An emergency shower has been installed, but with no drainage. We are being told that that is the norm in South Africa.
Apparently, the General Safety Regulations framed under the OHS Act, Regulation 3 (9) states that "Where an employee at a workplace is exposed or can be exposed to a potential hazard of injury to or absorption through the skin as a result of sudden contact with a large amount of toxic, corrosive, high risk or similar hazardous substance, the employer concerned shall make sure that there is a fast-reacting deluge-shower with clean water or a similar facility in the immediate vicinity of the workplace of such employee and that the employee is trained in the use thereof." There is no definition of large amount and again no reference to drainage to sewer (or otherwise).
I disagree since this would mean that in the event (hopefully rare) of an accident, an employee will wash off the contaminant and still "stand" in the contaminated water. How are your emergency showers configured?
National Institute for Occupational Health
Johannesburg, South Africa
On Tue, Oct 20, 2015 at 8:50 PM, Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org> wrote:
From: Mary.Biersack**At_Symbol_Here**westpharma.com
Hello,
I am looking for a good industrial hygiene resource for calculating the evaporation rates of a spilled chemical and the amount of ventilation required to keep the chemical spill below the specific chemicals OSHA PEL (ppm). Does anyone know of any good computer software programs or calculators?
Thanks,
Mary
Mary Biersack
Lab Safety and Chemical Hygiene Specialist
West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.
P: +1 610-594-3278
530 Herman O. West Drive | Exton, PA 19341 | United States
mary.biersack**At_Symbol_Here**westpharma.com
Find West on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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