| About This Archive | | DCHAS-L 2019 Index | | DCHAS-L Yearly Index | |
Check out Safety Emporium for your N95, N99, and face shield needs.
|
Previous by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] liability and an impossible CHP Date: Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 8:26:21 PM Author: ILPI Support <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM> |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: [DCHAS-L] liability and an impossible CHP Date: Sat, 9 Nov 2019 18:40:46 -0800 Author: NEAL LANGERMAN |
Perhaps I am coming at this with a naive point of view. Early in my career I was an industrial hygienist on a University EH&S staff for 7 years (but that was before OSHA issued the Lab Standard) and I had a further 3 years with a consulting firm where I merely had to do the work, not develop business, etc. But the vast majority of my career has been spent employed in industry by a company that for most of that time had a sincere, high-level interest in health and safety. Also, I recognize that you have been dealing with variations on this theme for longer that I have, so my comments below may seem hopelessly starry-eyed to you.
Having said that, I think the boundaries of "due diligence" and "failure to warn" depend in part on just what service you are contracted to perform, specifically which part of the school your contract is with, and whether or not they are actually trying to apply their CHP to the art activities, something that seems particularly ill-advised in the situation you describe.
An "art building planning job" sounds to me like you are consulting on the design and construction of a building. While that is influenced by how the building will be used, of course, it may not be within the scope of your contract to provide guidance on the whole of their (poorly conceived) EH&S program or, in fact, to provide any sort of training. Of course you must provide the specific deliverables listed in the contract. It sounds like that includes a written report, but it may be more than that. I would confine the report, however, to those specific deliverables, including any difficulties presented by the way they have structured EH&S "management" as it impacts the ability to recommend design elements.
Beyond that, I would put observations and concerns in a separate document, addressed to either your primary contact for the job or an attorney or risk control person associated with the project (if any). Unless they contracted with you for an overall review of their EH&S efforts, this is an "extra" you are providing beyond the scope of the contract. If your contract is with the art school, I would say that warnings and due diligence expectations are limited to the art school or other party with whom you are contracted, not to the situation in the entire institution. If your contract is with the institution as a whole, even if focused on the art school, then you may have scope for broader comment. Some personal discussion with those individuals in advance of a separate document being sent may be helpful in preparing the ground and avoiding surprise and indignation when such a document unexpectedly arrives. But that would depend on the nature of the relationship you develo!
p with them in the meantime.
Regardless of how they respond to your verbal presentation of these issues, I think you should go on the record, in writing, no later than when you submit your report.
I had something roughly similar in connection with consulting work I did as part of nationwide asbestos litigation some decades ago. It differed in that we were contracted through attorneys, but when we did find situations of concern outside the scope of our contracted function, we did insist on separate notification to the relevant management, despite the legal adversarial arrangement.
I hope this helps you organize your thinking on this issue.
Peter Zavon, CIH
Penfield, NY
PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com
-----Original Message-----
From: ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety [mailto:DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU] On Behalf Of DCHAS Membership Chair
Sent: Saturday, November 09, 2019 4:35 PM
To: DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU
Subject: [DCHAS-L] liability and an impossible CHP
From: Monona Rossol Oh shoot. I have a problem again. Maybe some advice from you guys would help. I have an art building planning job in one of those states in which OSHA does not cover the state schools. I went on the university‰??s website and read all their EH&S stuff ‰?? which you can do in 40 minutes, since there is so little. They only have a Chemical Hygiene Plan and nothing at all for the art department. The school has turned over safety to the individual professors in the mistaken belief that this takes the administration off the hook. That‰??s what UCLA thought also until their Board of Regents was indicted for criminally negligent homicide. That CHP is written so badly, it would be impossible even for trained chemists to comply, so my bet is nobody does anything. For example, the professors have the job of obtaining the SDSs and putting them in the binders. There is no inventory. And if they store or use mixtures of chemicals, the CHP requires the professor to write their own SDSs to cover the hazards of the mixture. I wouldn‰??t even try that. For another example, EH&S only has to supply the professors with containers for waste. It is the professors‰?? job to determine which wastes require collection, write the EPA label, supervise waste collection, and call for a pick up. That takes knowledge of the EPA and local waste rules. So my guess it‰??s just ‰??Oops‰?? and down the drain. And the art department plans are calling for dozens of individual studios called ‰??research studios‰?? where they apparently can use any chemical or art material or equipment they take it into their heads to use and they have 24 hour access to these studios. When I do my presentation for the art faculty I will try to make these points and the need for ventilation and limits on materials, but I don‰??t have any real hope of making a dent after what I‰??ve seen and read. I will write this report VERY carefully. There is a fine line between trying to do a good job for a client and, instead, aiding and abetting them. And I'm not sure where the "due diligence" and "failure to warn" boundaries are here But I need to try to find them. Any and all advice is welcome. Monona --- ---
Previous post | Top of Page | Next post
Re: liability and an impossible CHP
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
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