Hi IRT members and All
Late this evening there was a chemical release at the Ebeam bench in the Litho area between 11:00PM and 12:00AM. A user, Takashi Kodana dropped a glass bottle of Xylenes on the floor. The bottle, which broke contained less than a liter of material. The user did an initial cleanup of the release and then called the duty phone at 12:04AM. I instructed the user to evacuate the Litho area and to keep any users out of the area until I arrived. When I arrived, the user had the Litho area secured with yellow caution tape at both entrances. The Litho area still had a strong odor at that time. I did a quick assessment of the situation with Takashi and did a final cleanup of the chemical which was trapped under some secondary containment pans( using a respirator). I allowed the room to air out and as of 3:00AM the odor had dissipated. Removed the caution tape from the Litho doors and tagged all hazardous waste bags. I thanked Takashi for his help and also insured him that it would have been OK to not clean up the spill and evacuate the area immediately for health and safety reasons, and then call for help.
... Gary
As a follow up... We will soon be going from the one gallon jugs to smaller, one-liter bottles for xylenes and other chemicals which are not typically used in high volumes at solvent stations. We have also placed a gel work mat in front of the wbebeam bench. This will not only be better ergonomically, but also help cushion the shock, if someone drops a bottle. Please let staff know how these work.
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