1. Cooperative Compliance Model Between an Academic Department and EH&S – The BYU Experience
Alfredo Chandia MS, CHMM, ASP
Hazardous Materials Manager
Risk Management, Safety & Compliance
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

2. Historical Background
May 2011, Utah DEQ’s Inspection of BYU
BYU had 4 non-compliance findings
Corrected and no fines
See you next time

3. Will they return??? . . . Yes, they will!
Approximately every 5 years they return But we’ll be ready for next time!

4. What do we do next or how do we improve???

5. What we did after the inspections
We adopted Subpart K in 2012
After the Chicago Conference in 2015 and taking Dr. Turpin’s class on Lab Safety (highly recommended) the wheels in my head began to turn . . .
How can I make sure (or at least try) that our labs are in compliance – Environmental perspective but also safety
How could I integrate my recently acquired training and make everyone happy and get positive results.
Realities:
We (environmental) are in the labs more frequently
Could we integrate environmental & safety aspects and still coexist?
Let’s bring the players together - Chemistry and Risk Management

6. Chemistry Why Chemistry? Our largest customer Volume of waste
Laboratories
Stablished working relationship ****
The lab/stockroom manager and safety rep is a known factor to the chemistry community
He has their trust
He fills a model I used to play while working at PNNL (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory)

7. It is all about timing!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ASA2bkXAV4
Complaints from faculty members of
“too many inspections & too many people in the labs” Sounds familiar?
Combining Environmental & Safety
Inviting Matt along – New responsibility as Safety Officer for Chemistry
Reviewing current “Risk Management Safety Checklist”
Involving Risk Management’s Safety
“Low Hanging Fruits”
Streamline the “Checklist” from approximately 173 items to 43 items to review during assessments

10. December 2015
BYU’s Benson Building – Chemistry

11. Viewer discretion is advised!!!
[ WARNING]
The following photo gallery contains EXTREMELY GRAPHIC AND DISTURBING IMAGES of non-compliance in academic laboratories
Viewer discretion is advised!!!

12. A small sample of what we found
Environmental Findings:
A container used to store “Unwanted Lab Material” (chemical waste) was also labeled “Clean Acetone”
A container of “Unwanted Lab Material” was found open inside one of the hoods (see picture below)

13. Safety Findings:
Poor general housekeeping throughout the laboratory

17. What’s next at BYU? Chemistry with Matt Allen is already engaged
Biology (Rebecca)
Engineering (Bryant)
Physics In the distant future.