Emergency Response Procedures

["Sue M. Dupre" <DUPRE%PUCC.bitnet@vmd.cso.uiuc.edu>]

Thanks for the responses I've received to date concerning the posted emergency
emergeny guidelines for laboratory personnel.  I am prepared to appreciate any
of your efforts so please do keep those posters/charts/booklets coming in.  I
should indicate that we are not focussing solely on lab personnel.  Actually,
in two recent "crises" we had, it became apparent that we really need to work
with the University's Public Safety Office to help them know when outside
emergency help is needed.  Within the space of a month, a small chemical fire
in a hood and a small contained spill of P-32 resulted in the evacuation of
each of the buildings involved and the summoning of local fire companies as
well as hazmat teams.  In each case this occurred because our Public Safety
personnel summoned local emergency response before they notified personnel from
my office or while our personnel were on their way.  Public Safety has asked
that we develop a flow chart for them so that they will know the appropriate
questions to ask when notified of an incident on campus and will know what
action they should take or what notification to make based on the answers to
the right questions.  We're in the process of creating that now.

As an aside, in the case of the P-32 spill, after Public Safety notified the
police that a spill had occurred, the fire chief got the word that he needed
to respond to a retroactive spill.  Retroactive spills ... now that's a
frightening thought!

Sue Dupre
Office of Occupational Health & Safety
Chemical Sciences Building/Forrestal Campus
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ  08544-0710