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Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Chemical Shelving Heights
Date: Thursday, June 27, 2019 at 7:56:55 AM
Author: Stanley C. Howell <schowell**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU> 		Next by Date:
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Compressed gases and sparking electronics
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2019 15:20:58 +0000
Author: Nora Dunkel

From: Jeffrey Lewin <jclewin**At_Symbol_Here**MTU.EDU>
Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] Compressed gases and sparking electronics
Date: Thu, 27 Jun 2019 08:45:31 -0400
Reply-To: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Message-ID: CAEwQnqhpuVxu3=s4p_JewvKpCRZdtKpT14FunWPaTuONnj3LEQ**At_Symbol_Here**mail.gmail.com
In-Reply-To


Some questions that may help you form the arguments to the administration (or for your faculty):

Was the room designed as a gas storage room (to NFPA or IBC requirements) or is it just a convenient room to store cylinders?

Was the room being used for cylinder storage then became a convenient place to put AV equipment? Or is it an AV room that became a convenient place to store cylinders?

What quantity of cylinders is being stored? Are there any flammable gases (if so, there are additional storage requirements if oxidizers are also in the room).

And finally, the question I always ask when I see cylinder storage, is "why are you storing extra cylinders?" While it often makes sense to have a spare to swap out, especially if it takes a few days to get replacements from a vendor, I always question why there are more than one. Fewer cylinders are always safer/better and in many cases, the rental on the cylinder can quickly exceed the value of the gas in the cylinder.

Jeff


On Tue, Jun 25, 2019 at 12:20 PM Nora Dunkel <noradunkel51**At_Symbol_Here**webster.edu> wrote:

Hello all,

Curious to get this group's input- I recently discovered a large A/V rack in the gas cylinder room of my university's science building. The A/V rack is hardwired into the wall, and is NOT spark-proof/hospital grade. It could make sparks at any time. In the same room, we have full cylinders of compressed oxygen, nitrous oxide, and air. The room itself likely has flammable construction. We probably have about 50 employees in the building, plus hundreds of students during the academic terms.

All the science faculty are (rightly) having a conniption fit and demanding that the A/V rack be moved to another room. However, the city fire chief inspected and said that "cylinders were properly stored and there was no open flame in the room", so no move was necessary, as no code was violated. So now the administration is dragging its feet, saying that the rack doesn't need to be moved (and IT suggested that we should just plug it back in).

Are there resources out there to convince the higher level of Administration that this situation is inherently hazardous and worth the resources to correct? Besides pedantically explaining the fire triangle/tetrahedron to them and bringing up the Apollo 1 fire? Or are the entire biology, chemistry, physics and nursing faculty (and I) all over-reacting?

Thanks for your help,

Nora Dunkel

Chemical Safety Officer

Webster University

314-246-2244 (office)

noradunkel51**At_Symbol_Here**webster.edu

--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas


--
Jeff Lewin
Chemical Safety Officer
Compliance, Integrity, and Safety
Environmental Health and Safety
207 Advanced Technology Development Complex (ATDC)
Michigan Technological University
--- For more information about the DCHAS-L e-mail list, contact the Divisional membership chair at membership**At_Symbol_Here**dchas.org Follow us on Twitter **At_Symbol_Here**acsdchas

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