1. Biolabs Safety Committee MCB, MCZ, OEB, HEB

2. Agenda - The Next 45 Minutes
Announcements
Suspicious Packages
Peer Inspections
Lab Safety Award
Incident Review
Lab Safety Officer Orientations

3. EH&S Announcements
Lab 200 – EH&S General Lab Safety Refresher Feedback Session
Safety Committee Website

5. New Locations for the EH&S Office and Lab Coats
EH&S Safety Office
Now Located in Biolabs 5058
Lab Coats
Hallway alcove in front of Biolabs 5058

6. Machine Shop – Maker Space Training
Supplemental to hands on training / may be required at the local level
Topics include hazard communication, hazardous waste, emergency response, and an optional section on soldering.

7. Winter Recess – Plan Accordingly
Shipping and Receiving
Closed Nov 28-29th
Closed Dec 24-25th and Jan 1st
VWR Stockroom
Rad Materials Ordering
Last orders by Dec 19th to ensure next day delivery or Monday Dec 23rd (assuming labs are ordering from PerkinElmer, delivery times for other vendors vary).
Secure Lab and Personal Belongings

9. Lab Safety Award Criteria Eligibility
Lab Initiatives (events, practices, procedures, etc.) that result in a safer working environment.
Collaboration with EH&S partners is allowed and encouraged
Standard EH&S requirements don’t apply
Eligibility
Lab member has to have been in attendance at the two previous committee meetings (Waived)

10. Lab Safety Award Winner! Brittany walsh

11. A Safer Working Environment
Lab Initiative
As a Lab Safety Officer, Brittany is fairly new to our committee but has been hitting it out of the park from the start. Early on she was tasked with coordinating the migration of the Bellono lab to a new space in Biolabs. This is no small feat. Everything went smoothly and safely thanks to her hard work. Things have continued to go smoothly and safely in the new space as well where Brittany has worked to elevate safety to a very high level.
EH&S Collaboration
Absolutely! Brittany has collaborated closely with EH&S with the recent lab move and setup of the new space. We’re very glad she’s part of our team.
A Safer Working Environment
Absolutely!

15. Peer – Roles and Responsibilities
Team Lead
Coordinate and schedule the inspection with the Host Lab Safety Officer and the Inspection Team Assistant (one hour should be more than sufficient)
If the Team’s preference is to forge ahead bravely in the absence of EH&S (that’s me!), please confirm with me that the inspection has been scheduled and that the inspection team is on track.
Inspect host lab using the attached Peer Lab Inspection Form to help guide the process
Provide inspections results to EH&S and the inspected host lab at least one week prior to the upcoming Committee Meeting
Present inspection results at the Biolabs Committee Meeting
Team Assistant
Accompany and assist the Inspection Team Lead during the host lab inspection to identify potential safety issues, recommend process enhancements and identify best practices that may be shared with the rest of the Safety Committee
Host Lab Safety Officer
Ensure all lab is sufficiently prepared and that all lab members are notified / prepared for the upcoming inspection
On the day of the inspection, alert the Inspection Team to any ongoing sensitive experiments or potential hazards they need to be aware of
Review and correct any inspections findings and be prepared to discuss at the upcoming Committee Meeting

16. Nov Peer Teams – Thank You!
Biolabs Peer Review Teams and Schedule Nov 2019
Inspection Team
Team Lead
Team Assistant
Host Lab
Host Lab Safety Officer
Team 1 November 2019
Andrey Shubin
Victoria Paradise
Dulac Lab / MCB
Derek Lessing
Team 2 November 2019
Dan Utter
Udbhav Chitta
Hartl Lab / OEB
Kalsang Namgyal
Team 3 November 2019
Brittany Walsh
Clark Magnan
HCBI / MCB
Erin Diel
Team 4 November 2019
Lisa Iarossi
Zhe He
Kramer Lab / OEB
Abagail Burrus

17. Team 1 - Andrey Shubin / Victoria Paradise – Derek Lessing (Dulac Lab)

19. Team 2 – Dan Utter / Udbhav Chitta – Kalsang Namgyal (Hartl Lab)

20. Team 3 – Brittany Walsh / Clark Magnan – Erin Diel (HCBI)

21. Team 4 – Lisa Iarossi / Zhe He – Abagail Burrus (Kramer Lab)

23. Potassium hydroxide exposure near-miss
Incidents Review
Potassium hydroxide exposure near-miss
Lab group was doing some general housekeeping
Researcher wanted to move a large (5 lb) container of potassium hydroxide powder
Researcher was unaware that the container was compromised and got some KOH powder on their gloves
Lab called Operations Center, who called EHS
Takeaways
Even a box of dry chemicals can become compromised and pose a hazard
Always wear your PPE! Luckily, the researcher was wearing their lab coat and gloves
Dry KOH in contact with the moisture from your skin can cause corrosive burns
5lbs of KOH is a lot – better to only order what you need

24. Minors in Labs incident
Visiting Researcher brought their toddler into a BL2 area
Resisted requests and advice from a fellow staff member to leave the area
Researcher and toddler were discovered by the lab director, who notified the PI immediately
Researcher was escorted from the premises, and their position at Harvard was terminated immediately

25. Broken Glass boxes and lab waste Broken glass boxes are for clean glassware only They are not a miscellaneous lab waste container They are absolutely not for disposing needles

26. Holiday Safety – Incidents Review

27. Safety Committee Meetings
Monday - September 16th, 2019
Monday - November 18th, 2019
Tuesday – January 21st, 2020
Monday – March 16th, 2020
Monday – May 18th, 2020

28. Season’s Greetings!