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	SAFETY RELATED NEWS
	Significant safety related news items are listed below in reverse chronological order. An archive of Corvallis Fire Department safety inspection reports is available to view here.
tag key		accident		incident	inspection	policy change
	date		item
	Sept. 23 & 26, 2008		Safety orientation and fire extinguisher training for new graduate students.
	Sept. 7 & 8, 2008		Corvallis Fire Department annual fire safety audit for Gilbert Hall and Gilbert Addition.
	April 28, 2008		Spring term meeting of the Departmental Safety Committee, present: Paul Blakemore, Kristi Edwards, Lance Jones, Chris Knutson, John Loeser, Tim Rogers, Mas Subramanian.
	Jan. 28, 2008		Winter term meeting of the Departmental Safety Committee, present: Paul Blakemore, Kristi Edwards, Kevin Gable, Lance Jones, Chris Knutson, John Loeser, Tim Rogers, Alexey Shvarev, Mas Subramanian.
	Jan. 7, 2008		The Chemistry Safety Seminar course (CH407/507/607 - Section 010), a required 1-credit hour course for chemistry graduate students, begins today. Click here for details.
	Dec. 3, 2007		A fire caused by hot glass igniting a cardboard box and its contents occurred in Gilbert Hall 009/011. The blaze was successfully extinguished and little damage was caused. The procedure for disposing of hot glass in that laboratory has since been revised.
	Oct. 29, 2007		Laboratory Attire: effective January 1, 2008, all laboratory workers shall be required to wear clothing covering them from shoulders to ankles. Footwear must be closed at the toe and heel as before. Refer to the Fall 07 safety memo for further details.
	Oct. 29, 2007		Outreach Events: effective immediately, the minimum two-week notice requirement for outreach approval will be strictly enforced. For off-campus outreach involving chemicals; a fire-extinguisher, spill-kit, and MSDS file must be taken along to the demonstration. Please see Kristi Edwards to arrange for loan of fire-extinguisher and mobile spill-kit.
	Oct. 23, 2007		Fall term meeting of the Departmental Safety Committee, present: Paul Blakemore, Kristi Edwards, Kevin Gable, Tim Rogers, and Alexey Shvarev.
	Sept. 18 & 21, 2007		Safety orientation and fire extinguisher training for new graduate students.
	Sept. 4, 2007		Corvallis Fire Department annual fire safety audit for Gilbert Hall and Gilbert Addition.
	Aug. 23, 2007		Interim meeting of the Departmental Safety Committee, present: Paul Blakemore, Kristi Edwards, Kevin Gable, and Mas Subramanian.
	May 10, 2007		An air-leaking vacuum system in Gilbert 214 caused the generation of an oil mist aerosol on the 2nd floor of Gilbert Hall. The resulting reports of smoke led to temporary evacuation of the entire floor. Corvallis Fire Department responded and the pump involved was shut-off and the all clear given after the corridor was adequately ventilated. No injuries nor property damage resulted from this incident.
	May 8, 2007		Revision to Gilbert Addition elevator use policy: The Gilbert Addition elevator may now be used at anytime on Monday's during Spring, Summer, or Fall Term for the purpose of conveying non-chemically contaminated waste down to the dumpsters. On other weekdays, and for MTWRF during Winter Term, the posted restrictions on the use of this elevator for all but personal transport, apply as before (see 11/03/2006 policy announcement below).
	April 20, 2007		To safeguard against the dangers of spills, samples of potentially hazardous chemicals are no longer to be passed around within undergraduate classrooms. Demonstrations involving chemical substances must be confined to the front bench only.
	Mar. 12, 2007		A small fire occurred in Gilbert Hall laboratory 310 caused by residual sodium hydride igniting acetone in a sink. The fire was rapidly extinguished and resulted in no injuries nor siginificant property damage.
	Feb. 8, 2007		Fire alarm in Gilbert Hall pulled ca 5.30 pm, building successfully evacuated. Corvallis Fire Department responded and walked through building; no fire was found and alarm system was reset.
	Jan. 30, 2007		A radiator on the first floor of the Gilbert Addition stairwell begun to smoulder during the evening. Fortunately, smoke was noticed by a student and the incident reported to OSU dispatch. Corvallis Fire Department rapidly attended and put out the embers of the fire before the situation worsened. An apparent electrical fault was to blame and the radiator has now been disconnected pending repair.
	Jan. 8, 2007		The Chemistry Safety Seminar course (CH407/507/607 - Section 010), a required 1-credit hour course for chemistry graduate students, begins today. Click here for details.
	Nov. 17, 2006		Safety Web goes on-line.
	Nov. 3, 2006		Gilbert Addition elevator use: During busy teaching hours (MF 8-5, TWTh 8-6) the elevator in Gilbert Addition is no longer to be used for the purpose of conveying research waste materials to the dumpsters. Such activity is perfectly acceptable outside of these hours, but please make sure that waste being taken to the dumpsters is not chemically contaminated.
	Oct. 30, 2006		Outreach Events: Outreach events now require advanced formal approval by the safety committee before they can go ahead. Details for the approval process can be found on this website. [LINK]
	Oct. 16, 2006		A small cylinder of neat hydrogen fluoride (HF), equipped with unguarded regulator, was found free standing in the basement constituting a major safety hazard. The cylinder was identified by a Matheson brand tag (#FF7429). Please contact a safety committee member if you have any information regarding the ownership of this cylinder.
	Sept. 19 & 21, 2006		Safety orientation and fire extinguisher training for new graduate students.
	Sept. 12 & 14, 2006		The Department of Chemistry received it's annual fire safety audit from the Corvallis Fire Department. The results of this inspection have led to kick-down door stops being removed from doors within the department.

last up-dated 01-29-2008