I agree with the other comments regarding use of elevators for
transporting
chemicals. You certainly do not want to be trapped in an elevator
with
materials such as Dewars of liquid nitrogen or containers of highly
volatile
solvents.
That said, you also must insure that all materials are in secondary
containers in the event of a possible spill, whether in the elevator or
moving
them from point-to-point. Don't move too much material in a single
trip -
multiple trips may be preferred. All containers must be stable
(i.e. flat
bottoms, wide bases, etc.) so there is a very low probability of
them
tipping over. Also, all materials should be moved on a cart (or
trolley)
that have large enough wheels that they can easily roll over the
threshold and
gap between the floor and the elevator. Gas cylinders should be on
a truck
made specifically for moving gas cylinders. Take a few extra minutes to
make
sure the truck is secured inside the elevator so it cannot move on its
own if
there is an erratic motion of the elevator. The emergency stop
button is
useful in allowing time to secure trucks or trolleys. Have a
colleague on
the delivery floor to take charge when the elevator arrives so you don't
have to
run up or down the stairs.
David
____________________________________________________________________
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David A.
Katz
Chemist, Educator, Expert Demonstrator, Science Communicator,
and
Consultant
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______________________________________________________________
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, September 01,
2010 3:15
PM
Subject: [DCHAS-L] transporting
chemicals
on the elevator
I was wondering if anyone is aware of any
regulatory
guidelines pertaining to the transport of chemicals on
elevators.
Especially liquid nitrogen, high pressure gas cylinders and highly
volatile
solvents.
If there are not any regulatory drivers...do any
of you
have policies in place to instruct proper transport?
We only have one elevator in our science building
and
people regularly transport their chemicals using the elevator.
We were
wondering if we should require them to not ride with the
chemicals.
I'd appreciate your thoughts. This
comes at a
time where we are trying to justify the cost of including a freight
elevator
to the design of a new science building..or...to renovation plans of
our
current building.
Thanks
Jeff
Jeff
Gordon
Assistant
Lab
Manager / Chemical Hygiene Officer
Division
of Natural
Sciences
Indiana
Wesleyan
University
4201 S.
Washington
St.
Marion,
IN
46953
Email: jeff.gordon**At_Symbol_Here**indwes.edu
Phone:
765-677-1679
FAX:
765-677-2455