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Previous by Date: Subject: Safety Shower/eyewash Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:22:53 -0700 Author: Cynthia Runkel |
Next by Date: Subject: Re: Safety Shower/eyewash Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:33:16 -0800 Author: "Latimer, Lee" |
It has been a while since I was involved in designing a new lab, so my recollection may be a bit hazy, but I think that floor drains were actually discouraged, with the following reasoning: these drains could not be connected to the sewer, because any water used in decontamination became hazardous waste (I can't begin to imagine the quantity of water that would be from 20 minutes of a deluge shower), and thus could not be discharged untreated to the sewer. Your local regulations may differ, but as I recall that was the issue in our case. It may also have to do with possibility of other lab chemicals going down that drain in a spill. Where I am currently located, we do have a floor drain with the safety shower/eyewash station, both of which drain to the floor where the floor drain is located. When I tested the eyewash station one day at that location, the water washed over the top of the floor drain and proceeded to spread across the lab floor. The water was terribly rusty, but I figured out why it had not been flushed regularly! I imagine it would be even worse with the shower! We normally flush that into a 33 gallon garbage can. I tell people if they must use it to not hesitate and that we will deal with the water, but I'm sure it would go right down to the floor below by the time someone were sufficiently decontaminated. I would check with your local sewer authority and EPA about this. They may have some worthwhile suggestions for you. Lucy Dillman
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