Conducting Research and Development Safely EVERY DAY of Your Professional Career

1. Conducting Research and Development Safely EVERY DAY of Your Professional Career Kevin E Howard, PhD May 15, 2019

2. Disclaimer Dr. Howard retired from Dow Chemical (now Dow, Inc.) on March 31, 2019. This presentation is not offered as a presentation from Dow Inc., but rather as an alumnus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

3. Presentation Outline Introduction Key Safety Areas A Few Comments from a 30 Year Industrial Scientist Questions and Discussion?

4. Introduction Safety Every Day and Everywhere • Exits, Fire Extinguishers, Eye Wash Fountains, Safety Showers and Hazards - Every lab you enter, every time. • To and from work - no distractions. • Proper Personal Protective Equipment. • Safety goggles/glasses, labcoats, gloves. • Contamination in public spaces - gloves and door handles.

5. Introduction Industrial R&D and Academic R&D • Conduct Your R&D Safely EVERYDAY • Unexplored Chemistry - Industry and Academia • Extremely Easy Access to Safety Information • ASK before you DO if you are UNCERTAIN • 42 Years of Chemistry - 15,330 Days of Going Home Safely

6. Key Safety Areas Your Personal and Professional Obligations • Regulatory: Federal and State (TSCA, OSHA, DOT) • Proper Disposal of ALL Waste • Conducting safe laboratory work • Shipping samples safely • Local: Site, Building, Laboratory Safety Protocols • Waste Disposal, Solvent Storage, Materials Handling

7. Key Safety Areas • Ethical Obligations • Accurate Documentation of Procedures, Syntheses • Analysis of Unexpected Reactions or Results • You may save your life in a future experiment! • You may save another group member or coworker!

8. Key Safety Areas Conducting Experiments Safely • Raw materials, solvents, gases (MSDS - handling, toxicity, mutagenicity, reactivity, flammability). • Raw materials and product storage (light, oxygen, moisture, temperature) • Reaction conditions and unanticipated reactivity (exotherms, endotherms, runaway reactions, gas-generation, redox) • High temperature reactions (materials compatibility, CTE at extreme temperatures, m.p., vaporization and sublimation)

9. Key Safety Areas Conducting Experiments Safely Cryogenics (tissue damage, asphyxiation) Inert Gases (asphyxiation) • Table 1: Effects of Oxygen-Deficient Exposure • Oxygen conc. (% vol) Health effects of persons at rest • 19 Some adverse physiological effects occur, but they may not be noticeable. • 15-19 Impaired thinking and attention. Increased pulse and breathing rate. Reduced coordination. • Reduced physical and intellectual performance without awareness. • 12-15 Poor judgment. Faulty coordination. Abnormal fatigue upon exertion. Emotional upset. • 10-12 Very poor judgment and coordination. Impaired respiration may cause permanent heart damage. • Possibility of fainting within a few minutes without warning. Nausea and vomiting. • <10 Inability to move. Fainting almost immediate. Loss of consciousness. Convulsions. Death. https://www.airproducts.com/~/media/Files/PDF/company/safetygram-17.pdf

10. Key Safety Areas Conducting Experiments Safely • Spectroscopy • Laser light, High magnetic fields, UV, IR, microwave • Modifications to Experimental Equipment • Electrical modifications - grounding compromised? • Overtemperature, overpressure controls modified? • Scale of reaction, gaseous reactants

11. Key Safety Areas Conducting Experiments Safely • Mechanical Equipment • Pinch-points (e.g., compression mold, ball-mill) • Rotating Equipment (clothing, jewelry) • Cutting devices (scissors, knives) • Glass • Ventilation and Safety Hoods

12. Safely Planning Experiments • Properties of all reactants and solvents (MSDS) • Literature references to similar reactions? • Scale of experiment (adequate reaction vessel and appropriate controls - temperature/pressure/etc.) • Monitoring, duration of experiment, worst-case scenario (because it can happen and has happened) • Handling and storage of reaction product, disposal of wast

13. Safety - Bottom Line • Safety showers can save lives (please don’t let modesty deter you from entering the NEAREST safety shower). • Eye protection and eye wash access is critical. • If you are unsure about what you are about to do in the laboratory, STOP and ASK for someone else to review with you. Everyone has an obligation to help. • Be aware of the hazards in every lab you are working in - whether for a day or for years. • Complacency and routine cause most lab accidents.

14. Safety - Bottom Line Assignment • Are the safety showers and eyewashes in your labs readily accessible with nothing that would block someone rushing to use the unit? • Are there any instances where you have had a near-miss in the lab but didn’t want to tell the group? Now would be a great time for open discussion. • Reporting a safety near-miss is critical to everyone’s safety.

15. 30 Year Industrial Perspective • The education you are receiving here is second-to-none. You will be ready for your next step in life - whatever path you choose. • Know the Scientific Method and Use It! • Never has access to the scientific literature been easier - there is no excuse for not knowing it! • Branch out in your experiences - learn something new with every opportunity

16. 30 Year Industrial Perspective • Be passionate for what you do, but also don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know everything - no one does! • Diversity and Inclusion are critical to success - individually and as a team or corporation. • Listen to those who have come before you and to those who come after you! • “If you treat the person who empties your trash with the same respect as the CEO or University President, you will never regret it.”

17. 30 Year Industrial Perspective • “The secret of change is to focus all of our energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” - Socrates • “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle” - Plato • “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible” - Dalai Lama