| Environment, Safety, and Health INTEGRATED HAZARD APPRAISAL of the BERKELEY LAB STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY DIVISION |
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| for Work and Hazards Identification to Define the Necessary and Sufficient Standards Set and Direct Appraisal Efforts | |
This report initially identifies the work activities and hazards that are present in the E. O. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab or LBNL) Structural Biology Division (SBD) as part of the Integrated Hazard Assessment (IHA) process. Activities and hazards were identified in preparation for:
In early June 1996, a multi-disciplinary team of research and EH&S representatives from Berkeley Lab and Department of Energy (DOE) Oakland Operations was identified (note team listing below). Team members and contributors met two or more times to review available work activity and hazard information, identify hazards related to activities, field-check findings, and complete identification worksheets. Identification worksheet information was then entered into the IHA information management system and reviewed for quality. Identification worksheets are enclosed and are grouped by floors in Building 3 (Calvin). Building floor plans that show the layout of SBD operations are presented in the Attachment.
The body of this report summarizes the IHA team participants, project time-line, SBD organization and management, ES&H performance expectations and objectives, SBD actions to be performed, SBD physical conditions within which the work will be performed, SBD materials and conditions that could cause adverse consequences, uncertainties about the work, EH&S resource availability and constraints, and stakeholder concerns.
| Team Member | Technical Specialty |
|---|---|
| Jim Bartholomew | SBD Safety Coordinator
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| Paul Blodgett | LBNL Industrial Hygiene and Team Leader
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| Mat Kotowski | LBNL Occupational Safety
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| Connie Grondona | LBNL Health Services
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| Tony Yuen | LBNL Fire Protection
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| Christine Donahue | LBNL Radiation Protection
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| Li-Yang Chang | LBNL Waste Management
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| Ginny Lackner | LBNL Environmental Protection
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| Dave Tudor | LBNL Hazard Assessment
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| James Chwang | DOE Fire Protection
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| Tanya Goldman | DOE Waste Management
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| Date | Activity
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|---|---|
| 6/03/96 | Collect and Review Information
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| 6/04/96 | Establish Team Members
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| 6/13/96 | Hazards Identification & Grouping
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| 6/28/96 | Field-Check Hazards Identification
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| 7/29/96 | Completion and Data Entry of Worksheets
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| 7/01/96 | Summary Report Draft
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| 7/11/96 | SBD Review
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The Scientific Department Heads report directly to the Division Director and are accountable for the scientific excellence, relevance to the Structural Biology Division (SBD) mission, as well as adherence to all administrative and regulatory requirements. The senior scientific staff meet weekly with the division director to discuss both scientific and safety issues of concern. The deputy director for administration is the divisions designated ES&H coordinator charged with oversight of all matters pertaining to environmental quality and health and safety of both employees and the pubic. An ES&H committee assists in this effort by meeting monthly and discussing relevant health and safety issues. The committee is chaired by the Deputy director and is composed of one member from each research group.
Line Management is responsible for the protection of the public, the workers, and the environment.
At the Berkeley Laboratory the following documents establish the policy and provide the implementation guidance that makes line management effectively accountable for protection of workers, the public and the environment:
Clear and unambiguous lines of authority and responsibility for ensuring safety are established and maintained at all organizational levels within the Department and its contractors.
Each Division making up the Berkeley Laboratory has clearly defined lines of responsibility down to the working level. Each division designates a research investigator to represent its views and concerns on the Laboratory Safety Review Committee and a full time employee to act as the ES&H Coordinator. This Coordinator acts as the interface between ES&H concerns and compliance in the workplace and the EH&S technical professionals. The organizational information is updated every 60 days and is retained in the Functional/Facility Notebooks as appropriate (see OAP).
Personnel possess the experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities that are necessary to discharge their responsibilities.
Job assignments, including hires, are reviewed by line management and by the compensation group within Human Resources to ensure that the requirements and responsibilities of a job are matched by the experience, knowledge and skills of individuals selected for assignment. A performance expectation for managers and supervisors in the Division of Environment, Health and Safety is how well the talents, knowledge and skills of staff are matched to work assignments and responsibilities
The Laboratory's training program ensures that each staff member, including participating guests, is adequately trained to participate safely in Laboratory activities. Staff, with supervisor participation, fill out the Jobs Hazards Questionnaire (JHQ) describing the hazards associated with their job assignment and work area. Evaluation of the responses by the Training Coordinator and the cognizant supervisor determines the training regimen needed to carry out work in a manner that protects the employee, co-workers, the public, and the environment.
Resources are effectively allocated to address safety, programmatic, and operational considerations. Protecting the public, the workers, and the environment is a priority whenever activities are planned and performed.
All environment, safety and health activities in the Laboratory are described in technical terms with budgetary information included. Each year this information is updated, reviewed and prioritized on the basis of risk to workers, public, and the environment by a Laboratory wide committee selected to represent programmatic line management and ES & H professionals. This document is utilized by Laboratory Senior Management in strategically planning the immediate focus and long term goals of the environment, safety, and health program at the Laboratory.
Administrative and engineering controls to prevent and mitigate hazards are tailored to the work and associated hazards being performed.
Chapter 6 of the Environment, Health and Safety Manual clearly defines the steps for each line manager to develop the appropriate engineering and administrative controls to mitigate hazards in the workplace. The Laboratory's Self Assessment Program, including Functional Appraisals by ES & H professionals, and the UC/DOE Contract 98 Performance Measures provide assurance that implementation of hazards control is adequate to protection the worker, the public and the environment.
Before work is performed, the associated hazards are evaluated and an agreed-upon set of safety standards and requirements are established which, if properly implemented, provide adequate assurance that the public, the workers, and the environment are protected from adverse consequences.
The Laboratory is dedicated to following the Necessary and Sufficient Closure Process (DOE 450.3) on an iterative basis at all levels of activities in the Laboratory to ensure the Safety Standards are adequate to provide protection to workers, the public, and the environment. This process is completed by to commencement of work in those situations where current work is significantly modified, new work is proposed or substantial facility modifications are being made (Chapter 6, Environment Health and Safety Manual).
The conditions and requirements to be satisfied for operations to be initiated and conducted are clearly established and agreed-upon.
Conditions and requirements for facilities determined to be of higher risk based on the Preliminary Hazards Analysis are contained in a Safety Analysis Document. Activity Hazard Documents are the basis for meeting this requirement for specific operations and activities falling into the higher risk category at the Berkeley Laboratory. Internal Agreements describing the performance expectations by each party are used for operations between two functional areas where the quality of performance might adversely impact the Laboratory's ability to meet its responsibility to protect workers, the public, and the environment.
Structural Biology's mission is to perform leading multidisciplinary research in structural and molecular biology using the techniques of x-ray crystallography, nuclear magnetic resonance, infrared spectroscopy, and other advanced spectroscopic techniques.
Structural Biology Division is primarily located in the Calvin Building on the University of California Berkeley Campus. This three story, round building has a flat roof with two trailer like structures that form the fourth floor. The first floor houses the analytical laboratories including 4 laser labs, 2 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) labs, and 1 X-ray lab. The second floor is primarily a wet lab with 8 fume hoods, electrophoresis equipment, high performance liquid chromatographs (HPLC's); office space; and a computer room. The third floor is primarily a wet chemistry lab with 8 fume hoods and electrophoresis equipment; office space; 1 laser lab; and 1 RMMA/Bio lab with a biosafety cabinet. On the fourth floor, Room 410 is a wet lab with 3 fume hoods and DNA sequencing machines and Rooms 401-405 are the Division's cell culture facility. The fume hoods from floors 1-3 exhaust at the parapet level of the roof.
The NTLF, a research group with in SBD is located in Building 75 at the Berkeley Lab and has already successfully completed the N&S process. Berkeley Lab employees who have affiliation with the Berkeley campus also work in appendix J space as defined by the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Berkeley Lab and the University.
Examples (not summaries) of typical materials and conditions that could cause adverse consequences if not controlled are listed below. These examples are first listed by Necessary and Sufficient requirements identification topic areas, and then by floors in Building 3.
First Floor
An open beam laser in Room 134/136 has the potential for causing eye and skin injury. Through administrative controls, the operators are protected and interlocked doors prevent unexpected entry to the room while the laser is in operation. The details of these controls are presented in an AHD.
The fume hoods in Rooms 120 and 136 which house health hazard gases need a ventilation flow indicator with a visual readout and audible alarm. This engineering control will help assure that the air flow in the fume hoods remains continuous.
Second Floor
The second and third floors have an adjoining stair well in the center of the building. This is a fire protection issue since the stairwell is open, breaching the separation between floors.
Third Floor
The handling of carcinogenic chemicals throughout SBD was found to be low frequency, small quantity per each use, and conducted in fume hoods. One bench top use of chloroform (also infrequent and small quantity) will be evaluated for potential exposure.
Division Wide
Training for Berkeley Lab employees in Appendix J space needs additional oversight by SBD.
Injuries from VDT use and pipeting have been reported. The SBD has supplied ergonomic chairs throughout the division and fully supports employees participation in training. Injuries associated with pipeting need further evaluation.
The fume hoods from floors 1-3 exhaust at the parapet level of the roof. Administrative controls have been included in an AHD for an accidental discharge of a health hazard gas in the fume hoods to reduce the potential of exposure to maintenance workers and other employees on the roof.
The Air Handling Unit (AHU) on the roof is excessively noisy and may be the source of noise exposure for maintenance workers and employees in the area. This issue will be investigated by Berkeley Lab Industrial Hygienists.
There are no accelerators in the Calvin Building. Three X-ray machines are contained in interlocked enclosures. There are three sealed sources, two of which are used in scintillation counters and the third in calibrating an X-ray detector.
The Calvin lab is covered by the Berkeley Lab Site-Wide EBMUD discharge permit. There are no process specific permits.
The Calvin Building contains chemicals which have the potential to form peroxides during storage. These chemicals need to be tested routinely or disposed. A peroxide forming test procedure has been developed for the NTLF and will be implemented throughout the Berkeley Lab.
SBD lab space is being developed in Building 80 for research in conjunction with the Advanced Light Source (ALS). This user facility will employ hard X-ray techniques for diffraction studies of biological molecules and molecular complexes. Biological organisms which will be used at this user facility have not been defined yet. The facility is scheduled to open in September/October 96.
The following questionnaire was filled -out with input form the SBD Safety Coordinator.
There are no stakeholder concerns unique to SBD. SBD has managed, controlled, and permitted (as required) air, water, hazardous, and solid waste streams.
Attached are SBD organization charts and floor plans of SBD operations. Enclosed are the IHA worksheets for SBD operations that were completed.
Last modified Thursday, 28-Oct-1999 11:42:22 PDT