I think simply placing a table outside the laboratory in a hallway may not be a well thought out decision and could be creating a more dangerous situation.

The hallway is most likely part of an evacuation route and obstructing the route is a code violation.

Conclusion eating and drinking in any form in a laboratory is not allowed and check with EH&S or facilities engineering before placing objects in the hallways.

Laurence Doemeny

Students are well-trained at the beginning of every quarter to leave water, coffee, sports bottles, lunches, outside of lab.  At the beginning of the quarter, TA's are vigilant about standing at the door as a reminder and the point gets across pretty quickly.  There's always a small cache of water bottles, etc. outside the lab room.  That seems to help as a visual reminder, too.  Doors remain closed during lab.

 

Good luck - it's a tough habit to break.

 

Best,

 

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow

Immediate Past Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety

University of California, Davis

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

 

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."

 

 

 

From: DCHAS-L Discussion List
Subject: [DCHAS-L] Water bottles in labs

 

We are seeing a problem with students walking into the lab holding their water bottles and it is not practical for the instructor to stand at the door as they arrive because our labs run one right after the other and we rarely close the door.  At the beginning of the term during the safety presentation they are told to put them away before entering the lab but they either forget or ignore it. We already have so many signs in our labs, hallways, etc that no one pays any attention to them so I'm reluctant to add another one. Could you share what you do at your institution?

 

 

Debbie Reeder

Chemistry Lab Manager

 

Anne Arundel Community College

101 College Parkway

Arnold, MD 21012

410-777-2224

dmreeder**At_Symbol_Here**aacc.edu

 

 

 

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