Monona, I was the CHO at UW-Eau Claire for many years. I worked with the Art Dept there and made great headway. After I retired, there was no Chem Prof with that interest so the progress was lost. Most Art Dept faculty have no background in chemical health and safety and yet many will try new techniques regardless. It is indeed a scary situation. Al Denio
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From: DCHAS Membership Chair <membership**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>
To: DCHAS-L <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**PRINCETON.EDU>
Sent: Sat, Nov 9, 2019 4:36 pm
Subject: [DCHAS-L] liability and an impossible CHP
Re: liability and an impossible CHP
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
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