INCIDENT REPORTING Arizona State University Tri-University Lab Safety Committee

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE Committee ON CHEMICAL SAFETY : Website:

Learning from Incidents Recommendations  Establish and maintain an Incident Reporting System, an Incident Investigation System, and an Incident Database that should include, not only employees, but students also – graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and other nonemployees  Establish an internal review process of incidents and corrective actions with Departmental Safety Committee (faculty, staff, students, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars), and provide periodic safety seminars on lessons learned from incidents  Publish or share the stories of incidents and the lessons learned (case studies) to your institution’s website, a public website or an appropriate journal where students and colleagues from other institutions may also use these as case studies for learning more about safety

Why develop this Incident Reporting system? Best Practice demonstrated in industry Influential and respected organizations in lab safety recommend it. U.S. Chemical Safety Board American Chemical Society Heightens safety awareness and provides opportunity to prevent similar incidents at other institutions.

AIHA Committee's Incident Reports Reinforce Health and Safety Practices in Laboratories The AIHA Laboratory Health and Safety Committee (LHSC) maintains a section of the AIHA website containing more than 90 summary reports that describe incidents in laboratories. The reports are prepared by AIHA LHSC members, and are based on experience in their organizations or incidents that are brought to their attention by colleagues in other laboratories. Each report is a concise summary that includes key learnings, the effects of the incident (for example, injury or explosion), a description of the incident, causation, and corrective actions. Access all laboratory lessons-learned incident reports and learn how to submit your own reports via the committee’s website.committee’s website For more information, visit the AIHA website to read the full version of this article by LHSC members Joe Damiano, MS, CIH, CSP, Mike Miller, MHS, CIH, and Charlyn M. Reihman, MPH, CIH.full version

CSHeMA Safety Climate Survey  Participating institutions can better understand and measure the extent that safety has been integrated.  Results used to compare between different institutions and to evaluate how your campus has changed longitudinally over time.  The survey will be customized to your campus to allow employees to share concerns and comments. Tips for doing randomly valid surveys are provided.  This survey will be available annually for a cost of $99.

INCIDENTS AT ASU

Descriptions HCL monitor malfunction from excessive rain led to building shutdown. In June, 2014, operations were interrupted and a laboratory cleared due to a leak in a compressed gas system utilizing carbon monoxide. The situation was resolved by Chemistry and Biochemistry staff and Tempe Fire was not contacted. Significant changes were made the equipment to prevent future release and to monitor potential leaks. The second involved a small fire in a hood in April 2014, started due to a procedural error while handling mineral oil near a hot plate. The fire was extinguished by laboratory personnel and a building alarm was not activated. The third incident involved the malfunction of a microwave heating system in July, Laboratory personnel were able to contain acid fumes in the system, but received minor injuries. A similar situation in 2012, resulted in a response by the Tempe Fire Department and closure of the building.